From Decanter:
Burgundy hit by ‘worst frost since 1981’
A severe frost swept across Burgundy vineyards on the night of 26 April, causing a ‘great deal of stress’ for winemakers, according to the Burgundy wine bureau (BIVB).
A spring freeze affected much of Europe this week, with April snow briefly seen in Champagne. There are concerns in several wine regions about potential damage to first buds, and early reports suggest the Loire was also hit badly.
In Burgundy, producers were still assessing the damage and more detailed reports should emerge in the next week.
‘Such a frost is unseen since 1981 and it could have consequences not only on the yields of the Burgundy 2016 harvest but also on the yields of 2017,’ Caroline Parent-Gros, of Domaine AF Gros in Pommard, told Decanter.com.
Not to forget that the winter of 1981-82 was also an exceptionally cold one in both the USA and Europe. These weather patterns come in cycles and are not 'unique' in the slightest. More here, here, here, and here. I was living in Boston at the time and the city was shut down for days at a time. This was the same kind of weather pattern that we are seeing today (and last winter too) on the East cost.
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