by Hervé Lalau

The president of the Bordeaux Interprofession CIVB, Alain Vironneau said that after a period of consolidation could come a period of reconquest. "We have got rid of most of the unsold stock and our three year uprooting scheme has borne its fruit and allowed us to reduce overproduction,” he said. “But now that the production is sound, and as the markets are growing again, we hope to be able to reconquer some lost ground.” Vironneau said that Bordeaux sales were 5.7m hectoliters in 2007, a small year, but he hoped production would increase to seven million hectoliters, adding that even within the current AOC's production zone, Bordeaux has a potential for development. At present, some 125,000 ha are under vine, when there is a potential for some 180,000. “Of course, it may seem strange to talk about this when we have just been uprooting some.” For Vironneau, "Bordeaux has selling propositions in all segments of today's market, and for all of its past problems, is still very much a reference when it comes to fine wines".

To achieve this goal, exports will have to play a larger role in Bordeaux's economy: whereas a third of all Bordeaux sales are now exported, the objective is around 60-70%.

The trickiest part will be to convince new customers that Bordeaux is not losing its identity. When asked if Bordeaux's brands could hope to compete with the big export players, Vironneau said that some operators in the region, such as co-operatives, were grouping together to achieve more momentum. "Of course, that will not place them in the league of brands like Gallo or Jacob's Creek. But having more niche brands, and a different way of doing things, might turn out to be an advantage.”

Vironneau said the CIVB has been working on two separate marketing axes in the past two years. One point would be to reinforce that Bordeaux is affordable. “In fact, 98% of all Bordeaux are affordable, and the other 2% are image builders.”

His second point is that the Ecole du Vin (Bordeaux Wine School), has allowed the CIVB to recruit new ambassadors for wine, and give a better view of what people are really expecting from Bordeaux. “These actions might not be as spectacular as big posters in big cities of the world, but have been very efficient indeed. As a region, as an interprofession, we cannot compete with the advertising of multinationals who spend 30% of their income on ads,” said Vironneau. “So we have to find other ways, capitalising on our name, our tradition, without getting dusty. One of our greatest challenge is to get everybody, from the small Bordeaux to the most famous Grand Cru Classé, under the same banner - but we do."