French growers want ban lifted on hybrid grapes

French growers are urging Brussels and Paris to lift a long-standing ban on hybrid grapes, arguing the vines could help vineyards cope with heat, drought and disease while reducing chemical use.

In the Loire Valley, retired grower Daniel Mondon has championed old hybrids such as Baco, Seibel and Couderc, saying he farmed without pesticides and still achieved healthy vines and low intervention winemaking.

Advocates say the ban, in place since 1934 and carried into EU rules, no longer fits a warming climate where disease pressure and drought are increasing across vineyards.

The debate has reached Brussels, with supporters arguing hybrids pose no added methanol risk, while officials continue to review restrictions. Some producers now sell wines as fermented grape juice beverages, and new growers in France and Italy are expanding plantings for resilience and lower chemical inputs.