Loire frost may cause wine shortages; heavy hailstorm hits Mâconnais; catastrophic hail in frost-affected Chablis, Beaujolais and Cognac; Languedoc vines suffer worst hail in living memory; drought and soaring temperatures in Roussillon: these are just some of the tragic headlines describing the French 2016 grape harvest.

Traditionally, grape picking in France (known as vendange) takes place in September but it often starts in August and sometimes ends as late as October. In fact, the harvest start date depends on how ripe the grapes are, and this varies from year to year and from region to region.

For many of France’s wine regions, this year’s concerns have been less so in terms of timing and quality but more about quantity. Severe spring frost and freak storms late in the season and recent heatwaves have reduced the yield in various parts of the country.

It’s too early to dramatise, but prices are expected to rise as a wine production of 42.9m hectolitres (hl) is forecast for 2016, down from last year’s 47.8m hl.