0:00:01.882,0:00:05.203
So when a region of the world [br]becomes known for a specific type of food,

0:00:05.203,0:00:07.365
they'll go to great lengths to protect it.

0:00:07.365,0:00:08.832
I mean, let's look at Kobe beef.

0:00:08.832,0:00:10.112
It can only be called that

0:00:10.112,0:00:12.267
if it meets a very particular[br]set of requirements,

0:00:12.267,0:00:15.380
including that the cow was born, fed, [br]and slaughtered in a region of Japan

0:00:15.380,0:00:17.730
that includes the city of Kobe.

0:00:17.730,0:00:19.849
Quebec regulates who can sell maple syrup

0:00:19.849,0:00:23.016
and the government even keeps[br]a strategic reserve.

0:00:23.016,0:00:26.602
French champagne is from, you guessed it, [br]the Champagne region of France

0:00:26.602,0:00:28.576
and it's heavily regulated.

0:00:28.576,0:00:31.185
But the pandemic is exposing [br]the behind-the-scenes drama

0:00:31.185,0:00:32.519
about how it's produced.

0:00:33.419,0:00:35.678
DYING ON THE VINE

0:00:38.348,0:00:42.396
You must hold it like this[br]and tap, all the way up.

0:00:42.396,0:00:42.944
Okay.

0:00:42.944,0:00:44.210
And I use the back of the knife.

0:00:44.210,0:00:46.426
- Here, this part. OK.[br]- Yes, that part.

0:00:46.426,0:00:47.699
Okay, merci.

0:00:48.519,0:00:50.013
Oh, it's quite heavy.

0:00:51.116,0:00:51.899
Okay.

0:00:51.899,0:00:54.704
This is very difficult.

0:00:54.704,0:00:57.800
Whoaaaaa!

0:00:58.120,0:01:01.847
(Charlet) <i>There were many reasons [br]to break out the champagne sabre in 2020.</i>

0:01:01.847,0:01:05.228
Whooooo!

0:01:05.228,0:01:08.469
<i>And that's bad news[br]for Charles Duval-Leroy and his family.</i>

0:01:09.366,0:01:09.695
Merci.

0:01:09.695,0:01:13.611
This is what we have today for [br]Femme de Champagne: non-vintage.

0:01:13.611,0:01:18.095
It is more of apéritif-style vintage.

0:01:18.095,0:01:21.299
We stay in the frame [br]of elegance and finesse.

0:01:21.609,0:01:25.268
<i>Duval-Leroy has been in[br]this business for 150 years.</i>

0:01:25.268,0:01:28.169
<i>They produce more than[br]2 million bottles annually</i>

0:01:28.169,0:01:30.615
<i>for big clients like Delta Airlines</i>

0:01:30.615,0:01:33.096
<i>and the Moulin Rouge.</i>

0:01:33.096,0:01:37.893
<i>With Covid-19 keeping planes on the ground</i>[br]<i>and event spaces closed,</i>

0:01:37.893,0:01:41.001
<i>sales have plummeted by almost 40%,</i>

0:01:41.001,0:01:44.435
<i>and the champagne industry[br]has had to take drastic action.</i>

0:01:45.751,0:01:48.046
This is an unusual year.

0:01:48.046,0:01:49.685
We had a good harvest,

0:01:49.685,0:01:52.034
but due to this COVID-19 crisis,

0:01:52.034,0:01:54.633
we couldn't harvest all the grapes.

0:01:54.633,0:01:58.681
As you can see, [br]there are a lot of grapes left.

0:01:58.681,0:02:01.833
It's a frustrating year for us.

0:02:01.833,0:02:05.532
If I didn't the context,[br]it looks like sabotage.

0:02:05.532,0:02:08.662
It's really something unprecedented.

0:02:08.662,0:02:11.244
There are so many times[br]that we ask ourselves

0:02:11.244,0:02:14.253
if there's a new wine-making method.

0:02:14.253,0:02:16.975
No, it's just throwing the grapes[br]on the ground.

0:02:16.975,0:02:18.986
It makes no sense.

