Winegrowers estimated crop losses of 30% to 80% after tennis ball-sized hail damaged homes, cars and power lines.

A violent hailstorm that swept through France’s Ardèche department on Wednesday caused heavy damage to vineyards, homes, cars and public infrastructure, with winegrowers estimating crop losses of 30% to 80% depending on the site.

The storm hit the southern part of the department in the afternoon, especially around Aubenas and Vals-les-Bains, according to local authorities and emergency services cited by AFP and reported by La Revue du vin de France. Some hailstones were as large as tennis balls, images that quickly spread on social media as residents began assessing the scale of the damage.

Emergency crews carried out about 100 interventions, mainly linked to flooding near Aubenas and Vals-les-Bains. In Aubenas, city officials said hundreds of vehicles were damaged and that roofs were torn open, windows shattered and roof tiles ripped away or destroyed. The municipality said it was still too early to establish a final tally but added that many homes, businesses, farms and several public facilities had been affected.

The storm also disrupted power service. The Ardèche prefecture said nearly 600 households lost electricity Wednesday evening after power lines were damaged. Enedis said service had been almost fully restored by Thursday morning.

For the wine sector, the storm came at a critical point in the growing season. Ludovic Walbaum, secretary general of the Independent Winegrowers of France and based in Ardèche, said the episode was particularly severe and could leave losses ranging from 30% to 80% depending on which vineyards were hit. He described it as a hard blow for growers who had been expecting a very good harvest this year.

A more precise assessment is expected in the coming hours and days as producers inspect parcels and report damage. The Ardèche Chamber of Agriculture has posted an online form for farmers to declare losses linked to the hail event.

The damage matters beyond agriculture because Ardèche is part of a broader French wine economy in which weather shocks can reduce grape supply for wineries and put pressure on volumes available for future bottlings. If the higher loss estimates are confirmed across a meaningful share of vineyards, the storm could affect production plans for local wine producers and related beverage businesses that depend on the region’s harvest.

Weather risks remained a concern after the first storm passed. Météo-France placed Ardèche under a new yellow thunderstorm alert starting at noon Thursday and lasting through the night into Friday morning. At the same time, around 15 departments in central-eastern France were under an orange alert for thunderstorms later in the day and overnight.

The latest storm adds to a long pattern of climate-related pressure on French vineyards, where hail can destroy fruit in minutes even when vines survive. In steep vineyard areas such as those found in parts of Ardèche, recovery can be especially difficult because access is harder and reworking damaged plots takes more time and labor. For growers already facing volatile weather from one season to the next, this week’s hailstorm threatens not only this year’s crop but also cash flow tied to the coming vintage.

Source - https://www.vinetur.com