In France, the price of viticultural land is now 2.5 times higher than it was 20 years ago. We have analysed Safer’s annual report into the cost of the price of a hectare and this is what it shows. After a feast year in 2022 with the price of vines basically at the highest they had ever been, 2023 was more reserved and 2024 shows that the price of vines have stabilised on the whole. But what does it cost to buy a hectare of vines? In Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne or the Rhône Valley? Here’s the lowdown!

Prices stabilised in France in 2024

The 2024 French harvest recorded a decrease of 24% compared to 2023, a historically low level caused by very unfavourable weather conditions throughout the season and mildew. Jura, Champagne and Burgundy were hit particularly bad.

Last year, the average price of French AOP vines rose to €176,400 per hectare, a 1.4% increase compared to 2023. 8,650 sales of vines (all classifications included) took place in 2024 – down 1.4%. 16,000 hectares (up 0.1%) changed hands for a total of €1.111 billion (-4.8%). This is the fourth consecutive year that the value of all sales is above a billion euros. Some explanatory factors include a sharp decline in Cognac exports since 2022 and a shrinking market (in terms of value and area) in Languedoc-Roussillon and the South-West. The opposite is true in the Rhone Valley and Provence, where the number of sales (up 7.5%) and the amount of land sold (up 34.1%) has increased. Sales are on the rise again in Bordeaux-Aquitaine (+7.2%) after a sharp decline in 2023 (‑20.6%), but the value has fallen (-38.2%) to its lowest level since 2011. The value of vines in Burgundy-Beaujolais-Savoie-Jura and the Central Loire Valley continue to rise.

Region by region – A disparity of prices

In 2024, prices of hectares of vines varied depending on the wine categories:

• -1.1% for AOP vines
• -3.9% for AOP vines excluding those in Champagne
• -7.0% for vines that aren’t classed as AOP
• -9.8% for brandy vines classed as AOP

Here is how the price of a hectare of vines changed from 2023 to 2024:

• Alsace and eastern France: -0.7% to reach €117,000 per hectare (lots of differences between varieties, terroirs and the level within the appellation)
• Bordeaux-Aquitaine: -18.4% to reach €101,100 per hectare (Bordeaux and Côtes de Bordeaux appellations sell for around €8,000 per hectare on average. All appellations have fallen especially Saint-Emilion, Pauillac, Margaux…)
• Burgundy-Beaujolais-Savoie-Jura: +11% to reach €295,900 per hectare (driven by Côte-d’Or appellations, particularly white premier crus as well as those in Chablis).
• Champagne: +1.7% to reach €1,121,800 per hectare (a heavily impacted harvest last year)
• Corsica: 0% – stable – to reach €23,700 per hectare
• Languedoc-Roussillon: -5.1% to reach €14,300 per hectare (red wines decreasing, impacted by drought, vines are starting to be pulled up)
• South-West: -9.1% to reach €13,400 per hectare (red wines decreasing, excess water and mildew, vines are starting to be pulled up)
• Central Loire Valley: -2.2% to reach €51,000 per hectare (Pouilly-Fumé and Reuilly climbing, while Touraine, Anjou and Saumur have dropped)
• The Rhone Valley and Provence: -0.5% to reach €58,700 per hectare (contrasting situations, a fall in the Côtes du Rhône but a rise in certain appellations such as Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Saint-Joseph. In the Var, the situation is less good for the rosé.)

More than half (51%) of the value of AOP wine-growing land is concentrated in Champagne, and 85% in three areas – Champagne, Bordeaux-Aquitaine and the Burgundy-Beaujolais-Savoie-Jura area – that cover only about half of the total surface area.

Between 1997 and 2017, the average price of AOP vines in France has multiplied by 2.5. The primary factor driving up vineyard prices remains low interest rates, combined with an increase in wine-growing income. The price of vines not classified as AOP, which fell between 2000 and 2010, has actually been on the rise since 2010. This increase can be explained in part by the dynamic nature of Languedoc vines (which represents the majority of non-AOP land) and also pulling up vines to replant more qualitative varieties.

