Wine yield : The viticultural yield is the agronomic yield of a vineyard, that is to say the ratio between production, expressed either in volume of wine or in mass of raisin, and the surface area of the cultivated vineyard.
This yield is considered one of the determinants of the quality of a wine; it also partly determines the income of the winegrower.
Units of measure : Several units of measurement are used to measure performance:
– either kilograms of grapes per hectare (kg/ha, unit used in the Champagne vineyard), tonnes per hectare (t/ha) or tonnes per acre (TPA, used in America);
– or hectoliters of wine per hectare (hℓ/ha, used in the majority of French vineyards);
– or hectoliters of pure alcohol per hectare (hℓ AP/ha, used for wines intended to makecalvados).
Examples : a harvester from Marne declares that his production intended to make champagne is 12 kilograms per hectare; a Burgundian winegrower declares having harvested a red Burgundy at 000 hectoliters per hectare.
The conversion between the two main units of measurement of yield (kg/ha and hℓ/ha) is done according to the juice yield, which varies in particular according to the grape variety (the berries and the bunches are more or less large, the clone and rootstock more or less productive), viticultural practices (irrigation), year and type of pressing. For the yields of champagne, the conversion is set by the specifications of the appellation:
– to go from kg/ha to hℓ/ha, you must multiply by 0,006375;
– to go from hℓ/ha to kg/ha, you must multiply by 156,86.
These values can be used for White wine ; In Red wine, to go from hℓ/ha to kg/ha, the multiplier varies from approximately 135 (for vines to small berries, such as Cabernet Sauvignon) to 115 (for grape varieties with large berries as is'aramon).
Variations : The yield will depend on the grape variety (more or less productive), the soil (fertility, drainage, slope), the age of the vines, viticultural practices (planting density, size, fertilizer, grass cover, irrigation, leaf area, disbudding, green harvest, etc.), the year (drought, hail, frost, sunshine, diseases, rain before the harvest, etc.), the type of vintage (systematic or sorted) and pressing.
The yield potential of a plot can be estimated even before the harvest, based on the density (number of vines per hectare), the load (i.e. the number of eyes left during pruning) , fertility (number of clusters per eye) and average weight of a cluster. The winegrower can, thanks to this estimate, act or not to reduce his production.
Until the first half of the XNUMXth century, yields were relatively low: fungi, insects and the climate regularly destroyed part of the production. Technological advances make it possible to mitigate these risks, mainly through the use of chemical products. Grapes that rotted during rainy summers are now protected by fungicides; insect pests are destroyed by insecticides, etc. “Yields increased and practically doubled during the second half of the XNUMXth century. This is not surprising, as the methods of cultivation and protection of the vineyard have improved greatly.” The use of fertilizers, phytosanitary products and the selection of productive plants have thus enabled a significant increase in yields.
- Influence on quality : On the question of how yield influences the quality of wine, there are two opposing points of view. The most common is to consider that low yields give riper grapes (especially in cool years) and more concentrated wines, while high yields tend to dilute the grapes. taste. There is a relationship between yield and accumulation in sugars in the juice.
“The yield of the vines, expressed by their production (kilos of grapes or hectoliters of wine) per hectare, is a key factor in the quality of the grapes. A harvest that is too abundant never matures, because the zip codes exhaust themselves unnecessarily by feeding too many clusters at a time. In order to protect the quality of the wines and the longevity of the vines, thedesignation Margaux has set a limit which is generally the most restrictive in the Médoc.”
The other point of view is to consider that a producer can increase his yield without lowering the quality of his wine, provided he has a high density per hectare. A slightly high yield counteracts the excess sugar andalcohol due to strong sunshine (in a context of global warming), slowing down the speed of maturation, avoiding the need to subsequently acidify the wine by addition.
- Limitations in France : In France, yields are most often limited, subject to a mandatory annual declaration by the winegrower which can be controlled by the DGDDI (customs and indirect duties) and the DGCCRF (Fraud).
- Legal constraints : For wines under a protected designation of origin (AOP, corresponding to AOC), two viticultural yields are indicated in each specification: the maximum yield and the “stop yield”.
“The yield fixed in the specifications of a controlled designation of origin corresponds to the maximum quantity of grapes or the equivalent in volume of wine or must harvested per hectare of vine for which the designation can be claimed in the harvest declaration. It is expressed either in kilograms of grapes per hectare, or in hectoliters of must per hectare, or in hectoliters of wine per hectare. In these last two cases, this volume is understood after separation of the lees and muds.
— Article R645-7 of the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code.
As the yield of the different designations can be modified (upwards or downwards) each year by ministerial decree, the specifications mention a “cut-off yield” which serves as a limit not to be exceeded.
For wines benefiting from a protected geographical indication (PGI, the old local wines), the yield is generally limited to a maximum of 90 to 120 hectoliters per hectare. For wines without geographical indication (VSIG, old table wines), the yield is not capped, but it is estimated that 250 hℓ/ha is the maximum yield allowing 9% vol. of minimum alcohol entering into the definition of wine14. Volumes exceeding these yields are sent to industrial distillation (to make ethanol used as fuel).
- Ranking limit ceiling : A “classification limit ceiling” (PLC) is in France an authorization to exceed the maximum yield set by the appellation decree. This ceiling is expressed as a percentage, it is issued annually by the INAO at the request of the appellation unions and cannot exceed the target yield. Exceeding the PLC results in the loss of the right to the appellation for this wine, sent for distillation.
The PLC was created in 1974, with rates of 10, 20 or 30% which are modified annually by decree, then since 1991 by ministerial decree.
