“We started with the idea of ​​uprooting the vines, but we are still hesitant”: the painful choice of Hérault winegrowers in the face of the crisis

Lise Fons-Vincent: “By uprooting, I am compromising the production potential of a buyer if I find one.” Midi Libre – JEAN-MICHEL MART

Since Brussels gave the green light on October 3rd for French winegrowers to uproot their vines at €4,000/ha, Lise Fons-Vincent, head of Château de Fourques in Juvignac, has turned the question over in her head a thousand times. Without being able to decide.

Since October 3, Lise Fons-Vincent has been turning the question over and over in her head. The future of her 50-hectare wine-growing operation in Juvignac is a constant concern. Even more so as she approaches retirement and faces mounting economic difficulties. So, while uprooting vines is a possible option, just thinking about it is already very painful. And even more so when it's your 45th harvest.

Lise Fons-Vincent has made efforts since she took over the estate in 1985. The farm only sold in bulk. She introduced bottling (30%). To attract the public to the estate, she launched into wine tourism 15 years ago. And as soon as the High Environmental Value was launched, she jumped right in.

But between the climatic hazards of the last five years, a market in decline, Trump taxes, the pandemic with its share of border closures, a now structural deconsumption of wine which particularly affects red wine (three quarters of its production), getting your head above water has become mission impossible.

Try again

Preferring to act rather than suffer in the face of the difficulty of selling her 2,000 hectoliters of wine from 2023, she decides to bring two thirds of her production to the cooperative cellar d’Assas rather than selling it to the trade: "But, economically, it wasn't enough. Of course, the grapes were sold, but at a price lower than the cost price. I have a hole in my accounts of 100,000 euros. It's impossible to get out of it“, laments the winemaker.

She tried again by releasing a grape beer since red wine is no longer drunk and “we need to reinvent wines, because their profiles are no longer suitable“, but it is not enough to get things back on track.”So the grubbing-up premiums have arrived at just the right time. And since then, it's been spinning.

Pull out ? She doesn't know yet

Her first thought was:  "Oyes for 2 ha of merlot that don't produce much anymore". Before looking back at the device and noting its flaws. "It is an immediately economic measure. But those who, like me, need cash will have to advance the money, and it will not be reimbursed for a year. But without cash, what do we do??“, she raises.

But what rightly worries her is that any candidate for uprooting must commit to abandoning the planting permits for the uprooted areas and not requesting new permits for the next six campaigns. “My farm is already not profitable. By uprooting, I am compromising the production potential of a buyer if I find one. I can't stop thinking about it. My team is not in favor of uprooting, because it represents a lot of work and, in the meantime, they are not taking care of the vines that are doing well. We are more inclined to the idea of ​​uprooting, but I remain undecided, because I do not want to compromise the planting rights of the person who will take over from me.” Cornélien… 

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