The average price of vines in France’s main appellations

The method chosen by Safer tends to smooth out price fluctuations by eliminating the highest and lowest transactions. For some values, the most recent figures published by Safer dates from 2019. For others, the most recent prices come from 2024 with analysis trends from 2023 and 2024 (the last report was published in 2025) and where there is no new data, the market trends come from between 2022 and 2021.

In Bordeaux

• Pauillac: €2,500,000/ha in 2024 (-17% compared to 2023)
• Saint-Estèphe: €400,000/ha in 2024 (-20% compared to 2023)
• Saint-Julien: €1,800,000/ha in 2023 (stable compared to 2022)
• Moulis: €40,000/ha in 2024 (-43% compared to 2023)
• Margaux: €1,400,000/ha in 2024 (-7% compared to 2023)
• Pessac-Léognan: €1,800,000/ha in 2024 (stable compared to 2023)
• Sauternes: €28,000/ha in 2024 (stable compared to 2023)
• From Pomerol: €2,000,000/ha in 2023 (stable compared to 2022)
• Saint-Émilion €250,000/ha in 2024 (-7% compared to 2023)
• Fronsac: €21,000/ha in 2023 (-5% compared to 2022)

From Burgundy

By type of appellation

• The grand crus: €6,500,000/ha (in 2019)
• White premier crus: €1,650,000/ha (in 2019)
• Red premier crus: €710,000/ha (in 2019)

By county

• Yonne (Chablis and Auxerrois): €204,900/ha in 2024 (+21% compared to 2023)
• Côte d’Or (Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune): €1,022,600/ha in 2024 (+11% compared to 2023)
• Saône-et-Loire (Côte Chalonnaise, Mâconnais, Beaujolais): €92,400/ha in 2024 (+4% compared to 2023)

A closer look at a few details

White premiers crus from the Côte d’Or: +13% between 2023 and 2024
Chablis premier cru: €525,000/ha (+25 % between 2023 and 2024)

In Champagne

Côte des Blancs: €1,631,700/ha in 2024 (-3% compared to 2023)
Montagne de Reims and Grande Vallée (grand and premiers crus): €1,229,200/ha in 2024 (+4% compared to 2023)

• Aisne: €882,200/ha in 2024 (+2% compared to 2023)
• Marne: €1,202,600/ha in 2024 (+2% compared to 2023)
• Aube: €950,300/ha in 2024 (+4% compared to 2023)

Average price of vines in Champagne: €1,121,800/ha in 2024 (+1.7% compared to 2023)

In the Rhône

• Saint-Joseph: €150,000/ha in 2024 (+7% compared to 2023)
• Côte-Rôtie: €1,350,000/ha in 2024 (+8% compared to 2023)
• Cornas: €500,000/ha in 2024 (stable compared to 2023)
• Crozes-Hermitage: €155,000/ha in 2024 (+3% compared to 2023)
• Châteauneuf-du-Pape: €520,000/ha in 2024 (+2% compared to 2023)

How much does a hectare of vines earn?

Once we know the average price of a hectare of vines, we can ask the question how much money does one hectare of vines in France bring in? It’s true to say that’s very difficult to estimate depending on a number of factors like the way the winemaker works, the vintage and climate changes, etc. The yield of the hectare also depends on these factors. Having said that, to have a more precise idea of what a hector of wine will produce, we know that the average yield of a hectare in France is 57 hectolitres (or 5.700 litres), which means that a hectare of vines produces about of 7,600 bottles of wine.

If you want to become rich by being a winemaker, the gamble is a bold one. Being a winemaker is not for the faint-hearted, even if it’s the best job in the world! There is a joke in the wine world which explains the situation better: ‘To become a millionaire winemaker, you have to start out as a billionaire.’ You only have to look at the story of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti to see what it’s like; the estate didn’t become profitable until 1972.

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