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ROUSSILLON
– BRANDS –
The entrance to Château de Corneilla in Corneilla del Vercol was built
in the 13 th century by the Knights Templar and is the historic family
estate of the Jonquères d’Oriola family
touring the vineyards of the world, I took over the reins
of the estate in 2010. I expanded it from 58 to 95 hectares
spanning 6 appellations south of Perpignan, in Collioure
and Roussillon”, he recounts.
Supporting him is his father, a trained winemaker who
pioneered use of refrigeration in the winery. William has
developed the estate’s range of wines, placing them in
strategic markets. “We had to modernise our production
facilities. Renovation work in the winery, to the tune
of €1 million, will be completed by 2023. My father
developed boxed wine sales. I am promoting bottled
sales in the hospitality industry and wine merchants. We
produce 700,000 bottles annually, 60% of them shipped
to export markets”.
This has been achieved by crafting a range of wine styles
and developing strong brands. William has prioritised
dry wines, producing only 100 hl of Muscat de Rivesaltes
‘tuilé’ in good vintages. His distribution is 80% geared
to hospitality outlets and 20% wine shops, though he
also sells 6 wines to local supermarkets. “With the Gris-
Gris brand created in 2011, a third of rosé output, I have
developed markets in the Benelux countries, Germany and
France in pubs and on private beaches”.
Stéphane Zanella, managing director of Vignerons Catalans
RUSSIA, A KEY MARKET FOR NEGOCIANTS
In Perpignan, Vignerons Catalans is one of the region’s
long-standing players. Founded in 1964, the co-operativestructured
company combines 8 large co-operative wineries.
Vignerons Catalans was responsible for marketing the first
bottled wines from Roussillon in French supermarkets. Its
managing director, Stéphane Zanella, says the group posts
turnover of €30 million, €11 million from exports. It is the
largest dry wine company in the area.
In collaboration with the wine and spirits trading company
La Martiniquaise, the business is divided into three areas.
“In the French market, we have long-standing ties with
super/hypermarkets. Recently, we have been expanding
our sales in the on-trade and wine merchants. The drop
in wine production in Roussillon has led us to start
promoting our wines to wholesalers, wine merchants and
key accounts”, explains Zanella.
The company’s second line of business is exports. For the
past year and a half, Vignerons Catalans has been ramping
42 AUTUMN 2021 GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE