During the night from Saturday to Sunday, the temperature fell to -5.7° in the Salles de Castillon, near Saint Emilion and to -3.3° in Margaux, in Gironde. The winegrowers who are used to managing episodes of frost at this time of year each year were mobilized to limit the damage to the vines.
To prevent their precious plants from freezing, they carried out burning operations and were able to use wind turbines or wind towers. In Gironde, the sectors of Saint-Emilion, Entre-deux-mers and Sud-Gironde are the most affected even if “the vegetation was not as advanced as last year”, specifies the interprofession of Bordeaux wines which considers that it is too early to make an initial assessment.
“The episode of frost particularly affected the Garonne valley, the Charentes, the Dordogne, up to the Pyrénées-Atlantiques with temperatures which fell to -2 and -3 degrees”, explained to AFP Jérôme Despey , deputy general secretary of the FNSEA. Negative temperatures are still announced for the next two nights, so winegrowers and arboriculturists will remain vigilant. In 2021, the temperature had dropped to -6°, causing significant crop losses.