No doubt about it: 2024 was a challenging year for French wine growers, thanks to a spring of extreme weather events caused by climate change. There was hail the size of walnuts in Beaujolais and Bordeaux. In Provence, an unseasonably warm March woke all the vines early, only to have savage April frosts nip them in the bud. Worst of all, however, was the rain—months and months of it, right across the country. In fact, 2024 was the fourth-wettest year since records began in 1959. In a vineyard, too much rain brings disease (mildew and other fungal infections) that can wipe out an entire crop if left unchecked.
Conventional farmers rely on systemic chemical sprays to control things—chemicals that get inside the fruit and therefore into the wine. Organic farmers refuse to use them, turning instead to “Bordeaux mixture.” This is a mild solution of copper sulphate and lime that works well but gets washed off by heavy rain. It needs regular reapplication, as often as twice a week in dire times. Even then, it’s not always effective. In Beaujolais, some organic growers lost half their fruit to mildew. For others, like Pierre Prost of Château de Javernand in Chiroubles, losses were negligible.
Prost credits this to “a good sprayer and reactivity.” In other words, the tireless dedication needed to thoroughly protect the vines, again and again, after each rainfall. No doubt it helped that his property was in peak condition to begin with. As a founding member of Vigneron.ne.s du Vivant en Beaujolais (VVB), he is one of 25 wine growers in the region who employ agroecological farming, promoting biodiversity and balance by planting hedgerows and trees and encouraging ground cover in the vineyard, restoring life to the soil.
Prost calls the practice “peasant common sense.” He points out that it is particularly helpful against another result of climate change: summers of extreme heat and drought. Ground cover keeps the soil cooler and enriches it with plant matter that increases water retention.
While random extreme weather events have wreaked havoc all over France in recent years, the gradual global warming that exacerbates matters has also had an effect. The average grape harvest in the country now takes place three weeks earlier than it did 30 years ago. Wine grapes are sensitive enough to evolve and adapt to a slow increase in temperature, but there may be a price to pay.
The great Pinot Noirs of Burgundy, just to the north of Beaujolais, owe a lot of their edgy perfection and ethereal grace to the region’s cool climate. Some critics mutter that warmer summers and earlier ripening could eventually coarsen the wines.
Adaptability has become the watchword among French vignerons, with some decidedly radical measures now being mentioned. Like Pinot Noir, thin-skinned Gamay, the great red grape of Beaujolais, is particularly sensitive to rot. Prost is serious when he mentions a potential last resort of replacing it with a hardier variety. Other grapes and hybrid varieties are more resistant to mildew. But the notion of a red Beaujolais that isn’t Gamay seems inconceivable.
Another equally drastic option would be to leave the beloved land and relocate. Down in the southern Rhône Valley, Rodolphe de Pins, experienced the same rains in 2024. He is an owner and winemaker of Château de Montfaucon in Lirac. By the time they ended in July, he had lost half of his crop. “If it becomes impossible to grow good grapes in good condition where we are,” he muses, “maybe we should think of moving to other regions where conditions are better.”
Northern France is getting warmer. It was once a joke to imagine vineyards in Normandy, but it’s already happening. Check out intense, spicy Arpents du Soleil Révélation Pinot Noir, from the heart of Normandy’s traditional cider and Calvados country, if you ever get the chance.
One thing de Pins won’t consider is giving up on organic farming. Not so much for business reasons (export markets in North America and northern Europe favour organic wines) as for his own beliefs. “To me,” he says, “being organic is more of a life principle—doing what’s good for the fruit, for people’s health and for the environment.”
Frédéric Berne is another young producer and founding member of the VVB. He not only farms organically but also biodynamically. The health of the soil and the entire ecosystem of his domain is maximized with natural compost accelerators applied according to a cosmic calendar.
Despite intense efforts in the vineyard last year, he lost fruit to mildew—between five and 20 percent in parts of the property. But he has no interest in compromise. Instead of looking for ways to adapt, he intends to keep calm and carry on, “continuing to work on microbiology and the supply of nutrients to strengthen the plants.”
The dreadful spring weather in 2024 tested French wine producers to the limit; late-summer sunshine, however, redeemed the vintage. Quantities are down, but it will be an excellent year for Rhône wines, while in Beaujolais, says Prost, 2024 has given nuanced wines that are less intense than in hot years—a positive characteristic.
The hard work paid off, and anyone who loves French wines has reason to be grateful. What will happen next year, and the next, remains to be seen.
James Chatto’s list of top French organic wines
Chiroubles Indigène Beaujolais 2023
Organic wines often taste intangibly vibrant and alive, like Pierre Prost’s unfiltered Indigène, a smooth, round Beaujolais full of spicy-black-cherry, red-berry and floral notes. Light on its feet but decidedly serious wine.
Price: 22.90shop now
La Cote Côtes du Rhône
Notes of red berries and violets and a touch of spice enliven this classic Côtes du Rhône wine, which is available in British Columbia and Alberta. A great accompaniment to lamb chops off the grill.
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Chinon Loire Valley Organic 2023
Here’s a classic Loire Cabernet Franc, unoaked but with a subtle tannic structure under all the dancing plum, bramble and floral aromatics. It’s hard to think of a better wine to accompany a platter of charcuterie.
Price: 23.95shop now
Belleruche Côtes-du-Rhône AOC
Michel Chapoutier is one of the Rhône’s great producers, and his many wine estates are biodynamically farmed. This gorgeous white blend breathes tangerine, peach and orange blossom—perfect before and during dinner.
Price: 14.99shop now
P181 Extra Brut Champagne
A bold brut with fruit-forward aromas of yellow plum and a touch of smoky lychee. Mostly Chardonnay, it’s bright and elegant and comes from the first Champagne Grande Maison to produce an organic bubbly.
Price: 84.95shop now
Rosé Gris Blanc
A treat for lovers of ethereally pale southern rosé with the merest hints of red berry, herbs and minerality, all as subtle as the colour. The exemplary balance and length make it a favourite aperitif—or serve it with sashimi.
Price: 21.01shop now
Interested in more wine recommendations? Take a look at our list of the best canned wines of summer 2025. Also check out this round-up of the best made-in-Canada wines.
