FACT OF THE DAY With its back to the wall, the Côtes du Rhône has a plan to get its head above water

Because wine in general, and the Côtes du Rhône too, have been looking bleak for several years, and the situation has deteriorated further in recent months. “We see a break in our figures from 2019/2020”asks Philippe Pellaton, the president of the Côtes du Rhône Inter-Rhône inter-professional association. Drop in consumption, drop in sales price, but also in cellar exits, with a decline of 7% over the 2023/2024 campaign, even if the start of the 2024/2025 campaign shows a slight upward trend.

Added to all this was a complicated vintage in the vines, the humidity having favored mildew, and “producers, in a complicated economic situation, were not able to do everything possible to protect their crops”says Damien Gilles. Result : “we are going to record the smallest harvest in history in Côtes du Rhône and Côtes du Rhône villages”he blurted. This drop in production is also due to the drop in the maximum yield authorized in Côtes du Rhône, which fell last year from 51 hectoliters per hectare to 41.

“Difficult decisions”

Brief, “we will have to act, react, find solutionsposes the president of the Union of Rhône Wine Houses Samuel Montgermont, representative of the merchant family. We will have to learn to change a large part of the paradigms of wine marketing. » At issue: deconsumption, “a fundamental trend, which we must support and accept”estimates the trader, who puts forward the figure of “-20% in wine consumption worldwide since 2019”a fall that he explains by “a very important generational break. » In two words: young people only consume wine more occasionally than their elders while“before the consumer came naturally to us”recalls Samuel Montgermont. It is therefore necessary, for him, “absolutely go see the consumer”particularly through wine tourism, by structuring the offer locally. “We must not make our consumers drink more wine but find more consumers”he summarizes.

In the meantime, in this context, “the means of production are probably oversized”estimates the boss of traders, and this is the case “in the vast majority of producing countries. » With one consequence: export will not be the hoped-for salvation, at least not on its own. So the winegrowers had to take “difficult decisions”as presented by Damien Gilles. First the drop in yields to 41 hectoliters per hectare for the second consecutive year, “received in a difficult way, but in line with our markets”he says. Even more difficult: distillation, “never a simple thing, especially at the price charged last year, it’s heartbreaking, but we do it for the appellation”comments Damien Gilles.

Finally, the third decision, the most radical: the uprooting, “another heartbreak. » On the uprooting, “we have a more precise vision, we are talking about more than 6,000 hectares”he says. Gard would be the most affected department, with around 4,000 hectares uprooted, ahead of Vaucluse (1,000 hectares), Drôme (900 hectares) and Ardèche (290 hectares). With compensation deemed insufficient by winegrowers, of 4,000 euros per hectare: “the base expected a lot more”recognizes Damien Gilles.

Egalim 4 in sight

To avoid having to come to this, “we need to act on the attractiveness of our wines”poses Samuel Montgermont, and this happens, according to him, through “assume our diversity” while defining profiles by color. Côtes du Rhône wines have their freshness, but also their complexity, “a vector of attractiveness, particularly for export”estimates the trader. Because Côtes du Rhône wines have a few tricks up their sleeve that allow them to hold up a little better than other appellations. This is the case in large and medium-sized stores: “across France as a whole it is down 5%, for the Rhône valley it is -3% and for the Côtes du Rhône -2%, we see resilience”says Damien Gilles. The same goes for exports, where the volume fell by 2% for Côtes du Rhône, compared to a fall of 7% for all appellations. “We managed to resist through collective work”underlines the Spiripontain winegrower.

And if winegrowers act to get their heads above water, they expect the same from the State from now on. One word comes up: Egalim, from the name of the law intended to guarantee farmers a decent income, the 4th version of which must be discussed. “The work on Egalim 4 must be carried out”affirms Philippe Pellaton who, with his counterpart from Bordeaux, “took the bull by the horns. » With a major challenge: agreeing on reliable and secure indicators. In this regard, Inter-Rhône is ahead and has some in-house indicators. Enough to allow the inter-profession to say that the floor price in its territory is 120 euros per hectoliter.

And again, the production cost of a hectoliter per hectare varies between 150 euros for conventional and 166 euros for organic. An increasing amount, the result of “successive difficult vintages, the rise in the price of fertilizers, fuels, the lack of labor which forces us to resort to service providers, and the environmental requirements for which we are leaders in supporting, but which have a price and are not valued »develops Damien Gilles. SO “the 120 euros must be a starting point”he believes. The winegrowers are convinced: their decisions will allow a rebound, particularly in the red, “but we need a little time to adapt”affirms Damien Gilles, therefore the need to sell at a fair price is all the more necessary. However, to move forward on Egalim, you still need to have a government in front. “Government instability does not make our task easier”recognizes Philippe Pellaton.

With all this, we almost forget that a new vintage is arriving. “The positive note is the quality of this vintage”underlines Philippe Pellaton, who announces “gourmet wines, with substance, a beautiful liveliness, which correspond to the profiles we want to build. » Wines that promise to be less strong in alcohol, “in line with consumer expectations”says Damien Gilles. To the wise…