by Hervé Lalau
Most small appellations with little notoriety have suffered badly during the recent French wine crisis. Others, like the Côtes du Marmandais, a vineyard in the vicinity of Bordeaux, but on the wrong side of the Gironde, are taking measure to
address the problem. Is it very difficult for the local growers to compete with small Bordeaux châteaux sold at competitive prices, because the name Bordeaux remains a reference for many buyers.
The Côtes du Marmandais´ representatives have thus decided to reduce the vineyard size. 160 hectares were uprooted last year and 330 more should be gone by the end of 2007. That total is 20% of the vineyards.
The local cooperative, which represents 95% of the production, hopes that it will help stabilize prices as it looks to new markets and it has just hired a new sales representative for Russia.
The Cave du Marmandais resulted from the fusion of the Cave de Cocumont and the Cave de Beaupuy, which merged in 2003. Since then both its production facilities and the range have been streamlined. As it remains dependent on its sales in the French supermarkets for 70% of sales, where they are generally sold on promotion, margins are virtually non-existent. The new policy is to produce and sell less volume, but a better quality at a higher price.
