Bernard HUDELOT (President Union of Œnologists)
Burgundy is an historic wine-making region whose products have a strong reputation, in Europe and throughout the world.
The unique character of Burgundy wines on which they have built their reputation is due to the region’s traditional techniques, the antioxidant rich pinot noir grape variety and the region’s climate. The singularity of these wines reaches its full potential after a period of maturation of several years.
Antioxidants are a key factor in the aptitude of Burgundy wines for aging. The positive health effects of the antioxidants found in these wines are also a potentially rich vein for scientific research.
However, the globalisation of preferences has lead the Burgundy wine industry to adapt itself to demand by developing winemaking processes that accelerate the aging process. But there is also a great risk of loss of identity and “conventionalisation” of character, while prices for Burgundy products remain relatively high in comparison to their counterparts, in particular from the Southern hemisphere and Spain.
In order to take up this challenge, the Vitagora Wine & Vine cluster has devised an approach that underlines the promotion of the values of “raw material” and “unique character” of Burgundy wines. Aiming beyond the notion of quality control, this approach also seeks to increase the value of Burgundy wines by associating them with positive nutrition and consumer health.
The Burgundy wine industry is composed of a number of players: businesses (Maison Boisset, Maison Faiveley etc.) and professional associations (AVCO, CAVB, BIVB, FNEB etc.), all of whom are open to the development of cultivation and processing techniques that would allow the preservation of the authenticity of their products and of the environment.
Partnerships with research facilities prioritise the following areas:
Agronomy (with ENESAD, IUVV, INRA, Sediag, Microvitis, Guillaume Nurseries) Positive nutrition and health (with INSERM, University of Burgundy, Kirial) New approaches to facilitating the process of vintage wine-making (dual approach of quality control/traceability and financial engineering) Development of new products in accordance with consumer demand
Demonstrating their vision of Vitagora’s strategy for industry competitiveness, the businesses of the Wine & Vine cluster have anticipated a number of the recommendations present in the first section of the report submitted in May 2006 to the French Prime Minister by Bernard Pomel (report for the implementation of the national restructuring plan for the French wine industry).
The Wine & Vine cluster has the goal of allowing its participants to consolidate and develop their activities through innovation and research with a high added value. This approach also seeks to understand and highlight the advantages of the “logic of the living”.
The plan of action for the cluster revolves around three themes of innovation:
Vintage Wines – the unique identity of Burgundy wines offers specific characteristics –secondary and tertiary aromas – in particular in aged vintage wines.
The mono-variety (pinot noir) in whites and reds (typical of Burgundy wines) allows an almost unique definition of these wines which, throughout history, have established themselves as industry leaders.
Improving wines through a process of cellaring and aging allows them to develop these characteristics with, for example, the development of complex and subtle tertiary aromas.
A scientific approach will allow Vitagora to enrich its understanding of the effects of the logic of the living in all the winemaking and aging processes, in order to obtain a better understanding of the mechanisms, in particular the stocking of antioxidants such as resveratrol (two to three times more than in other wines). Thanks to research carried out by the Pr. Bessis and Jeandet of IUVV, the important properties of antioxidants have been proved, in particular their action on cardiovascular risk factors such as cholesterol.
Although the market for vintage wines remains small, it represents the most relevant line of development for highlighting the aspects that differentiate Burgundy vintage wines – and mark them out as exceptional - from the products of their competitor countries.
A transversal base for quality control – This pilot project, aimed at professionals and service providers of the wine industry, is being carried out on vine-growing, agricultural practices and oenology. The optimisation of the soil-plant-geography relationship integrates both new regulations concerning the use of soil conditioners and new selection processes used by nurseries. The objective is to establish complementary research into, first and foremost, two strategic factors: “raw material” and “the expression of unique character”.
The projects of this branch are primarily focussed on the creation of a Geo-referenced information System – software tools for decision-making and management of the wine industry –, the optimisation of the natural defences of vines and the reduction of chemical treatments, and the development of early-warning tools for diagnosing plant diseases.
New wines adapted to consumer demand – These products will be developed in accordance with the marketing-consumer goals to be developed in parallel by Vitagora. These products will be in line with the industry strategy and marketing choices of the economic players of the Wine & Vine cluster.
Two development lines have been identified: low-alcohol aromatic sparkling wines and wines targeting a youth market.
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