WEBVTT

00:00:01.882 --> 00:00:05.203
So when a region of the world 
becomes known for a specific type of food,

00:00:05.203 --> 00:00:07.365
they'll go to great lengths to protect it.

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

00:00:08.832 --> 00:00:10.112
It can only be called that

00:00:10.112 --> 00:00:12.267
if it meets a very particular
set of requirements,

00:00:12.267 --> 00:00:15.380
including that the cow was born, fed, 
and slaughtered in a region of Japan

00:00:15.380 --> 00:00:17.730
that includes the city of Kobe.

00:00:17.730 --> 00:00:19.849
Quebec regulates who can sell maple syrup

00:00:19.849 --> 00:00:23.016
and the government even keeps
a strategic reserve.

00:00:23.016 --> 00:00:26.602
French champagne is from, you guessed it, 
the Champagne region of France

00:00:26.602 --> 00:00:28.576
and it's heavily regulated.

00:00:28.576 --> 00:00:31.185
But the pandemic is exposing 
the behind-the-scenes drama

00:00:31.185 --> 00:00:32.519
about how it's produced.

00:00:33.419 --> 00:00:35.678
DYING ON THE VINE

00:00:38.348 --> 00:00:42.396 line:1
You must hold it like this
and tap, all the way up.

00:00:42.396 --> 00:00:42.944
Okay.

00:00:42.944 --> 00:00:44.210
And I use the back of the knife.

00:00:44.210 --> 00:00:46.426 line:1
- Here, this part. OK.
- Yes, that part.

00:00:46.426 --> 00:00:47.699
Okay, merci.

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

00:00:51.116 --> 00:00:51.899
Okay.

00:00:51.899 --> 00:00:54.704
This is very difficult.

00:00:54.704 --> 00:00:57.800
Whoaaaaa!

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

00:01:01.847 --> 00:01:05.228
Whooooo!

00:01:05.228 --> 00:01:08.469
<i>And that's bad news
for Charles Duval-Leroy and his family.</i>

00:01:09.366 --> 00:01:09.695
Merci.

00:01:09.695 --> 00:01:13.611 line:1
This is what we have today for 
Femme de Champagne: non-vintage.

00:01:13.611 --> 00:01:18.095 line:1
It is more of apéritif-style vintage.

00:01:18.095 --> 00:01:21.299 line:1
We stay in the frame 
of elegance and finesse.

00:01:21.609 --> 00:01:25.268
<i>Duval-Leroy has been in
this business for 150 years.</i>

00:01:25.268 --> 00:01:28.169
<i>They produce more than
2 million bottles annually</i>

00:01:28.169 --> 00:01:30.615
<i>for big clients like Delta Airlines</i>

00:01:30.615 --> 00:01:33.096
<i>and the Moulin Rouge.</i>

00:01:33.096 --> 00:01:37.893
<i>With Covid-19 keeping planes on the ground</i>
<i>and event spaces closed,</i>

00:01:37.893 --> 00:01:41.001
<i>sales have plummeted by almost 40%,</i>

00:01:41.001 --> 00:01:44.435
<i>and the champagne industry
has had to take drastic action.</i>

00:01:45.751 --> 00:01:48.046 line:1
This is an unusual year.

00:01:48.046 --> 00:01:49.685 line:1
We had a good harvest,

00:01:49.685 --> 00:01:52.034 line:1
but due to this COVID-19 crisis,

00:01:52.034 --> 00:01:54.633 line:1
we couldn't harvest all the grapes.

00:01:54.633 --> 00:01:58.681 line:1
As you can see, 
there are a lot of grapes left.

00:01:58.681 --> 00:02:01.833 line:1
It's a frustrating year for us.

00:02:01.833 --> 00:02:05.532
If I didn't the context,
it looks like sabotage.

00:02:05.532 --> 00:02:08.662 line:1
It's really something unprecedented.

00:02:08.662 --> 00:02:11.244 line:1
There are so many times
that we ask ourselves

00:02:11.244 --> 00:02:14.253 line:1
if there's a new wine-making method.

00:02:14.253 --> 00:02:16.975 line:1
No, it's just throwing the grapes
on the ground.

00:02:16.975 --> 00:02:18.986 line:1
It makes no sense.

00:02:18.986 --> 00:02:21.604
With the sales dropping 
throughout the year,

00:02:21.604 --> 00:02:23.168
how did the industry respond?

