Heavy rain over the weekend of 18 to 20 January 2014 between the Italian port of Genoa and the French port of Toulon led to flooding, landslides and destruction. Many roads were closed due to either being washed away of landslides closing the route.
Vineyards on the hillsides of Dolceacqua and Bellet saw water cascading over the dry-stone walled terraces – revealing which vineyards had well-maintained walls and terraces.
In Bellet, where housing and non-cultivated land is intersperced with cineyards the situation was less simple. In some cases mud landslides from above the vineyards came washing down leaving a trail of destruction. Domaine St Jean, which has three plots of land scattered around the appellation was at the receiving end of one of these landslides which swept into the vineyard destroying young vines. See the pictures below.
Leave a Reply