This summer’s very hot temperatures have damaged vines in southern France to the extent that production will be reduced, but the heat may produce a crop of “excellent” quality, winemaker Jerome Voll said as he harvested grapes in the early hours of today for to avoid the heat.

A heatwave has hit large parts of France in recent days with temperatures expected to reach 42C in the wine-growing Rhone Valley this week.

“This year the harvest has been delayed, which will make the quality of the grapes even better and therefore increase the cost of the wine, as the velvety texture and aromas that will emerge will make for a rather excellent wine from the 2023 vintage,” he said. Vol from his vineyard in Valvinières in the Ardes department.

The decline in production will amount to between 10% and 20% in the region, but production will be of higher quality, said Voll, who represents the county’s winemakers.

“The heat is not bad if it doesn’t last long, but it does burn the grapes a bit and so we lose some production as winemakers,” he said.

The 49-year-old vintner, who uses machines to harvest his grapes, said he got to work on his vines at 3am.

Authorities advised winegrowers to work in the early hours of the morning to avoid exposure to extreme heat.

Harvesting at night also allows the grapes to be kept cooler, which means less energy is used and any damage to the harvest or deterioration in aromas is avoided, Voll pointed out.

Jérôme Depsy, a winemaker working with varieties from Languedoc in southern France and first vice-president of France’s largest farmers’ union (FNSEA), told Reuters that heat damage would lead to lower wine production this year in southern France overall .