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BORDEAUX
– MARKETS –
A group of young Tutiac winegrowers
encourage quality. The co-operative’s technicians also conduct visits
out on the ground before the harvest to check that the grapes meet the
set criteria.
55% of the winery’s sales are in France, 80% of them to supermarkets,
10% direct-to-consumer and 10% to wine merchants. Provided
you can be flexible, supermarkets are performing relatively well. In
response to environmental requirements, the winery now farms 88%
of its vineyards under the HVE scheme, but is also focusing on an even
more practical approach for 8 to 10% of its wines – Zero Pesticide
Residue. The trust mark, which originated in the vegetable industry, is
more restrictive than HVE for winegrowers, but it is also much clearer
for consumers because it offers the promise of results, as confirmed by
laboratory analyses of the wines. It requires a great deal of stringency
and dedicated presses and pipes. It therefore costs about 20% more to
produce than wine from conventional farming. However, it is more
affordable than organic, estimated to cost 40% more, and it can also be
obtained in 1 year, as compared with organic’s three-year switch-over.
In France, Covid led to a fall in average purchases as consumers
prioritised what they perceived as essential goods. The pesticide-free
AUTUMN 2021 GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE 19