0:02:18.986,0:02:21.604
With the sales dropping [br]throughout the year,

0:02:21.604,0:02:23.168
how did the industry respond?

0:02:23.168,0:02:25.500
The first step was to say,

0:02:25.500,0:02:27.278
"Let's reduce quotas.

0:02:27.278,0:02:29.468
If we reduce quotas, we reduce production.

0:02:29.468,0:02:32.235
We won't inflate the stock[br]that hasn't been sold."

0:02:32.235,0:02:35.119
It's a truly collective response[br]to lower production,

0:02:35.119,0:02:38.100
which is why we have left grapes[br]on the vine today.

0:02:38.100,0:02:42.913
It's a heartbreaking response,[br]but we know it's necessary

0:02:42.913,0:02:45.200
for the long term in Champagne.

0:02:45.200,0:02:50.566
(Charlet) <i>Champagne has spent decades[br]meticulously curating a global image</i>

0:02:50.566,0:02:53.582
<i>as the way to mark special occasions.</i>

0:02:53.582,0:02:55.719
<i>It's this type of deliberate management</i>

0:02:55.719,0:02:59.312
<i>that led to cutting production[br]by 100 million bottles this year</i>

0:02:59.312,0:03:01.218
<i>to prop up prices,</i>

0:03:01.218,0:03:06.031
<i>but the decision left [br]over 10,000 tons of grapes to waste away,</i>

0:03:06.031,0:03:08.396
<i>and it didn't necessarily account for issues</i>

0:03:08.396,0:03:10.611
<i>that were already threatening [br]champagne's reign</i>

0:03:10.611,0:03:12.517
<i>as a celebratory drink of choice.</i>

0:03:13.568,0:03:16.148
Can you talk a little bit about [br]the state of of the champagne industry

0:03:16.148,0:03:17.920
before the pandemic hit?

0:03:17.920,0:03:20.062
Because I remember there was already[br]talk of champagne

0:03:20.062,0:03:21.569
having a little bit of an image crisis

0:03:21.569,0:03:22.583
before COVID.

0:03:23.534,0:03:26.914
Since 2008, champagne [br]hasn't regained its sales

0:03:26.914,0:03:30.500
simply because the final consumer,

0:03:30.500,0:03:32.566
due to to economic issues,

0:03:32.566,0:03:35.235
has shifted from champagne [br]to other alcohols

0:03:35.235,0:03:37.487
or other apéritif, of course.

0:03:37.487,0:03:39.552
Champagne hasn't benefited yet[br]from Instagram.

0:03:39.552,0:03:41.445
We see more and more that

0:03:41.445,0:03:43.811
there is an audience that[br]needs to show itself

0:03:43.811,0:03:46.650
with a big glass with lots of ice[br]and colors in it.

0:03:46.650,0:03:49.134
A gin and tonic that's well prepared

0:03:49.134,0:03:50.797
and looks beautiful.

0:03:50.797,0:03:53.182
And champagne is very elegant,

0:03:53.182,0:03:56.945
but it's served in a small glass[br]with not a lot in it.

0:03:56.945,0:03:59.883
It's too discreet to take a selfie[br]or a photo with.

0:03:59.883,0:04:01.581
"Look, I'm in a dreamy landscape."

0:04:01.849,0:04:04.814
(Charlet) <i>But some smaller producers [br]have a different take</i>

0:04:04.814,0:04:06.797
<i>on the right response to the crisis.</i>

0:04:07.865,0:04:09.030
The color is incredible,

0:04:09.030,0:04:11.147
it looks like Roussanne [grapes].

0:04:12.671,0:04:14.371
(Charlet) <i>While the big names [br]in the industry</i>

0:04:14.371,0:04:16.755
<i>sell millions of bottles each year,</i>

0:04:16.755,0:04:22.601
<i>Alselme Selosse makes only about 50,000[br]and each one can go for hundreds of euros.</i>

0:04:24.736,0:04:28.018
We're looking for the grapes' stems.

0:04:28.018,0:04:29.209
(Charlet) Like this?

