Grapes are the 6th most consumed fruit in France. The Table Grape Day, led by René Reynard, President of the Muscat du Ventoux grape PDO and National Table Grape PDO, bought together 100 or so professionals from the sector from the Vaucluse, the Gard and the South West. The Muscat du Ventoux is the star grape in the Vaucluse.
The day began with a summary of the last campaign, which René Reynard said “began late, around the 20th August. But, the grapes were of a good quality in terms of flavour, with a peak in production at the end of August which plummeted in the first fortnight of September. Cold storage in 2016 was higher than in 2015, due to commercialisation problems which meant producers had to stock the grapes.” 62% of grapes produced in 2015 were Muscat du Ventoux grapes, of which 80% were black grapes and 6% Danlas.
Luc Barbier, President of the National Fruit Producers Federation, spoke of the image consumers have of producers, saying that “We are seeing a real divide between the agricultural world and the consumers”. He said, “When you go to hospital, you don’t judge the pertinence of the products used, or the surgical techniques, you just trust them.” René Reynard supported these comments, “Society does not have a real view of agricultural production. We are constantly criticised concerning pesticides”.
Such criticisms could be deemed unfair as the agricultural world has made efforts concerning the environment over the last few years. René Reynard says that the retail system, which does not favour local production enough, should be reviewed. He also pointed out that the Provence landscape is what attracts mass tourism and it is made up of farmers and producers.
Loic Lecunff, scientist from the UMT (Mixed Technological Unit) also spoke at the event. He has been researching grape varieties for 10 years now and is looking into new varieties that are resistant to disease in order to reduce phytosanitary usage. They no longer have to wait 2 or 3 years for the plants to grow, their DNA speaks for itself. Having crossed 14 varieties, 50 genotypes were made with genes against oidium and mildew, the two main vine diseases. Plantation is planned for 2019 and commercialisation of the new varieties could begin as of 2025.
As part of the national Ecophyto plan (which aims to reduce phytosanitary usage), the Vaucluse Chamber of Agriculture set up a group of table grape farms called Dephy in 2012 (Network to show, develop and produce systems to reduce phytosanitary use). Projects are different for each farm, depending on their characteristics. Between 2012-2016, the average use of the groups treatments decreased by 24%. Members favoured products with a low toxicological ranking (including organic products) and tried to avoid using carcinogenic and mutagenic products. Dephy offers a personalised approach to each farmer.
