Bordeaux: why 10% of vineyards will be destroyed?

French vineyards, especially Bordeaux, are in crisis. Many Gironde growers have been victims of a sharp drop in red wine consumption in France.

At least 1,320 people said they were experiencing difficulties last January, according to the Gironde Chamber of Agriculture, nearly a third of the department’s 4,000 professional winegrowers. The latter also indicates that more than a quarter of growers experiencing this unfavorable period want to stop their activities and start the total uprooting of their vines.

There is no demand for wine, production volumes are too high, and prices are falling. Thus, 9500 ha will be uprooted to avoid overproduction. A number calculated by the interprofessional winegrowers of Bordeaux a few months ago to adapt supply to demand.

Less prestigious appellations are suffering from the collapse in prices and overproduction, estimated at one million hectoliters. The Grand Cru was not affected by this crisis.

“The way to prepare to conquer the market”

“The uprooting of the vineyards in the Gironde should not be seen as an element of failure, but rather as a way of preparing to conquer the market,” said Marc Fenault at an agricultural exhibition. Thus, the Minister of Agriculture and representatives of Bordeaux wines signed the release of an envelope for 57 million euros. (38 million government-supported, 19 million interprofessional) to “compact” the Bordeaux vineyard.

By uprooting their vines, growers can choose between converting their land to other crops or leaving it fallow for twenty years.

This operation is also carried out in order to combat doré fluorescence. This is a disease of the vine that causes very serious yield losses due to a bacterium that is promoted by the cessation of cultivation in abandoned areas. In order to control this disease as a preventive measure and to prevent farmers from abandoning their vines, this uprooting plan is awarded in the amount of 6,000 euros per hectare.

Some organizations, including the Viti 33 collective, demanded that at least 15,000 hectares be uprooted with a premium of 10,000 euros per hectare. The announced aid is not enough, they say, and many vine growers are too old to embark on a project to diversify their crop.

The first plots will be uprooted after harvest, that is, from October 2023.