Vins de Pays d’Oc launch Club des Marques
The “Club des Marques” (Brand Club), launched by InterOc in August 2007, aims to coordinate and unify promotions between private companies and the Interprofession in order to increase the visibility of Vins de Pays d’Oc wines. The total offer of the 15 companies* involved in Club show that they sold more than 7.1m bottles per year in the UK including 5.8m bottles to the off trade and 1.3m bottles to the on trade.

The UK is the second market for Vins de Pays d’Oc in terms of volume and value just behind Germany. However, the UK has the highest promotional and communications budget allocation reaching €500,000 from a total budget of €2.5m for 2008, split into 20% for communication and 80% for promotions. For more information: contact@interoc.fr

*The companies which make up the Club des Marques are: Anne de Joyeuse, Castel, Chais Beaucairois, Chais du Sud, Condamine Bertrand, Domaines Paul Mas, Foncalieu, Jeanjean, Laroche, Laurent Miquel, PH Wine, Sieur d’Arques, UCCOAR (Union des Caves Coopératives de l'Aude et du Razés), Vignerons Catalans, Vignerons de la Méditerranée.

Sources : InterOc 20/11/07

AOC Irouléguy
Since 2006, Irouléguy has revived its appellation by changing their packaging, and logo, and investing more in quality production. The creation of a quality agreement within the appellation has helped improve the production conditions for the highly tannic wine (three quality-control visits per year, hand harvests only).

Their next step is to go “green” – with the seven producers in the appellation aiming to switch to organic production by 2008. According to the President of the appellation, Michel Bergouignan, AOC Irouléguy exports some 5% of its total production and aims to increase its sales in the UK and Spain next year.

The vineyards of Irouléguy, which stretch over 220ha, are located in the heart of the Pays Basque near Saint Jean Pied de Port. Two-thirds of the vineyards are organised in terraces due to a gradient of 8 in 10. Red wine represents 65% of the production, rosés 25% and white 10%.

The harvest in Irouléguy started on 5th October and produced c. one million bottles. Overall, the sanitary condition was good and the attacks of mildew were limited during the spring.

Source: Vinimarket/Irouléguy 10/11/07

The first “carbon neutral” wine in Europe
Vignobles Lacombe is the first wine producer in Europe to propose “carbon neutral” wines representing a contribution to the worldwide effort to reduce global warming. Remi Lacombe stated that he reached the limit of reducing CO₂ emissions and had the idea of offsetting the CO₂ emissions he couldn’t further reduce.

The total volume of greenhouse gases generated by Vignobles Lacombe’s production activities reaches 639 tons or 1.7 kg of CO₂ per bottle of 75 cl. An official certificate will prove the offset of this volume. Remi Lacombe will compensate the CO₂ emissions by investing €10,000 in an ecological project tackling the emissions issue.

Located in Civrac-en-Médoc in the Bordeaux area, SCF Lacombe produces c. 365,000 bottles a year, from four chateaux in the Médoc AOC. In October 2006, Vignobles Lacombe won the food safety trophy for a “vine to glass” traceability system at the service of both logistics and consumers (GS1 France Gold Trophy), becoming France's first winery to use barcodes to trace every single step in the winemaking process.

Source: Vignobles Lacombe 26/10/07

Provence going green
Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur region (PACA) has committed to convert its vineyards to organic, with a goal of 10% of the total surface in the next few years. To help achieve this, an incentive of €1,000 has been allocated annually since 2006 to each producer who converts. Alain Baccino, President of the Chambre d’Agriculture du Var and President of the Comité des Côtes de Provence, stated that today 5% of the total area of the vineyards in Provence is now classified as organic. This ranks the region as first in France in terms of organic surface. Baccino also confirmed that winegrowers in Provence are becoming ever more aware of the need to be more respectful of the environment. This will be one of the major axes of development for the region in 2008.

Source: La Journée Vinicole / CIVP 22/11/07