The Northern Hemisphere harvests are now complete and all have come in lighter than average, though the shortfalls in Italy and Spain (both estimated by OIV to be -9% versus the five-year average) are not dramatic in an historical context, unlike France’s very light 34 million hectolitres, down 27% since 2020. We estimate California’s crop to be short of the 4-million-ton mark that could be said to be the approximate state ‘average’, though not as short as 2020’s 3.4 million tons.  These short crops north of the equator have ensured this year’s global wine production will be – according to the OIV – “extremely low” at 247.1-253.5 million hectolitres, down from a provisional figure for 2020 of 262 million and 7% down from the 20-year average. However, it ought to be noted that the OIV also identified the 2021 Southern Hemisphere as having had a “record-high” crop, up 19% versus 2020, with only New Zealand seein