The 2026 vintage will be remembered for its exceptionally early timing in Bourgogne. Harvesting began as early as 8 August in the Mâconnais for Crémant de Bourgogne, before progressively spreading across the winegrowing region. For still wines, picking really got under way the day after 15 August. Surprisingly, the final bunches arrived at the winery just before mid-September.

This historic early start was the result of a particularly hot and dry season. After a mild, wet winter that replenished water reserves in the soils, the growing cycle began early. Spring frosts, rapid growth, lightning-fast flowering, poor fruit set and successive heatwaves shaped the season.

Despite around 60 days above 30°C and a significant rainfall deficit, the vines generally held up well. These conditions also prevented disease development, resulting in grapes in particularly healthy condition.

The first indications in terms of quality are very encouraging: the musts show impressive richness while retaining balance and freshness, with great aromatic purity, deep colours and particularly expressive profiles.

The Bourgogne Wine Board will publish its official harvest estimate in mid-November, providing a clearer picture of 2026 vintage volumes. The harvest is expected to be smaller than the ten-year average (1.45 million hectolitres).

Download some photos from the press conference of the Comité des vins de Bourgogne that was held on 23 September: 
https://docsend.com/view/s/agyb9jm84n4ceuvv

In a global wine market still under pressure, Bourgogne is managing to preserve part of its momentum. Over the 12 months to the end of July 2026, bottled still wine sales fell by 1.3%, to 166 million bottles. Including Crémant de Bourgogne, sales were virtually stable (+0.05%), with almost 200 million bottles marketed over the period.

Performance varies sharply by category:
- White wines edged up by 0.4%, supported in particular by Chablis and Petit Chablis, as well as the Régionale Bourgogne and Mâcon AOCs.
- Red wines, by contrast, recorded a more marked decline of 4.9% year on year.
- Crémant de Bourgogne continued to grow, up 6.5%, and now accounts for 17% of the wine region’s bottled sales volumes, compared with 12% in 2021.

As a result of these trends and recent harvests, stocks of still wines were down 2.8% at the end of July 2026 compared with July 2025, while remaining slightly above the average for the past five campaigns. With the 2026 vintage also expected to deliver below-average yields, these available stocks provide a useful buffer to help continue meeting demand.

Find more details on mass distribution and export markets in our economic press release.

Download some photos from the press conference of the Comité des vins de Bourgogne that was held on September 23:
https://docsend.com/view/s/agyb9jm84n4ceuvv
 

The decree was approved this summer: the Mâcon and Viré-Clessé AOCs have secured changes to their specifications, notably to include new grape varieties. Mâcon is also adjusting its planting densities.

Aligoté, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris are now authorised as secondary grape varieties. They may represent up to 10% of the planted area and account for up to 15% of the wine blend.

Melon and Sacy, grape varieties that have almost disappeared from Bourgogne, are now authorised as VIFA (Variétés d’Intérêt à des Fins d’Adaptation – varieties of interest for adaptation purposes): they may represent 5% of the planted area and up to 10% of blends.

At the same time, planting densities for the Mâcon AOC may be reduced from 7,000 to 5,000 vines per hectare, with slightly taller vines and row spacing of 2.20m. The aim is to improve airflow through the parcels to reduce disease risk, while limiting competition between vines as droughts become increasingly frequent.

The loss of yield, which is very limited when moving from 7,000 to 5,000 vines per hectare, will be offset by a larger leaf area. This makes it possible to ripen slightly more bunches on each vine. Above all, variations caused by climatic events, particularly frost, can also be reduced.

It will take a few years before these changes become visible in the landscape: parcels will only be replanted following complete grubbing-up. In addition, the new densities require changes in equipment, so investment will necessarily take place over time.

Other appellation management bodies are considering similar changes.