Rain, hail and drought: organic French winemakers feel pinch

Fuisse, France

"THIS isn't so much a harvest, as a hunt for grapes," said French winemaker Jean-Jacques Robert, with a rueful laugh as he unloaded grapes still warm from his vineyards around Fuisse in Burgundy.

"It's a catastrophe, the worst harvest for 30 or 40 years," said the normally cheery 64-year-old owner of Domaine Robert-Denogent.