Journalists from all over the world in the heart of the Loire vineyards for tastings. The 4th edition of the Val de Loire millésime fair ends in Angers while the wines of our region continue to be exported very well despite the health crisis. With record figures for the year 2021.
It is fresh, like this white Saumur that she is tasting with delight and concentration. Karyne Duplessis Piche arrives from Canada. There, on the other side of the Atlantic, she is a specialized journalist, in the written press in Montreal, in radio in Quebec. His specialty: wines. She loves them, tastes them, praises them or advises against them. It’s his job.
“There are many choices, whether in sparkling wines, dry wines, sweet wines and even rosés. This versatility is very appealing. And above all, this freshness.”
Karyne thinks that we have too long, and wrongly, underestimated certain wine-growing areas.
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“The Loire is showing itself in all its glory thanks to its winegrowers who are starting to be more dynamic, but also to climate change which is bringing more maturity, more depth to the wines and we like that a lot. .”
Nectars allow for marvelous pairings. They resemble Quebec wines in their freshness and ease. Quebecers recognize themselves a lot in the wines of the Loire Valley
Karyne Duplessis Piche
canadian journalist
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Products that are increasingly attractive internationally, it’s a fact and the figures confirm it. In 2021, Loire Valley Wines reached their highest historical export level, both in volume and in value.
Driven by the dynamics of white wines and fine bubbles, wines from the region broke all their records on the export markets in 2021, in volume, 80 million bottles, and in value: 373 million euros.
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The progression is strong with double-digit growth compared to 2020: cellar outputs are up by 13.9% while turnover has jumped, for its part, by 24.2%.
“The numbers have been rising for 4 years. The health crisis hasn’t stopped anything. Our wines are trending on international markets, especially whites and fine bubbles, which have a reputation for being fresh and easy wines.”, observes with satisfaction Sylvain Naulin, director of Interloire.
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“We see this particularly in North America. What is interesting is the increase in our exports in volume and especially in value. We are in an unprecedented dynamic up to now, driven by high-end operators and sommeliers”adds the general manager of Interloire.
The increase concerns almost all markets. In volume, exports are up in eighteen of the twenty main markets. In value, the increase is general in all the countries of the Top 20.
In detail, the markets in which growth is the strongest are the United States (+32.7% in volume, +40.3% in value), Belgium (+9.8% in volume, + 13% in value) and the Netherlands (+14.3% in volume, +15.1% in value).
In the heart of the Saumur-Champigny terroir, the reassured winegrowers, after an episode of frost which scorched a few buds on the vines, confirm that the negotiations are going well beyond the borders.
Environmental certification, conversion to organic farming, for Amélie Neau Vigneronne in Souzais-Champigny, this is also the key to success: “clearly it opens doors for us abroad.”
We have been trying to work on our tannins for years. We know that Cabernet Franc is our unique grape variety and that on the tufa, it has really good qualities that develop
Amelie Neau
viticultrice
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“We have also worked quite a lot on light wines, complex wines with aging. I think that in winemaking there are a lot of things that have evolved to offer wines closer to the taste of foreign consumers”, continues the winegrower.
Arnaud Lambert, domain owner, makes 60% of his turnover internationally.
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“Demand is increasing and we are in a region of high production. For 10 years we have worked hard to improve the quality of our wines. There is also a whole network of distributors and importers who are there now, not to sell Loire wines but to publicize and develop the image of our products.”
Our gold before was maturity, now it’s freshness, on our Cabernets. This is what makes everyone dream a little. These are never ostentatious wines but increasingly fine and more balanced
Arnaud Lambert
Winemaker, owner of Domaine Lambert
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Among these loyal customers and large consumers, the United States and Australia. But Arnaud Lambert sees even bigger: “I have hopes for China. We have been trying to sell there for more than 20 years. It was complicated, we stopped. There we see that it is picking up again with a whole education system and not simply mass selling. To make it work, you have to start at the beginning!”
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