Reportage
France: the economic crisis on the menu of the Independent Winegrowers' Fair
Audio 01:15
Independent producers represent more than half of wine production in France each year.
© Wikimedia Commons/Stefan Bauer
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
They come from all over France to make their know-how appreciated: more than 700 wine producers are gathered at the Salon des Vignerons Indépendants.
It is held until November 28 in Paris, Porte de Versailles.
The challenge for these producers is to face the rising cost of raw materials while facing competition from cooperatives.
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They are used to working alone, but hundreds of winegrowers have gathered to meet amateurs.
"
The independent winegrower,
says Joseph Petit, wine producer near Libourne, in Gironde,
he really has the particularity of producing his own wine from A to Z, that is to say that he himself cultivating his vines, picking up his harvest and vinifying, in fact he will do all the stages until the culmination, which is bottling.
He will also take care of marketing.
»
More than half of wine production in France
Glass in one hand, bottle in the other, Vincent Plantade came from Léognan, south of Bordeaux, he has to deal with the explosion of his costs: "
Dry materials have increased, glass has taken 40% since at the beginning of January, the boxes will take 30% in January, and there are shortages of capsules, there are also shortages of glass bottles, now you have to order the bottles almost a year in advance.
»
For Bertille Gaidoz, producer south of Reims, we must therefore redouble our imagination to remain competitive: "
It means finding new solutions to deal with these increases since we cannot impact 100% of the increases on our price, otherwise our consumer behind it does not follow either.
And it will also be developed on how to attract new customers, on wine tourism, on the promotion of our bottles.
»
Independent producers represent more than half of wine production in France each year.
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