4,015 hectares of vines will disappear from the landscapes of Gard, which acts as a “leader” for uprooting

Presidents Damien Gilles (Syndicat des Côtes du Rhône), Philippe Pellaton (InterRhône) and Samuel Montgermont (Union des Maisons des Vins du Rhône). They represent professionals in the Rhône Valley.

Representatives of the AOC Côtes du Rhône have taken stock of a turbulent year for the sector and the prospects for the appellation. The fight now is over remuneration, for which a completely unprecedented announcement has been made: a minimum selling price for a hectolitre of red wine. 

The Côtes du Rhône Winegrowers’ Union, InterRhône and the Union des Maisons des Vins du Rhône (UMVR, representing the trade) representing the Côtes du Rhône appellation held a joint press conference on Tuesday in Avignon. “This is a particularly eventful year that is coming to an end for the sector, particularly for the second largest AOC vineyard in France”, indicated the presidents of the three bodies.
Examples in figures, the volumes of wine cellar exits from the appellation vineyards have suffered a 7% drop. Overall sales of appellation wines show a 5% decline in mass distribution. The wines of the Rhône Valley are doing better than other wine regions (-3.4% in volume, – 1% in value). Across the entire CDR appellation area, “the vineyard has lost more than 650,000 hl in ten years”.

“Signs of recovery”

The three managers were keen to share encouraging signals: “The new 2024-25 campaign is showing signs of recovery. From August to October, cellar releases of red Côtes du Rhône increased by 22%.”

For export, the appellation is showing some resistance (minus 3% of turnover).
On stocks, the situation is now considered healthy. “We have regained our production balances through all the cumulative sacrifices of all our producers, whom I would like to salute, shares Damien Gilles, president of the winegrowers' union and winegrower in the Gard Rhodanien. We are going to enter the fight for remuneration and obtain fair and honourable remuneration for all Côtes du Rhône producers. Today, we are working on the Egalim law. The problem is that we cannot implement it because of the succession of ineffective governments for over a year,” he protests. A fight that will be waged “for the salvation and honour of producers. No longer sell wines at low prices that they have spent a year producing. We have been undermined by the imbalance between supply and demand. We have done what is necessary to rebalance. The lights are green for winegrowers to make a decent living from their profession” hopes Damien Gilles.

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A minimum sale price set at 120 euros per hectolitre of red

With one voice, Damien Gilles, the president of InterRhône Philippe Pellaton and the president of the UMVR Samuel Montgermont announce a minimum sale price of 120 € per hectolitre of red. “This is the minimum to continue writing the history of our appellation. It is not to live but to survive […]. It is against the law but the distress in which we live is such…, continues Damien Gilles who has vines in Pont-Saint-Esprit, Carsan and Saint-Paulet-de-Caisson. I cannot let this story end. It would be betraying the generations that came before me, my family who gave me this land as an inheritance.” Until now, “we are oscillating between sales patterns grotesque, between €70 and €200 per hectolitre”. The president of the Winegrowers' Union calls for “unity so that this price is respected”.

Another problem: water

On grubbing up, “the Gard acts as the leader of our appellation”, Damien Gilles stressed on the sidelines of the meeting. On a departmental scale, 4,015 hectares of vines (AOC, AOP, Villages, etc.) will disappear in the coming months, out of a total of 55,000 hectares. “We are going to lose a lot of surface area, it will be visible to the eye nu.” Vaucluse will tear out 1,017 ha (out of a total of 45,000 ha), Drôme 889 ha and Ardèche 258 ha.
Damien Gilles recalls that “the situation is economically dramatic, particularly in the Gard rhodanien”. Irony of fate : “We are close to the Rhône and are one of the poorest areas for water supply. Structuring projects are being set up, but it is not going fast enough.” The Agglo du Gard rhodanien is indeed carrying out a substantial project. It would even concern 105 municipalities, “for a rebound in agricultural activity for which the structuring of the sector, water and labor is necessary.”

A new association to defend interests with public institutions

Finally, the representatives of professionals in the Rhône Valley will continue their action to advance work on the Egalim law. In July, the General Association of Wine Production of the Rhone Valley (AGPV) was born, it brings together unions, cooperative wineries, independent winegrowers and chambers of agriculture, in order to carry a single voice to “defend the interests of winegrowers with public institutions”.

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