For Christophe Miron, in 120 years, “the Frontignan cellar has always known how to follow the developments of its time”
|Christophe Miron was president of the Frontignan cooperative winery for 23 years. Midi Libre – PHILIPPE MALRIC
The Frontignan Muscat cooperative winery is celebrating its 120th anniversary this Saturday, September 14, an opportunity for its former president, who was at its head for 23 years, to mark the major milestones of the institution
How was the Frontignan Muscat cooperative winery created ?
We no longer have, unfortunately, the documents from that time. Our archives were destroyed by a flood. At the most, they go back to 1960. But what I do know is that the winegrowers at the time would knock on the doors of the many merchants in Frontignan, including Victor Anthérieu, to negotiate each of their productions. In 1904, they said to themselves that they had to come together to be stronger and get a better price for their work. The cooperative winery was very small at the time. The first room of the building was that of the lightnings.
How many were there at the time ?
I don't know. What is certain is that at my first general meeting 40 years ago, there were 500 cooperators, in 2000 there were 250 and today there are 130 of us. But the surface area of 500 hectares has remained more or less the same. It is the farms that have expanded.
How has the cellar evolved over time ?
Very early on, the cooperators realized that to have interesting added value, they had to go through mass distribution. This is what still makes Frontignan Premier so successful. It represents 60% of turnover. For a very long time, our range only included two products: the Grande tradition, the current Frontignan premier, and the liqueur wine. At the time, we waited for the customer. Now, we go and get them. We do this by diversifying our production, which requires a lot of work in the cellar and costs, and by modifying the muscat, by lowering the sugar level.
Special evening this Saturday, September 12
To celebrate this 120th anniversary of the Frontignan Muscat cooperative cellar, William Juan, president of the institution for a year after taking over from Christophe Miron, did not have the material time – authorizations must be requested well in advance – to open the festivities to the general public. So it is the guests (cooperators, institutions and partners) who are expected from 7 p.m. at the cellar for, from 8 p.m., a series of speeches before the libations customary in this type of circumstance.
“Next year, I hope to organize a big popular party to mark the end of the harvest, announces the new president of the cellar. By closing the traffic between the two roundabouts, it could really be nice". To be continued.
Before, we picked the grapes when they were overripe and they were at 17 degrees. Now we harvest them earlier when they are at 15.5 and as winemaking techniques have changed, the muscat is less sweet, fresher. It corresponds more to the taste of the day, to that of consumers.
Was it complicated to change these habits ?
At one time, we took all the grapes. When I arrived at the head of the cellar, we had, before the harvest, 24,000 hectoliters in stock, or two harvests in advance! This represents a certain budget in logistics. With André Astruc, a great president of the local union, we therefore decided to diversify.
The cellar in figures
120 : is, in years, the age of the Frontignan Muscat cooperative cellar.
11,000 : is, in hectoliters, the volume of production for this 2024 campaign. That is a decrease of 15 to 18% compared to last year. Mildew, which has hit the vines for the first time in a good twenty years, bears its share of responsibility.
130 : is the number of cooperators at the Frontignan winery. There were 500 of them forty years ago.
550 :This is, in hectares, the area of vines covered by the Muscat cellar. An area that has not changed much over time. If the number of cooperators has decreased in the same area, it is because the properties have expanded.
2 : is, in millions, the number of bottles from the cellar that are sold each year.
60 : is, in percentage, the share of turnover brought in by large-scale distribution.
At the time, the cellar was an institution that should not be moved. I always told the guys “if we put muscat in syrup and it sells, let's do it”. It worked by adding a 10% drop in inputs each year. We now have a backup stock of 12,000 hectoliters.
What I remember is that the greatest wealth of this cooperative winery is the highly competent people who work there in collaboration with the producers. We have a crack team at every level. The winery has kept up with the changes of its time.
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