Coulure shrinks 2013 Grenache crop

Down here in the Languedoc we have so far been spared the serious storm/hail damage that has afflicted Burgundy's Côte de Beaune and the Entre Deux Mers in Bordeaux. But one thing everyone has been complaining of is the extent to which the Grenache grapes, of which more than 90,000 ha are grown in southern France, have been affected by coulure, to which it is particularly susceptible. The berries set unevenly and the smallest ones simply drop to the ground. Although we have been taught to be wary of over-generous yields, coulure can seriously reduce the size of the potential...