One of the things which I have often done is to arrange for a client on a wine tour to do a days work in a vineyard. The winemaker is always mystified that someone actually wants to pay him for the privilege of ruining his back after eight hours under the heat lamp of the sun. In fact this is one example of the difference in perception between someone who can go back to his home in London, Dallas or wherever and, over dinner, can say to his appreciative guests, “yes, this is a great wine from a wonderful vineyard, I actually worked there you know”. Meanwhile the winemakers and his team will be in bed early, knowing that the next day they have another eight hour slog.
The fact of the matter, of course, is that working the vines is a hot, sweaty, grueling occupation and in the case of many appellations where grapes have to be picked by hand, (eg. Coteaux de Saumur, Cremant de Loire), most of the day is spent bent almost double. This does not change the fact that most producers love what they do and would not change for anything but they are very well aware of the downside. So here are four current problems with which they have to cope.
Probably the biggest ongoing worry is simply that of marketing and selling the wine once it is made. Here in the Loire we do not seem to have had the problems which have hit regions like Bordeaux where, in recent years, over-production has led to hundreds of hectoliters of wine being turned into industrial alcohol. The situation here is rather one of being able to sell your product for a premium price rather than having to sell it in bulk at a discounted rate to a negotiant. In our village of Le Puy Notre Dame alone there are over 50 winemakers and, in the Saumur/Anjou appellations, there are literally 100′s of producers who make around 50 000 00 liters of wine. Thus you can appreciate the difficulty in finding buyers for the bulk of your wine when everyone else is trying to do the same. A winemaker friend of mine was recently bemoaning the fact that he is having to spend more and more time away from his vines visiting potential clients. “I’m a winemaker”, he said, “not a commercial traveler”.
The second problem I want to talk about is the anti-drinking legislation currently being proposed in France. As part of this legislation there will be a ban on giving free drinks which of course will affect the free tastings given in wineries and which are a big part of many winemakers sales. Generally people arrive, taste whatever range of wine they wish and then, hopefully, go on to buy. Many producers feel that if they have to charge for a tasting it will reduce the numbers of potential clients coming through the gates. Of course there are already wine estates which charge for tastings but these tend to be the larger, well known wine properties and not the small family business which governments of all persuasions profess to be trying to protect and which depend on private sales for a large part of their revenue. Of course there are those winemakers who say that, France being France, even if the law is enacted a blind eye will be turned much in the same way as the ban on smoking in public is ignored in small village bars, (but not in larger towns or cities). Other “vignerons” say that by the time the proposal passes into law the particular clause in question will have been quietly dropped. Certainly, reading both local and national newspapers, there seems to be an increasing volume of articles on the importance of wine not just as a commodity but also as a major part of the tourism industry. Whether this increasing volume of media exposure is a deliberate attempt to influence the debate or simply coincidence I could not say. We will see or as the French would put it, “on verra…”!
Of course there are many other problem which the consumer is not aware of but can cause sleepless nights for someone who is involved in wine production. There is, for example, a bit of a rebellion going on between winemakers and an organization called “InterLoire”, who pay for advertising, trade shows and generally promote Loire Valley wines. Many growers think that the high contributions they have to pay, (between € 5 000 and €10 000 per year), is simply not reflected in the level of service that they receive in return. The 120 winemakers of the appellation of Bourgueil, for example have notified InterLoire that, from 1st. January 2011, they will no longer pay their subscriptions saying that in a region of multiple and complex appellations, (the Loire has at least 65), it is impossible for any one organization to promote successfully a particular appellation. The problem is that subscriptions are compulsory, although the winemakers have pointed out that a similar scheme in Germany was found to be unconstitutional by the European court. Now it appears that the 130 producers in Saumur-Champigny may be following suite, again quoting the high level of subscriptions and the poor levels of service. Their spokesman gave his own example; referring to the time he approached InterLoire and asked for help, addresses and guidance in exporting to the USA. There was nothing forthcoming. In fairness I must add that the president of the Saumur-Champigny growers group is very much in favour of InterLoire and says that if individual growers do no like the way it is going they should leave their vineyards for the day and make their opinions known at the various meetings and assemblies. This view is supported by Patrice Laurendeau, the president of InterLoire, who also makes the point that subscription levels are decided by the various winemakers groups themselves not by InterLoire itself. He also adds that the image of Loire Valley wine has never been higher. The other camp of course respond by saying that is all down to the efforts of the winemakers themselves and their continual quest for higher quality. The debate will no doubt go on and on.
Finally, moving from the ongoing niggles of sales, the law and organization, I would like to look at a disease which is causing increasing amounts of concern. “brett” or, to give it it’s full name “brettanomyces” This is a problem caused by a wild yeast which affects tanks of fermenting wine. It is intermittent, striking one fermenting vat and leaving others, affecting one wine maker, leaving the next four or five out and then hitting the sixth. It is sometimes treatable, sometimes not. It has always been there of course but the last few years have seen a great increase in the frequency and the strength of the attacks. The effect on a bottle of wine is that it leaves a farm yard nose and taste in the wine, rather like Pinot Noir. Well that doesn’t sound so bad you may say. Well no, it doesn’t but the problem is that it doesn’t stop there and as the wine absorbs more air the aroma gets stronger and stronger so that in the end all you can possibly do, taste wise, is to try and decide whether it came from a pig sty or a goat farm. It is overwhelming. Some producers have said that they quite like a little brett in their wine – it gives an added complexity.. The truth is of course that the only thing that decides the level of contamination is the culprit itself and as one of my winemaking friends said, “it’s a bit like saying that just a little bit of Pneumonia is good for you as it heightens the colour on your cheeks”
Well there you are, four problems that our local winemakers are having to confront every day so, next time you do a long pleasant tasting in a convivial wine chai, just remember that your host, despite having his best receptive, avuncular face on, could well be having sleepless nights trying to deal with these or similar problems. So buy a little more wine from him, it will make him think that life is not so bad after all.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Brian now lives full time in the Loire valley, in the village of Le Puy Notre Dame where he feels he has finally “found home”. He loves french wine, food and culture and offers wine tours and holiday accommodation in this delightful village. full details can be found on his website; http://www.closdesguyons.com. After years of involvement in wine of the Loire Valley on behalf of major retail outlets in the UK he now does everything he can to promote the excellent wines of the region. He is a respected authority on the wine of Anjou and judges at the prestigious “Concours des Vins” held annually in the region. His other interests include history and in particular the Napoleonic campaigns of the Duke of Wellington. He has totally renovated the 18th century property which he and his wife bought in Le Puy Notre Dame although, as he says, after seven years, the word “enjoy” is stretching it a bit. He is happy to answer any queries on Anjou wine and you can contact him on brianandsheila@closdesguyons.com
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