Gard Rhone: the winegrowers of the Saint-Gély cooperative cellar in Cornillon denounce an “incredible” situation and call on the Prime Minister “to put out the fire”

Autour de leur président, de leur vice-président et du maître de chai, des coopérateurs atterrés. C. C. – Midi Libre

A vat of 280 hl distilled as part of the crisis distillation was not paid to them. rsquo;is the title of the letter they sent to many elected officials, local and national, this weekend.

A situation "incredible" of which the fifty cooperators of the Saint-Gély cellar in Cornillon would have done well, while they are suffering the full brunt of an unprecedented wine crisis, with costs increasing exponentially (the bill electricity of the cellar has for example increased from 12,000,000 euros to 40,000,000 euros per year, and a future that ;rsquo;always darker announcement. This weekend, they sent a letter entitled "When the French State kills a Gard cooperative wine cellar" to numerous local and departmental elected officials, deputies, senators, to the prefect, to ministers… and to the media. A letter written by the son of a cooperator, inspired by the fable of La Fontaine The Wolf and the Lamb.&nbsp ;"We assume it, indicated this Monday, May 27, the president of the cellar, Frédéric Deville. What is happening is the reason of the strongest." The facts: in August, the winery sends a vat of 280& nbsp;hl of red wine to the Union des Distilleries de la Méditerranée as part of crisis distillation. "The document accompanying the tank indicates an Alcohol Volume by Volume (TAV) of 12% leaving the cellar. On reception, the tank is checked by FranceAgriMer agents […], the wine is announced at 12.83 %. If in no way could this difference disturb the drink, the cruel beast does not tolerate more than 0.5% between the announced value and the measured value. […] This gap is the gap of shame; 0.33, this is the degree which caused the cellar to see its wine declared as "non-compliant" and therefore "ineligible for crisis distillation" ", summarizes this mail.

"Distillation is already survival"

After discussions with FranceAgriMer, the Saint-Gély cellar received in December: "The file was finalized."  The winegrowers won't give up: "18 200 €, that's what FranceAgriMer gives us must." Because the cistern has been distilled. "Given the economic situation, sitting on this amount is not possible. When we distill at this price, it’is already survival", continues the president. "Why this vat was it not returned to us full ?, ask the cooperators, worn out, angry, tired. We recognize our mistake of&rsquo ;writing from the cellar." Together, they denounce "the administration, French standards", everything why the farmers stormed the roundabouts at the end of January. "As far as we know from the drivers that they open the valves at the same time and our wine is mixed with others. At the same time that day, there were three cisterns." The dean, Michel Bousquet, was indignant : "They took the wine, didn't pay for it, it's theft." All denounce the bureaucracy, then "we are talking about simplification of standards. Let's stop pissing off people who work and don't cheat. Let Mr. Attal put out the fire and let FranceAgriMer put water in his wine". The tone is threatening: "A fortnight before the European elections, we appeal to politicians from all sides." Their structure, born in 1924, they manage it "like good fathers, we work in a tight flow". This appeal to the political world is their last resort. "People have nothing left to lose, summarizes vice-president Cyril Caffarel. This cry from the heart, politicians must hear it."

As requested, FranceAgriMer responded this Monday evening via its press service: "FranceAgriMer cannot provide a response on specific cases."