00:02:23.168 --> 00:02:25.500 line:1
The first step was to say,

00:02:25.500 --> 00:02:27.278 line:1
"Let's reduce quotas.

00:02:27.278 --> 00:02:29.468 line:1
If we reduce quotas, we reduce production.

00:02:29.468 --> 00:02:32.235 line:1
We won't inflate the stock
that hasn't been sold."

00:02:32.235 --> 00:02:35.119 line:1
It's a truly collective response
to lower production,

00:02:35.119 --> 00:02:38.100 line:1
which is why we have left grapes
on the vine today.

00:02:38.100 --> 00:02:42.913 line:1
It's a heartbreaking response,
but we know it's necessary

00:02:42.913 --> 00:02:45.200 line:1
for the long term in Champagne.

00:02:45.200 --> 00:02:50.566
(Charlet) <i>Champagne has spent decades
meticulously curating a global image</i>

00:02:50.566 --> 00:02:53.582
<i>as the way to mark special occasions.</i>

00:02:53.582 --> 00:02:55.719
<i>It's this type of deliberate management</i>

00:02:55.719 --> 00:02:59.312
<i>that led to cutting production
by 100 million bottles this year</i>

00:02:59.312 --> 00:03:01.218
<i>to prop up prices,</i>

00:03:01.218 --> 00:03:06.031
<i>but the decision left 
over 10,000 tons of grapes to waste away,</i>

00:03:06.031 --> 00:03:08.396
<i>and it didn't necessarily account for issues</i>

00:03:08.396 --> 00:03:10.611
<i>that were already threatening 
champagne's reign</i>

00:03:10.611 --> 00:03:12.517
<i>as a celebratory drink of choice.</i>

00:03:13.568 --> 00:03:16.148
Can you talk a little bit about 
the state of of the champagne industry

00:03:16.148 --> 00:03:17.920
before the pandemic hit?

00:03:17.920 --> 00:03:20.062
Because I remember there was already
talk of champagne

00:03:20.062 --> 00:03:21.569
having a little bit of an image crisis

00:03:21.569 --> 00:03:22.583
before COVID.

00:03:23.534 --> 00:03:26.914 line:1
Since 2008, champagne 
hasn't regained its sales

00:03:26.914 --> 00:03:30.500 line:1
simply because the final consumer,

00:03:30.500 --> 00:03:32.566 line:1
due to to economic issues,

00:03:32.566 --> 00:03:35.235 line:1
has shifted from champagne 
to other alcohols

00:03:35.235 --> 00:03:37.487 line:1
or other apéritif, of course.

00:03:37.487 --> 00:03:39.552 line:1
Champagne hasn't benefited yet
from Instagram.

00:03:39.552 --> 00:03:41.445 line:1
We see more and more that

00:03:41.445 --> 00:03:43.811 line:1
there is an audience that
needs to show itself

00:03:43.811 --> 00:03:46.650 line:1
with a big glass with lots of ice
and colors in it.

00:03:46.650 --> 00:03:49.134 line:1
A gin and tonic that's well prepared

00:03:49.134 --> 00:03:50.797 line:1
and looks beautiful.

00:03:50.797 --> 00:03:53.182 line:1
And champagne is very elegant,

00:03:53.182 --> 00:03:56.945 line:1
but it's served in a small glass
with not a lot in it.

00:03:56.945 --> 00:03:59.883 line:1
It's too discreet to take a selfie
or a photo with.

00:03:59.883 --> 00:04:01.581 line:1
"Look, I'm in a dreamy landscape."

00:04:01.849 --> 00:04:04.814
(Charlet) <i>But some smaller producers 
have a different take</i>

00:04:04.814 --> 00:04:06.797
<i>on the right response to the crisis.</i>

00:04:07.865 --> 00:04:09.030 line:1
The color is incredible,

00:04:09.030 --> 00:04:11.147 line:1
it looks like Roussanne [grapes].

00:04:12.671 --> 00:04:14.371
(Charlet) <i>While the big names 
in the industry</i>

00:04:14.371 --> 00:04:16.755
<i>sell millions of bottles each year,</i>

00:04:16.755 --> 00:04:22.601
<i>Alselme Selosse makes only about 50,000
and each one can go for hundreds of euros.</i>

00:04:24.736 --> 00:04:28.018 line:1
We're looking for the grapes' stems.

00:04:28.018 --> 00:04:29.209 line:1
(Charlet) Like this?

00:04:29.209 --> 00:04:31.231 line:1
(Anselme) Yes. And then, on the soil.

