Like many other sectors, the French grape suffers from coronavirus. If it is not prohibited to buy and consume wine during confinement, sales in the cellars can no longer be made. Some winegrowers therefore find themselves in a sometimes very delicate economic situation, especially since the wine fairs, which constitute a huge outlet for winegrowers, have been suspended until further notice.
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A drastic and more than worrying drop in sales which affects all the vineyards of France and which worries the whole sector. This is particularly the case in Burgundy, more precisely in Beaune, in the Côte d'Or, where Françoise Jeanniard no longer sells a single bottle. "I work mainly with restaurateurs, so there everything is blocked," she confirms at the microphone of Europe 1. Ditto for the individuals she usually meets "at about fifteen shows throughout the year" , since three have already been "brutally canceled".
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And even if it produces great vintages like Haute-Côte de Beaune, or Pernand-Vergelesses, individuals "no longer move to the cellar because of confinement". A loss that François Jeanniard estimates at least "40,000 euros".
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... and employees to pay
The situation is hardly better in the south of the region, where David Fagot produces Pouilly-Fuissé and Saint-Véran: because of the Covid-19, he was unable to go to two salons in Germany and the United States. A significant shortfall which has serious economic consequences. "There I have an appointment with my banker to request a cash advance," he said. "I have a permanent employee that I have to pay and seasonal workers who have finished working and that I will have to pay in a few days ... I'm in the red."