News

Bordeaux vine-pull falls short of target

22 July 2024 By James Evison

The scheme to pull up vines in Bordeaux is a “very long way” from its initial target, according to reports.

Last year, according to figures from the Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB), Bordeaux had roughly 108,000 hectares of vines in 2022, and financing was provided to allow some 9,500 hectares to be pulled up in Girone. A funding package totalled €57 million, with €38 million provided by the government and the remainder financed by the CIVB.

“We estimate that we’re facing annual overproduction of 300,000hl [40m bottles], to which must be added 200,000hl sold at unremunerative prices,” CIVB president Allan Sichel said at the time.

Long way

The CIVB believed that pulling up roughly 10% of its vines will put the region back on a sustainable path. But now it has been reported by local newspaper Sud-Ouest that only around 3000 hectares have been removed, and it was “a very long way from initial objectives” with two-thirds still yet to be pulled.

The main reason given was rainfall, although the CIVB has now said that drier weather should allow for the scheme to be accelerated. Concern has been raised that alongside the issues of supply and demand, there are also problems with mildew and disease in the vineyard, which were also a significant reason for the vine-pull.

But a challenging growing season so far this year has meant that the harvest could be reduced again, which could offset issues of supply and demand. The CIVB’s Stéphane Héraud told the paper that a shortfall was “almost certain”. As a result, the body was confident that the challenges over supply would be overcome.

Strikes

Early in 2023, vignerons in Bordeaux had already called for strikes to highlight the pressures facing winegrowers in the region. In 2022, the “extreme climate events” also hit vineyards, which led to some “significant losses in some cases”, and yields of AOC wine produced roughly 11% below the ten year averages, at 4.1 million hectolitres.

Much of the focus surrounded help for excess vine grubbing up and the storage of wines that had failed to find buyers.

During the growing season last year, a hotline was even set up for ‘distraught’ winemakers in the region to deal with the severe weather’s impact on crops. Nicolas Morain from MSA Gironde, the local department of France’s agricultural social mutual organisation, said there were calls from people “who are really in distress” and one of the grape-grower’s wives had called him in tears.

“Some have lost everything already.” he said, “We have never seen this – mildew spared no one this year” and that some wine-growers were even considering their careers due to the mildew, and it was “very traumatic” for those trying to control it.

Related articles:

CIVB boss supports Bordeaux’s vine-pull scheme ahead of vigneron protest

French government approves fund to help French vignerons

Ribera del Duero 'challenges preconceptions' about its wines

Capensis flies the flag for ‘world-class’ South African Chardonnay