more hail in the côte de beaune…

Update 5.8.2013(23.7.2013)billn

I just got off the phone with a grower in Beaune – I’d called to get a bit more information on the flavenscence d’orée insecticide spraying ‘story’ – in the background I could still hear the remnants of the thunder-storm. The temperature was now just 18°C – 1 hour ago it had been well over 30°C – that was before the storm hit.

Like last year, hail has ripped through the vines from Volnay to Savigny; further south I’ve no info yet; further north, the Côte de Nuits experienced only about 1mm of rain and no hail. I’m not sure where the border lay – was it Savigny or Corton? – we’ll know later…

The grower said he called somebody in the vineyards, and the hail on their tractor cab sounded like gunshots. He then drove towards Pommard and said it was like somebody was throwing rocks at his car and the roads were all flooded – there were even fallen trees in the roads. He visited Beaune Grèves and said he was almost frightened to see the quantity of water coming down the vineyards towards his car, all boiling and brown. The scene was apparently apocalyptic, with leaves strewn about the ground. A quick glance in the heavy rain made him think losses could be 50% – he heard from growers in Savigny and Volnay who said 60-90% losses. They are all a bit emotional right now as very many in the Côte de Beaune desperately needed a good volume this year. A better idea of losses will come with the new light tomorrow, and when the emotions have dimmed a little.

I would have added some of the photos that are now filling facebook and twitter – but it just seems too voyeuristic. As for the insecticide discussion, we put that to bed – the leaf-hoppers will anyway have been drowned…

A subsequent note from ‘a man in Aloxe’:

As you know, hail yesterday at c. 4pm was both widespread and intense – almost exclusively in the Cote de Beaune.

I spoke with a few people we work with this morning. In northern Meursault and especially throughout Volnay and Pommard ( serious and widespread in both villages ) , Savigny ( several village plots and Les Lavières ) and the Beaune vineyards ( Beaune Premier Crus – Bressandes, Greves, Les Cents Vignes, Clos des Avaux too ).

Re. the point you raise in Big Red Diary about where the border lay, I would say right about here on north side of Aloxe-Corton. I was in Aloxe-Corton all of yesterday afternoon and we seemed to be on the cusp of the weather with a lot of torrential rain but little powerful hail – our village plot of Les Caillettes is fortunately fine, but behind us further up the hill of Corton there is some damage.

Leave a Reply to Roelof LigtmansCancel reply

There are 7 responses to “more hail in the côte de beaune…”

  1. Roelof Ligtmans23rd July 2013 at 7:27 pmPermalinkReply

    So far, a bit of rain (3 mm) in Mercurey, but no hail (yet); forecast is for some more rainstorms tomorrow, then temperatures will start rising again to 35 °C, to finish with yet more stormy weather at the end of the weekend. Great!

  2. laure23rd July 2013 at 8:47 pmPermalinkReply

    Hi Bill, no hail yet in Santenay. The lower part of the village has been more touched by the storm but nothing devastating.. We can now still hear the thunder but it seems to be much far away now. This is a nightmare!

  3. westyswineworld24th July 2013 at 2:56 amPermalinkReply

    What a disaster. The poor folk have had a nightmare run over the last 4 years. Will be some people really hurting especially have had to finance inheritance taxes, new yineyards and/or equipment

  4. Jacob31st July 2013 at 9:20 amPermalinkReply

    In a Dutch Newspaper one spoke about a “Disaster in Burgundy”, ‘within 30 minutes complete Burgundy harvest 2013 gone’. What’s the latest news about the hail damage last week?

    • billn5th August 2013 at 8:28 pmPermalinkReply

      Lots of heavy rain the weekend after Jacob – and more thunder today too – but no more damage. The hail seems to have started on the northern border of Meursault (just!) and gone as far as the hill of Corton. The Côte de Nuits was not touched. Storms are forcast for tomnorrow though…

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