[Global 'Agricultural Talk'] France’s wine production declines: Why precision viticulture is needed

[Global 'Agricultural Talk': Encompassing the Future of Agriculture] Han Chang-ho, Senior Researcher, KIST Europe
 

Recently, French wine production has remained at a low level. According to Agreste, the statistical service of France’s Ministry of Agriculture, France’s wine production in 2024 was about 36.9 million hectoliters, down 23% from the previous year. It was also 17% lower than the average for the past five years. Production in 2025 also stayed at about 36.2 million hectoliters, continuing the low production level. 

Global wine production also recorded low levels for three consecutive years through 2025. However, this cannot all be seen simply as poor harvests caused by climate change. While it is true that extreme weather events in many production regions have had a major impact on output, structural adjustments are also underway to reduce vineyard area and production capacity in line with declining consumption.

Factors behind the decline in production
In 2024, French vineyards simultaneously faced multiple adverse conditions, including low temperatures and excessive moisture during flowering, spring frost, hail, and downy mildew. In 2025, heat waves and drought in some regions accelerated grape ripening, but the fruit did not grow sufficiently, reducing production.
Meanwhile, in the consumer market, demand for wine—especially red wine—has been declining over the long term. In response, the French government is also implementing support programs to permanently remove vines and reduce cultivated area. In other words, the decline in production includes not only climate damage but also policy decisions to adjust supply to changed demand.
The challenge for the French wine industry is not to restore production volume unconditionally. Apart from adjusting the production structure in response to changes in consumption, it must reduce volatility in production volume and quality caused by heat waves, drought, frost, and disease. This article focuses on precision viticulture technologies that identify such climate risks earlier and manage uncertainty in harvests and quality.

Grapes are sensitive to climate change
Grapevines are perennial crops that are cultivated in the same place for a long time once planted. Even if temperature and precipitation change, it is difficult to easily change the cultivation region or variety every year.

Rising temperatures bring forward the timing of grape budburst, flowering, and ripening. While sugar content rises quickly, acidity decreases, and the composition and characteristics of aromas can change. If late frost, torrential rain, and drought occur repeatedly, not only production volume but also the taste and quality of wine change. In France, where the soil, varieties, and cultivation methods of specific regions have formed the identity of wine, climate adaptation becomes a question of how to carry on tradition.

Technology that detects vineyard abnormalities first
In Europe, precision viticulture technologies are expanding that use satellite imagery, drones, and soil and weather sensors to monitor vineyard conditions by zone. By analyzing leaf color and temperature, soil moisture, and crop growth status, it is possible to identify water shortages or the likelihood of disease before they can be confirmed with the naked eye.

Artificial intelligence-based decision-support technologies are used to synthesize this information and determine when, where, and how much water, fertilizer, or crop protection products should be applied. Instead of treating all vineyards with the same amount, inputs are applied precisely to the areas that need them, reducing the use of water and agricultural materials and enabling faster responses to climate shocks.
The purpose of this technology is not simply to maximize yield. Its greater significance lies in reducing large year-to-year fluctuations in production volume and quality and increasing the predictability of stable cultivation with limited resources.

Varieties and cultivation methods are also one pillar of adaptation
Precision technologies are useful for quickly understanding vineyard conditions and regulating the input of agricultural materials, but long-term climate adaptation also requires changes in varieties and cultivation systems. In France, research is underway to find late-ripening varieties, disease-resistant varieties, and rootstocks adapted to drought.

Soil cover and organic matter management, canopy management that regulates sunlight and transpiration, and precision irrigation technologies that optimize water input are also being tested. However, introducing new varieties requires reviewing not only cultivation feasibility but also the taste and regional character of the wine and consumer acceptance. Therefore, a process is needed in which farmers, researchers, and wine producers jointly conduct long-term trials in actual vineyards and accumulate the results.

Points of reference for Korean agricultural technology
The changes in the French wine industry are not limited to grapes. Crops such as fruit trees, tea, and ginseng, which are cultivated for a long time in one region and for which taste and quality are important, can also be directly affected by climate change. 

In Korea as well, it is necessary not to stop at restoring damage after abnormal weather occurs, but to strengthen regional observation systems that detect crop water stress and diseases early. At the same time, varieties and cultivation methods suitable for the future climate must be verified over the long term on actual farms, and the results must be provided in forms that farmers can use.

Agricultural technology cannot turn back the climate of the past. However, it can detect changes early and broaden the response options available to farmers. What the changes in French vineyards show is that, even to preserve tradition, a transition in cultivation technology and production methods is necessary.

※ This manuscript was written based on public materials from France’s Ministry of Agriculture Agreste, the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), the French Institute of Vine and Wine (IFV), and the European Union.