0:04:29.209,0:04:31.231
(Anselme) Yes. And then, on the soil.

0:04:31.231,0:04:33.270
(Charlet) No? That's sad.

0:04:33.270,0:04:35.377
(Anselme) Yes, it's sad because there's[br]a full team that worked on it

0:04:35.377,0:04:39.285
for a whole year.

0:04:39.285,0:04:41.438
This is a gift from nature.

0:04:41.438,0:04:43.012
We're insulting nature.

0:04:43.012,0:04:47.603
We're not able to keep what it gives us.

0:04:47.603,0:04:52.052
(Charlet) <i>The quotas mean all producers[br]are leaving grapes on the ground</i>

0:04:52.052,0:04:52.746
<i>to compost.</i>

0:04:52.746,0:04:56.369
<i>Something that Selosse sees [br]as particularly hard for smaller companies</i>

0:04:56.369,0:04:58.317
<i>that can't lose out on revenue.</i>

0:04:58.317,0:05:02.803
So the industry implemented a[br]quota to try and ease the crisis.

0:05:02.803,0:05:04.295
Do you think that was the right solution?

0:05:05.053,0:05:06.377
It's not a solution.

0:05:06.377,0:05:11.585
It's a way to carry on[br]while keeping everyone at ease.

0:05:11.585,0:05:14.370
I see it as a race to the bottom.

0:05:14.370,0:05:17.653
Those who make no effort, who don't adapt,

0:05:17.653,0:05:21.744
who see vines as grape-producing machines,

0:05:21.744,0:05:25.119
they are the ones being rewarded.

0:05:25.119,0:05:30.776
So they want the good producers[br]to waste their high-quality fruits

0:05:30.776,0:05:34.702
so that they can sell[br]their poor quality fruits.

0:05:34.702,0:05:37.735
That's not how you give[br]young people a future.

0:05:37.735,0:05:41.616
These three young men[br]are the future of the region.

0:05:41.616,0:05:46.295
(Charlet) <i>For Selosse, champagne success [br]depends on innovation</i>

0:05:46.295,0:05:48.048
<i>from the next generation of winemakers.</i>

0:05:49.044,0:05:51.829
Charlet, would you like[br]a glass of champagne?

0:05:52.286,0:05:55.879
Okay. (laughter)

0:05:55.879,0:05:59.010
(Charlet) <i>But younger producers[br]like Alexander Chartogne</i>

0:05:59.010,0:06:02.043
<i>are also the ones[br]with the most recent investments,</i>

0:06:02.043,0:06:04.619
<i>leaving them the most at risk financially.</i>

0:06:06.300,0:06:07.902
I love it.

0:06:08.531,0:06:11.469
Would you drink this for[br]an aperitif or with food?

0:06:11.887,0:06:13.193
It depends on your mood.

0:06:13.193,0:06:14.452
It depends on the moment.

0:06:14.452,0:06:16.453
You can drink it[br]really early in the morning

0:06:16.453,0:06:18.785
or really late in the evening.[br](laughter)

0:06:19.717,0:06:20.927
This is really good, though.

0:06:22.644,0:06:25.254
(Charlet) <i>Most champagne makers[br]are doing fine</i>

0:06:25.254,0:06:26.571
<i>for now.</i>

0:06:26.838,0:06:30.483
<i>But their future depends[br]on when the pandemic ends.</i>

0:06:30.483,0:06:34.711
<i>And more importantly, [br]if sales pick up when it does.</i>

0:06:35.352,0:06:38.734
Of all the industries [br]that have been hurt by the pandemic,

0:06:39.650,0:06:41.980
champagne is not necessarily[br]the most sympathetic one.

0:06:42.461,0:06:45.282
Why should people care[br]that champagne's been hurt?

0:06:45.717,0:06:47.557
In many countries--[br]whether it's the English,

0:06:47.557,0:06:49.183
the Americans, the Germans--

0:06:49.183,0:06:52.168
nobody likes French people[br]but everyone loves France,

0:06:52.168,0:06:55.454
and champagne is the tip of that image.