Champagne's inconvenient truth

The ever widening gap between the message conveyed and the practices in the vineyard and winery

Somewhere between Cramant and Avize

Sometimes it feels like I live in a parallel world. On Tuesday, I received this message from the CIVC US Bureau:” Springtime in a vineyard marks the start of the growing cycle as dormant vines awaken and the first buds appear. 

It also marks the approach of Earth Day on April 22. Earth Day reminds us to be mindful of our environment and the effects of climate change.”

 A little further in the email there was this paragraph: “The cultivation of the vines and the winemaking process continue to be held to the highest standard of excellence, with strict specifications that have been developed over generations. This ensures the quality of Champagne will remain consistent over time regardless of factors, including climate change.”

I had to pinch myself reading this, because it is obvious that the new US Bureau Director has

1.        not set foot in the vineyards during his/her visit

2.        no idea of the regulations on glyphosate spraying and that blank spraying is in fact illegal nor of the negative effects it is said to have on the environment and the climate

3.        not grasped the essence of what  “the highest standard of excellence “ in the vineyard really stands for (and how alien this idea is compared to the practices of too many growers)

4.        obviously has not analyzed the meaning of “tri a la cuve – or sorting at tank level needed because wines are too moldy to be bottled

5.        not really given the quality of champagne too much thought

I was not sure if I should forward any of the drone pictures I had taken this spring with a few comments, or even some of the wonderful pictures of crates of rotten grapes taken in press centers at harvest  or just shrug this  false marketing message off. In the end I opted for the latter. It is obvious that I am not their ideal target audience, not only because I live here, but most importantly because I refuse to be wrapped up in the false fairytale that the word champagne still stands for superior quality. That boat has sailed a long time ago…

Instead I decided, it may be more educational to use this message to have a closer look at the ever widening  gap between the image Champagne wishes to convey and its actual practices, which are far from “the highest standard of excellence”. Moreover, it does not help the image, that the houses and thus the UMC (Union des. Maisons de Champagne), the SGV (Syndicat  Général des Vignerons) and the CIVC (Comité Champagne)  are all too well aware of the growing list of substandard practices but prefer to ignore them, hoping the press will not pick up on them either. It is mind-blowing they are hanging onto the believe that the consumer will continue to accept the yarn they have been spun, and will somehow not notice that the price hike they are seeing, has not been driven by improved quality.