For example, for the 2007 vintage, the classification limit ceilings are: 56% for Crémant de Bourgogne, 30% for Chambolle-Musigny, 67% for Pauillac, 25% for Champagne, 20% for Richebourg, Saint-Emilion and Floc de Gascogne, 12,5% for Riesling from Alsace, 10% for Bordeaux and Côte-Rôtie, 8,33% for Muscadet, etc.
– Individual additional volume: An “individual complementary volume” (VCI) is a production volume beyond the yield of a French wine appellation, within the limit of the threshold yield, which is kept as a reserve to be used the following year in the event of a low harvest, to supplement or replace part of that year's production. It is therefore a question of assembling two different vintages, and of selling the whole with the indication of a single year.
This possibility was first tested, from 2005 in the Chablis vineyard (for all Chablis), then from 2010 in the Bordeaux vineyard (for almost all red Bordeaux), before being authorized for all the white wines (apart from sparkling wines, late harvests and sweet wines) by a decree of November 2013.
Although almost each appellation has a specific yield, these are systematically high for wines intended for distillation and for sparkling wines, lower for whites, even lower for reds and very low for sweet wines. The more prestigious the designation, the lower the ceiling yield.
(Example of maximum: At Château d'Yquem, the yield is only 9 hectoliters per hectare, while the maximum authorized by the Sauternes appellation is 25 hℓ/ha).
– wine to makearmagnac, 160 hℓ/ha (i.e. 12 hℓ of pure alcohol);
– IGP Côtes-de-Gascogne, 120 hℓ/ha;
– IGP Pays-d’Oc, 80 hℓ/ha;
- Alsace, 80 hℓ/ha;
– Crémant de Bourgogne, 78 hℓ/ha;
– champagne, 65 hℓ/ha (i.e. 10 kg/ha).
– white burgundy, varying depending on the appellation from 67 to 55 hℓ/ha;
– muscadet, 65 hℓ/ha;
– Beaujolais, 64 hℓ/ha;
– white Burgundy, varying depending on the appellation from 60 to 40 hℓ/ha;
- alsace grand cru, 55 hℓ/ha;
– red burgundy, varying depending on the appellation from 60 to 46 hℓ/ha;
– red Burgundy, varying depending on the appellation from 55 to 35 hℓ/ha;
– soft, varying depending on the appellation from 45 to 40 hℓ/ha;
– sweet and VDN, varying depending on the appellation from 40 to 20 hℓ/ha.
Averages: According to annual declarations, the average yield in France for all wines produced is 61,01 hectoliters per hectare in 2002, 56,51 in 2003, 70,06 in 2004, 63,1 in 2005, 63,33. 2006 in 56,99, 2007 in 52,86, 2008 in 58,35 and 2009 hectoliters per hectare in XNUMX. Details for this last year:
– 23,42 hectoliters per hectare for VDN;
– 50,18 hectoliters per hectare for AOCs including VDNs;
– 50,93 hectoliters per hectare for AOCs other than VDN;
– 60,76 hectoliters per hectare for VDQS;
– 101,42 hectoliters per hectare for wines intended to be transformed into eaux-de-vie (essentially cognac et armagnac);
– 60,96 hectoliters per hectare for other wines (IGP and VSIG).
Averages by country:
Only two states have established yield limits: Italy and France.
Vat vineyards, in hectares |
wine production, in hℓ |
Average yields, in hℓ/ha |
|
---|---|---|---|
South Africa | 105 500 | 9 986 000 | 94 |
Albania | ? | 175 000 | ? |
Algeria | ? | 588 000 | ? |
Germany | 100 100 | 9 228 000 | 92 |
Argentina | 211 700 | 12 135 000 | 57 |
Australia | 157 300 | 11 710 000 | 74 |
Austria | 45 100 | 2 352 000 | 52 |
Brazil | 49 300 | 2 720 000 | 55 |
Bulgaria | ? | 1 397 000 | ? |
Canada | 9 600 | 530 000 | 55 |
Chile | 120 300 | 10 093 000 | 83 |
China | ? | 12 800 000 | ? |
Cyprus | 10 400 | 145 000 | 13 |
Croatia | ? | 1 424 000 | ? |
Spain | 1 049 900 | 35 166 000 | 33 |
USA | 255 200 | 21 965 000 | 86 |
France | 786 600 | 46 269 000 | 58 |
Georgia | ? | 900 000 | ? |
Greece | 66 200 | 3 366 000 | 50 |
Hungary | ? | 3 198 000 | ? |
Israel | ? | 230 000 | ? |
Italy | 686 400 | 47 314 000 | 68 |
Japan | ? | 867 000 | ? |
Lebanon | ? | 70 000 | ? |
Luxembourg | 1 200 | 135 000 | 112 |
Macedonia | ? | 955 000 | ? |
Morocco | 9 200 | 330 000 | 35 |
Mexico | ? | 369 000 | ? |
Moldova | ? | 1 240 000 | ? |
New Zealand | ? | 2 050 000 | ? |
Peru | ? | 515 000 | ? |
Portugal | ? | 5 868 000 | ? |
République tchèque | ? | 570 000 | ? |
Romania | 188 000 | 6 703 000 | 35 |
Russia | ? | 7 126 000 | ? |
Serbia | ? | 2 392 000 | ? |
Slovakia | 18 700 | 346 000 | 18 |
Slovenia | ? | 539 000 | ? |
Switzerland | 13 600 | 1 112 000 | 81 |
Tunisia | ? | 245 000 | ? |
Turkey | ? | 499 000 | ? |
Ukraine | ? | 3 181 000 | ? |
Uruguay | 7 700 | 629 000 | 81 |
Monde | ? | 271 061 000 | ? |
(*) Grape production is not devoted solely to the production of wine, but also to that of table grapes costs grape juice and raisins.