Harsh weather to cut French wine output by 12% this year

PARIS (Reuters) - French wine production will fall 12% this year after vines were damaged by spring frosts, drought and hail, but quality will remain generally good, the agriculture ministry said on Tuesday. In its second estimate for 2019, the ministry forecast production of 43.4 million hectolitres, down from 49.4 million in 2018 when output had benefited from good weather condition. Last month the farm ministry put French output in 2019 in a range of 42.8 million to 46.4 million hectolitres.A..