Great European wine grapes, just not many to harvest

A customer helps a vendor transport crates of grapes for wine production at Malveira farmer's market, north of Lisbon September 15, 2011. REUTERS/Jose Manuel Ribeiro

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Europe is in the midst of another crisis: not debt, but grapes. Yields are sharply lower, down nearly 40 percent in some of parts of Portugal, which means winemakers will have fewer grapes to blend and, in the end, fewer bottles to offer.

The situation is even worse in parts of Burgundy, where hail storms pummelled vineyards in Pommard, Santenay and Volnay destroying nearly 80 percent of the harvest, according to the Burgundy Wine Board (BIVB). When the growers were not fighting cold weather or hail, mildew and fungus threatened.