A record year for 2024!

The forecasts are unanimous: the harvest is down by at least 20% in many French wine-growing regions. The same applies to our Spanish and Italian friends.

This will be a record year, as the harvest is set to be the lowest on record for 100 years. This situation is the result of a number of factors, which can be seen as a blessing in disguise.

On the positive side:

Stocks will firm up and prices will start to rise again.
The drop in the harvest, resulting in particular from a reduction in the area under vines, will enable supply and demand to be readjusted over the coming years.

Given that a significant proportion of winegrowers will be retiring, the readjustment of the vineyard can only continue. The trough is here and we believe that the vineyard will be repositioned.

Supply and demand will therefore automatically adjust. Tension on the markets may have beneficial effects on wine-growing land, with a readjustment in prices.

The regions currently most affected offer the best opportunities

Aquitaine and the Grand Vignoble Bordelais have never been so rich in supply. Objectively, properties of all sizes are available on the market at excellent value for money.
The Languedoc region also offers competitively priced vineyards, although particular attention needs to be paid to areas where there is no solution to the water deficit.
In the Rhône Valley, some movement is underway, and the reduction in vineyard numbers will enable a rebound, with positions to be taken over the coming months.
Provence is facing a special situation, caused by the tightness of the rosé export market in the 2 main markets, the US and Asia. This is having an immediate impact on land prices, which are stabilising and falling in some micro-zones.
Burgundy and Champagne remain 2 markets apart. In Burgundy, there are still very few plots of land available, so prices are firm, and in Champagne, financial ratios are stable and the market is still under control thanks to the dynamism of the major Houses and small, quality winegrowers.
Despite the vagaries of the weather, prices in the Loire remain firm, as there has been no inflation either in wine prices or in land prices.
As for the other vineyards, Savoie and Corsica are 2 highly sought-after regions, and prices remain very firm.

In conclusion, there is still a dynamic in vineyard transactions despite the decline in the wine market. Vineyards remain part of our heritage and offer a place of refuge in the current climate of uncertainty. The property market remains a secure market with opportunities to be seized.

The Vinea Transaction team 🍇✨