Why are winegrowers demanding the permanent uprooting of at least 15,000 hectares of vines?

“I am 65 years old, my son worked with me and was supposed to take over the property but at the start of the year, he left telling me that it was not a profitable activity, testifies Didier Cousiney, winegrower in the Sauternes and door- word of a group of winegrowers who campaign for the uprooting of vines in Bordeaux. I’m all alone with two workers and while we were selling everything in China, we haven’t sold anything for a year and a half and my banker let me down, like others. Many winegrowers find themselves in great economic difficulty and/or unable to pass on their property for lack of a buyer, particularly in the Bordeaux, Côtes de Bordeaux and Médoc appellations.

So that the winegrowers concerned can retire with dignity, after a lifetime of work in the rows, he is asking for the definitive uprooting of at least 15,000 hectares with a bonus of 10,000 euros per hectare. “A little less than 10% of the surface area of ​​the Bordeaux vineyards, which covers 110,000 hectares, should be uprooted,” said Christophe Chateau, director of communication for the Interprofessional Council of Bordeaux Wines (CIVB).

Stop overproduction

The supply is greater than the demand and the uprooting operation aims to rebalance the balance. “For four years, with the Covid, the Trump tax, Brexit and the war in Ukraine, the situation has deteriorated. You have to adapt to the market and the consumption of red wine is down. Producing wines that we do not value is useless”, sums up Christophe Chateau.

For the Interprofession, the Bordeaux region has produced 200 to 300,000 hectoliters more in recent years than what is marketed and another 200,000 hectoliters are sold at prices that are too low. “A 100-litre barrel in Bordeaux sells for an average of 1,000 to 1,300 euros and we sell it for 600 to 700 euros, we don’t need to go to school for a long time to understand…”, points out Didier Cousiney, who estimates the overproduction more important, of the order of hectoliters per year.

The situation is very contrasted in Bordeaux. If the grands crus have no problem selling their productions, entry-level wines and in particular the bulk are in crisis. For the collective of winegrowers, threatened with great precariousness, the urgency is great: “we are asking for a social plan as there has been at Renault, Peugeot, Les foundries etc. “says Didier Cousiney.

Change the texts to get the award-winning tear-off

The problem is that since 2008, there is no longer award-winning uprooting (accompanied by compensation) in the European texts, so the Bordeaux interprofession wants to modify the texts. It can count on the support of other regions (the Rhône and the Languedoc) which are experiencing the same problem.

“If all of the French wine-growing regions push for the government and Europe, we have good hopes that this will succeed”, comments Christophe Chateau. Languedoc defends the possibility of destroying volumes of wine in the cellars, and this could materialize from the beginning of 2023. The uprooting is longer and could take 12 to 18 months. The regions concerned are in the process of agreeing on common demands to present to the Ministry of Agriculture.

An opportunity for crop diversification

For the collective in favor of uprooting, it must be final and the planting rights must be lost. For the Interprofession, there could be a part of definitive uprooting and also “readjustments” on certain plots. According to her, the model to follow is that of Cognac. “Thirty years ago, we uprooted tens of thousands of hectares there and today their economic dynamic is positive and we are replanting”, points out Christophe Chateau.

An audit to identify uncultivated vines in Gironde is currently underway and should be completed by the end of the year. For the moment, the Chamber of Agriculture has counted 2,000 hectares abandoned (mainly in Blayais, part of Entre-deux-mers and northern Libournais) for economic reasons or inheritance problems.

While some plots can be recultivated, others could logically be affected by prize-winning uprooting measures. Thierry Mazet, director of the Chamber, sees this as an opportunity for crop diversification. “We need it in Gironde. We have requests for arboriculture, livestock and market gardening and we are unable to respond to them today. »

The collective of winegrowers also wants there to be no turning back. “We ask that these plots be intended for animal and human food and ecological transition (installation of new energies for example), specifies Didier Cousiney. We need new destinations. »