- Winegrowers protested at the end of June in Colmar against a possible drop in yields. This event reflects a crisis within the profession in Alsace.
- "The appellation is in economic crisis", summarizes an anonymous source. The fault of several bad harvests in recent years.
- Alsace has lost commercial outlets and is struggling to win them back. This is why it plans to make its revolution. In several ways.
It was June 25. Nearly 500 winegrowers protested in Colmar. In their sights, the possible drop in yields for the next harvest. A decision brought by the organ which represents them, the Association of the viticulturalists of Alsace (AVA).
Why such a choice ? Because "the appellation Alsace is in economic crisis", summarizes an anonymously. The fault of several bad harvests in recent years, as in 2014, 2015 and 2017. As a direct result, Pinot Gris, Edelzwicker and co have “lost markets and are struggling to win them back. "We have to sell around 900,000 hectoliters per year while we have a production capacity of 1.1 million hectoliters ... The current yield of 80 hectoliters per hectare is no longer suited to current marketing," adds the same. source.
"The Alsatian vineyard is not a dream"
As a result, the price of Alsatian wine has dropped and many producers are left with overstocks. Let them sometimes flow as best they can. This is how 83,000 hectoliters should soon be transformed into ... hydroalcoholic gel. The state has proposed this solution and will compensate contributors up to 78 cents per liter. Or far from the cost of production, estimated at least double.
“This is not glorious for the corporation, reacts Francis Backert, the president of the Syndicate of independent winegrowers of Alsace (Synvira). The covid-19 did nothing but it was only an accelerator. The structural crisis weighs much more. We no longer sell bulk, we suffer from export… We lack readability and attractiveness to the consumer. The Alsatian vineyard is not a dream, it has to change. "
It was with this in mind that a “2030 steering committee” was launched with all the players in the sector. “The goal is to decide together what our wine should look like ten years from now. What will be in the bottle? Whether wines of designation of origin (AOC) like today or will we also make PGI (Protected Geographical Indication, a less restrictive label). Will we sell in Bib (Bag-in-Box, a cubi with a waterproof pocket)? All that, we have to decide it together. I am convinced that there is room for everyone ”, assures Francis Backert.
Village names instead of grape names?
"We have to think about all the solutions for the sector and make a wine that appeals to consumers," adds Pierre-Olivier Baffrey, president of cooperation. He too is part of the famous "2030 steering committee" and does not seem closed to any measure. Even the one that would lead to ... changing the name of Alsace wines. No more references to the seven grape varieties in the vineyard, making way for villages. The Riesling could then for example become a "Kintzheim", or a "Westhalten".
The idea is supported by a think tank that brings together several winegrowers, the Cercle Burger. "The objective is to offer a particular signal, a taste link linked to the region," explains one of its members, Jean-Claude Rieflé. "A Ribeauvillé is sharper than a Bergheim and yet they now have the same label ... There is no visible hierarchy for the consumer," he adds.
He has already started this process in his field, at Pfaffenheim. "I make Saint-Hippolyte, Riquewihr, Ribeauvillé and I'm not the only one," claims the winegrower, knowing full well that he is breaking the rules. Those enacted by the AVA, hitherto opposed to this measure.
Why ? "Because unlike Burgundy, where" climates "are clearly identified, we have all the geologies of the world over a very short distance", replies an interlocutor of the association, who prefers to remain anonymous. “If we did that in Turckheim, we would have three different wines and that would be like rolling the buyer in the flour! And I remind you that there are already 13 municipalities whose name can be added on the label (such as "Rouge d'Ottrott") »
"A good harvest is coming"
Pending a possible little revolution, Alsatian winemakers are now waiting for the date of July 16. The AVA general assembly will then decide what yield it will adopt for 2020, before the National Institute of Origin and Quality (INAO) validates it in September. The choice should vary between 70 hl / ha and 60 hl / ha.
“We will certainly have to go through green harvests. Some will also decide to leave some of the grapes on the vine when harvesting, ”says Etienne Dreyer. The wine-grower of Ammerschwihr, who had demonstrated on June 25, already regrets it: "It's a shame because a good harvest is coming ..."
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