How France plans to help winemakers over problem of too much red wine
Too much red wine may not seem a problem to some – but the sector is experiencing a crisis of overproduction
The minister acknowledged that the sector is “a flagship [product] and a source of French pride”
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French winemakers who have been forced to rip up vines and cannot sell their wine due to overproduction are to receive €130 million in aid, the minister for agriculture has announced.
Annie Genevard confirmed the amount today (November 25). She said that there was an “overproduction of red wine” in France, and added: “We must produce what we are capable of selling.”
Crisis for ‘French pride’
The minister acknowledged that the sector is “a flagship [product] and a source of French pride”, and said that numerous economic issues have affected it, including changing customs duties and disrupted export markets.
She also blamed climate events such as the August fire in the Aude department, which spread over 16,000 hectares, killed one person, and was the biggest recorded in the country since 1949.
Ms Genevard said that she was not only presenting emergency measures but also aiming to help the sector find a way out of the crisis that has been affecting it for years.
She said that young people are the most vulnerable, as they are generally in debt, and so less able to weather the difficult period.
The aid plan also promises a reduction in social security contributions of €15 million.
Ms Genevard said she had also requested help from the European crisis reserve which could help to finance longer-term solutions such as distillation as a way of productively dealing with wine surplus and “full wine cellars”, for both independent producers and cooperatives.
She added that the tearing up of vines in the meantime was a fundamental measure. The tearing up of vines is usually done to avoid overproduction and, where applicable, to prevent the spread of parasites and issues such as mildew.
The minister is in Pérols (Hérault) today to open the wine (and olive) industry trade fair Sitévi, which she said is an important opportunity for producers to talk to each other to survive future changes in the industry.
She said that producers must work together to go on the offensive in export markets in particular, and also called for a more cohesive approach in the “way we promote our [French] wines and sell them”.
