“The floor price for Côtes-du-Rhône is €120/hl”

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120 €/hl is the minimum price at which regional Côtes-du-Rhône red must be sold. declared Damien Gilles, president of the general union of Vignerons des Côtes-du-Rhône, during a press conference held on December 3 at the Maison des Vins d'Inter Rhône in Avignon (Vaucluse) in the presence of Philippe Pellaton, president of Inter Rhône and Samuel Montgermont, president of the union of Maisons du Rhône. Less than a year after Emmanuel Macron's declarations on the need to determine a floor price, based on farmers' cost prices, the inter-professional leaders of the Rhône valley are coming with concrete proposals. Which should feed into the future Egalim 4 law, which is still waiting to be put into orbit.

By advocating this minimum price loud and clear, as the 2024 vintage arrives on the markets, the representatives of the Rhône valley winegrowers undoubtedly want to put pressure on the government. “We worked a lot, and progressed until this summer, when everything was put on standby because of the political context that we experiencedexplained Philippe Pellaton. Today, we have difficulty finding people to talk to. »

“If the government continues to play musical chairs, production will take the leadinsists, for his part, Damien Gilles. We are not the adjustment value. » For Samuel Montgermont, there is also urgency: “It is essential to secure the income of producers in the current context,” he said.

One thing is certain, by holding this press conference, the Rhone professionals wanted to show the public authorities that they have all the tools necessary to set the famous floor price. And, they didn't go into battle alone. “We worked on this subject with the inter-profession of Bordeaux wines (CIVB) under the aegis of the National Committee of inter-professions of wines with controlled designation of origin (CNIV)say Philippe Pellaton. We have indicators that we must secure on a national scale so that they are indisputable. »

Observatory of production costs

The winegrowers' union thus launched an observatory of production costs around ten years ago, which was recently transferred to Inter Rhône. The inter-professional association also records transactions between upstream and downstream, which give rise to the publication of a monthly average price. “We also have the capacity to recover the ex-cellar price of production and trading on different markets, mass distribution, export, etc.,” completes Philippe Pellaton.

It is also based on production costs in the vineyard, and on the average price of Côtes-du-Rhône red on the bulk market, during the 2023/2024 campaign, that the floor price of 120 €/hl was calculated. “This is the price so that we can continue to existunderlines Damien Gilles. We have already experienced crises in the past, but this one is different because farm costs have literally exploded over the last three years. »

Temporary removal

The Gard winegrower also brings up the question of temporary grubbing up. “Requests for permanent uprooting amount to 6,000 hectares in the Rhône valley, he pointed out. We must now delay this situation. This is the sine qua non condition for repositioning ourselves on the markets. Today, we know where we need to go, to develop lighter reds, to support the growing demand for white wines…” Yet another fight.