(Wine-Searcher) - After two years of woeful weather, French grapegrowers have a sunnier outlook this year.

The French wine industry is expecting a better harvest this year, despite drought and hail damage to some vineyards.

That’s good news for growers after two disastrous years, but consumers won't be getting any benefit, as the increased volumes won’t be enough to bring down the price of wine.

"After two years of excessively low harvests, we return to something more normal. We have an auspicious start of the harvest,” said Jérôme Despey, president of the wine branch of the agricultural organisation France Agrimer, last week.

The Department of Agriculture has revised upwards its forecast for the 2014 harvest, estimating the potential of wine production to nearly 47 million hectoliters, with the summer rains promoting growth.

The harvest represents an increase of 11 percent over the "very poor harvests of 2012 and 2013", and 3 percent on the five-year average, according to projections released Monday by Agreste, the statistical office of the ministry.

"The historically low level of harvests in 2012 and 2013 was the result of adverse weather conditions, particularly at flowering time," reported Agreste.

This year was a "near-normal cycle." Grape ripening happened "relatively early", thanks to a mild winter and spring, although it was then "slowed by bouts of cool snaps, unusually frequent during the summer."