Origines Cévennes, the French cooperative known for its famous sweet Cévennes onion, also produces apples, including the rustic Reinette du Vigan. The cooperative talks about the production of this ancient apple and this year's organic apple campaign.
"Reinette du Vigan is a rare variety, with a real identity that must be preserved"
© Origine Cévennes
Reinette du Vigan is an ancient variety, grown in the Vigan valley since the end of the Second World War. It is now grown exclusively in the region. Cooperative grower Grégoire Metge and his partner Boris Aurières cultivate almost 4 hectares of the variety. For Grégoire, Reinette du Vigan is "an apple with a future. It is a rare product with a real identity that we need to preserve and promote so that consumers can discover all its qualities." The two growers are planning to plant an additional 3 hectares to perpetuate the tradition and the fruit. Cultivation of this variety has declined significantly in recent years. "Climate change is disrupting the dormancy period of the trees, and the floods in 2000 also had a major impact on the orchards. Fortunately, the Arboux valley offers very favorable conditions for growing this variety." Grégoire, who took over his father-in-law's orchards (some of his apple trees are over 60 years old), grows Reinette du Vigan in an open-air orchard. The trees are not trellised or lined up in rows like in modern orchards, which means harvesting is done the old-fashioned way, using ladders. This also explains the lower yields, with peaks of up to 20 tons per marketable hectare in the best years (35 tons gross are forecast this year).
© Origine Cévennes Boris Aurieres and Grégoire Metge - GAEC de la Borie
With its sweet, slightly tangy flavor and yellow-green color spotted with vermilion, Reinette du Vigan can be eaten both raw and cooked. Consumed raw, it is particularly different from the classic varieties available on the market today. In an increasingly competitive apple market, the Reinette du Vigan stands out thanks to its organoleptic qualities and its very rustic nature," explains Camille Finiels. "It is sometimes wrongly referred to as a mealy apple, but it is its melt-in-the-mouth texture and sweet, slightly tart flavor that really set it apart."
© Origine Cévennes
Organic apples: "very strong competition in an already saturated market"
Alongside Reinette du Vigan, Origine Cévennes also grows and sells Crimson Crips®, Opal®, Dalinette, and Goldrush®. In total, the cooperative produces around 180 tons of apples (all varieties combined) from around 9 hectares of land. Carl Grandidier, sales manager at Origine Cévennes, talks about the campaign. "Marketing the future production of organic apples is going to be difficult this year, as the European market is in high production, with yields higher than N-1. There is a lot of competition in an already saturated market. Consumers are still looking for apples with distinct organoleptic qualities, but aesthetics seems to play an increasingly important role in consumer choice. The Reinette du Vigan is the exception that proves the rule! It is an apple that is highly sought after by consumers because it is unique, but it is difficult to produce because it needs wide variations in temperature to ripen. We sell it almost exclusively locally, because our production is still relatively small.
© Origine Cévennes Crimson Crips
"A number of new processed products are planned for this season"
The Origine Cévennes cooperative also offers a range of processed products, including apple juice, Cévennes sweet onion confit, soups, jams, and chestnut flour. "The main advantage of creating a range of processed products, both for apples and for our other products, is that we can add value to fruit destined for the processing sector," explains Carl Grandidier. "These fruits often have defects in their appearance and cannot be marketed on the fresh market. There are several new features in store for this new season. We have created some new apple jelly. We have also come up with a new onion-apple confit to add to our range, as well as a pissaladière to use as a base for pies or to garnish dishes. The range of processed products allows us to be present on the market throughout the year, whereas our range of fresh products is sold periodically."
© Origine Cévennes For more information:
Camille Finiels
Project Manager
Origine Cévennes
Phone: +33(0)4 67 82 08 26
oignon-doux-des-cevennes.fr