00:04:31.231 --> 00:04:33.270 line:1
(Charlet) No? That's sad.

00:04:33.270 --> 00:04:35.377 line:1
(Anselme) Yes, it's sad because there's
a full team that worked on it

00:04:35.377 --> 00:04:39.285 line:1
for a whole year.

00:04:39.285 --> 00:04:41.438 line:1
This is a gift from nature.

00:04:41.438 --> 00:04:43.012 line:1
We're insulting nature.

00:04:43.012 --> 00:04:47.603 line:1
We're not able to keep what it gives us.

00:04:47.603 --> 00:04:52.052
(Charlet) <i>The quotas mean all producers
are leaving grapes on the ground</i>

00:04:52.052 --> 00:04:52.746
<i>to compost.</i>

00:04:52.746 --> 00:04:56.369
<i>Something that Selosse sees 
as particularly hard for smaller companies</i>

00:04:56.369 --> 00:04:58.317
<i>that can't lose out on revenue.</i>

00:04:58.317 --> 00:05:02.803
So the industry implemented a
quota to try and ease the crisis.

00:05:02.803 --> 00:05:04.295
Do you think that was the right solution?

00:05:05.053 --> 00:05:06.377 line:1
It's not a solution.

00:05:06.377 --> 00:05:11.585 line:1
It's a way to carry on
while keeping everyone at ease.

00:05:11.585 --> 00:05:14.370 line:1
I see it as a race to the bottom.

00:05:14.370 --> 00:05:17.653 line:1
Those who make no effort, who don't adapt,

00:05:17.653 --> 00:05:21.744 line:1
who see vines as grape-producing machines,

00:05:21.744 --> 00:05:25.119 line:1
they are the ones being rewarded.

00:05:25.119 --> 00:05:30.776 line:1
So they want the good producers
to waste their high-quality fruits

00:05:30.776 --> 00:05:34.702 line:1
so that they can sell
their poor quality fruits.

00:05:34.702 --> 00:05:37.735 line:1
That's not how you give
young people a future.

00:05:37.735 --> 00:05:41.616 line:1
These three young men
are the future of the region.

00:05:41.616 --> 00:05:46.295
(Charlet) <i>For Selosse, champagne success 
depends on innovation</i>

00:05:46.295 --> 00:05:48.048
<i>from the next generation of winemakers.</i>

00:05:49.044 --> 00:05:51.829 line:1
Charlet, would you like
a glass of champagne?

00:05:52.286 --> 00:05:55.879 line:1
Okay. (laughter)

00:05:55.879 --> 00:05:59.010
(Charlet) <i>But younger producers
like Alexander Chartogne</i>

00:05:59.010 --> 00:06:02.043
<i>are also the ones
with the most recent investments,</i>

00:06:02.043 --> 00:06:04.619
<i>leaving them the most at risk financially.</i>

00:06:06.300 --> 00:06:07.902
I love it.

00:06:08.531 --> 00:06:11.469
Would you drink this for
an aperitif or with food?

00:06:11.887 --> 00:06:13.193 line:1
It depends on your mood.

00:06:13.193 --> 00:06:14.452 line:1
It depends on the moment.

00:06:14.452 --> 00:06:16.453 line:1
You can drink it
really early in the morning

00:06:16.453 --> 00:06:18.785 line:1
or really late in the evening.
(laughter)

00:06:19.717 --> 00:06:20.927
This is really good, though.

00:06:22.644 --> 00:06:25.254
(Charlet) <i>Most champagne makers
are doing fine</i>

00:06:25.254 --> 00:06:26.571
<i>for now.</i>

00:06:26.838 --> 00:06:30.483
<i>But their future depends
on when the pandemic ends.</i>

00:06:30.483 --> 00:06:34.711
<i>And more importantly, 
if sales pick up when it does.</i>

00:06:35.352 --> 00:06:38.734
Of all the industries 
that have been hurt by the pandemic,

00:06:39.650 --> 00:06:41.980
champagne is not necessarily
the most sympathetic one.

00:06:42.461 --> 00:06:45.282
Why should people care
that champagne's been hurt?

00:06:45.717 --> 00:06:47.557 line:1
In many countries--
whether it's the English,

00:06:47.557 --> 00:06:49.183 line:1
the Americans, the Germans--

00:06:49.183 --> 00:06:52.168 line:1
nobody likes French people
but everyone loves France,

00:06:52.168 --> 00:06:55.454 line:1
and champagne is the tip of that image.