France braces for slump in wine output on weather woes

FILE PHOTO: French Champagne-maker Charles Philipponnat, who doctors put into an induced coma for a week as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ravaged his body in October and awoke to find he had partially lost his senses, checks his Champagne vineyard in Mareuil-sur-Ay, France, April 14, 2021. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo

PARIS (Reuters) - France's wine production could drop by as much as 30% this year to its lowest level in decades after vineyards were hit by spring frosts and summer downpours, its farm ministry said.

The weather toll on the harvest could bring further headaches for a French wine sector that has seen demand dented over the past year by the coronavirus pandemic and U.S. tariffs.