“The consumer understands very quickly”: first results of a study on the perception of wines made from resistant grape varieties

Foued Cheriet et Inès Maranon, chercheurs à l’INRAe de Montpellier. Midi Libre – Florence Guilhem

Trop peu connus, les cépages résistants séduisent pourtant de plus en plus les vignerons du Languedoc-Roussillon, pionniers en France dans leur implantation. C’est une autre paire de manches pour leur adoption par les consommateurs.

Resistant: the word can scare consumers and send back negative images. However, resistant grape varieties have undeniable qualities both in terms of organoleptic properties and for the environment, since they allow fungicide treatments to be reduced by 80%. Between the need to find answers in the Languedoc vineyards in the face of climate change and the preservation of the environment, resistant grape varieties can provide a significant one.

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Undoubtedly increasingly present in future vintages, there remains however another pitfall to overcome, that of their adoption by consumers. This is the reason why INRAe in Montpellier launched the Ressenti project, which brings together six teams of researchers around three axes: diagnosis on the surfaces and resistant varieties planted; their interest for producers; and their interest for consumers.

No sensory rejection on taste

“If we launch resistant varieties, several questions arise. How do we sell them? ? How do we put them on bottle labels? ? How do we talk about them to consumers? ? When we say resistant varieties, what does that mean? ? We realize that the word resistant creates fear among consumers, because it can refer to GMOs when that is not the case. Then, is it good for health? ?“, presents Foued Cheriet, researcher at INRAe, during the conference he hosted at Millésime Bio with Inès Maranon, agricultural engineer at INRAe, on January 29, on resistant varieties and what consumers think about them.

According to the first results, there is no sensory rejection on the taste from consumers on the forty wines marketed in France. “Consumers' opinion is good on the resistant grape varieties Artaban and Vidoc. On the other hand, for Artaban, they prefer it as a single grape variety. If it is blended, it must be in the majority according to them“, the researcher explains. In any case, it is clear that they are still little known due, according to him, to “insufficient communication on these grape varieties by winegrowers, who could rely on their advantages for the environment”.

This delay in terms of communication does not worry the researcher for the moment, because the production of wines from resistant grape varieties is still “fairly anecdotal. Communication will come in the coming years. Then, the consumer understands very quickly. And it will be all the less complicated since the wines produced from these grape varieties do not present any concerns regarding their taste and health“.

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