So when a region of the world becomes known for a specific type of food,
they'll go to great lengths to protect it.
I mean, let's look at Kobe beef.
It can only be called that
if it meets a very particular set of requirements,
including that the cow was born, fed, and slaughtered in a region of Japan
that includes the city of Kobe.
Quebec regulates who can sell maple syrup
and the government even keeps a strategic reserve.
French champagne is from, you guessed it, the Champagne region of France
and it's heavily regulated.
But the pandemic is exposing the behind-the-scenes drama
about how it's produced.
DYING ON THE VINE
You must hold it like this and tap, all the way up.
Okay.
And I use the back of the knife.
- Here, this part. OK. - Yes, that part.
Okay, merci.
Oh, it's quite heavy.
Okay.
This is very difficult.
Whoaaaaa!
(Charlet) There were many reasons to break out the champagne sabre in 2020.
Whooooo!
And that's bad news for Charles Duval-Leroy and his family.
Merci.
This is what we have today for Femme de Champagne: non-vintage.
It is more of apéritif-style vintage.
We stay in the frame of elegance and finesse.
(Charlet) The Duval-Leroy has been in this business for 150 years.
They produce more than 2 million bottles annually
for big clients like Delta Airlines
and the Moulin Rouge.
With COVID-19 keeping planes on the ground
and event spaces closed,
sales have plummeted by almost 40%,
and the champagne industry has had to take drastic action.
This is an unusual year.
We had a good harvest,
but due to this COVID-19 crisis,
we couldn't harvest all the grapes.
As you can see, there are a lot of grapes left.
It's a frustrating year for us.
If I didn't know the context, it looks like sabotage.
It's really something unprecedented.
There are so many times that we ask ourselves
if there's a new wine-making method.
No, it's just throwing the grapes on the ground.
It makes no sense.
With the sales dropping throughout the year,
how did the industry respond?
The first step was to say,
"Let's reduce quotas.
If we reduce quotas, we reduce production.
We won't inflate the stock that hasn't been sold."
It's a truly collective response to lower production,
which is why we have left grapes on the vine today.
It's a heartbreaking response, but we know it's necessary
for the long term in Champagne.
(Charlet) Champagne has spent decades meticulously curating a global image
as the way to mark special occasions.
It's this type of deliberate management
that led to cutting production by 100 million bottles this year
to prop up prices.
But the decision left over 10,000 tons of grapes to waste away,
and it didn't necessarily account for issues
that were already threatening champagne's reign
as a celebratory drink of choice.
Can you talk a little bit about the state of of the champagne industry
before the pandemic hit?
Because I remember there was already talk of champagne
having a little bit of an image crisis
before COVID.
Since 2008, champagne hasn't regained its sales
simply because the final consumer,
due to to economic issues,
has shifted from champagne to other alcohols
or other aperitifs, of course.
Champagne hasn't benefited yet from Instagram.
We see more and more that
there is an audience that needs to show itself
with a big glass with lots of ice and colors in it.
A gin and tonic that's well prepared
and looks beautiful.
And champagne is very elegant,
but it's served in a small glass with not a lot in it.
It's too discreet to take a selfie or a photo with.
"Look, I'm in a dreamy landscape."
(Charlet) But some smaller producers have a different take
on the right response to the crisis.
The color is incredible,
it looks like Roussanne [grapes].
(Charlet) While the big names in the industry
sell millions of bottles each year,
Alselme Selosse makes only about 50,000
and each one can go for hundreds of euros.
We're looking for the grapes' stems.
(Charlet) Like this?
(Anselme) Yes. And then, on the soil.
(Charlet) No. That's sad.
(Anselme) Yes, it's sad because there's a full team that worked on it
for a whole year.
This is a gift from nature.
We're insulting nature.
We're not able to keep what it gives us.
(Charlet) The quotas mean all producers
are leaving grapes on the ground to compost.
Something that Selosse sees as particularly hard for smaller companies
that can't lose out on revenue.
So the industry implemented a quota to try and ease the crisis.
Do you think that was the right solution?
It's not a solution.
It's a way to carry on while keeping everyone at ease.
I see it as a race to the bottom.
Those who make no effort,
who don't adapt,
who see vines as grape-producing machines,
they are the ones being rewarded.
So they want the good producers to waste their high-quality fruits
so that they can sell their poor quality fruits.
That's not how you give young people a future.
These three young men are the future of the region.
(Charlet) For Selosse, champagne success depends on innovation
from the next generation of winemakers.
Charlet, would you like a glass of champagne?
Okay. (laughter)
(Charlet) But younger producers, like Alexander Chartogne,
are also the ones with the most recent investments,
leaving them the most at risk financially.
I love it.
Would you drink this for an aperitif or with food?
It depends on your mood.
It depends on the moment.
You can drink it really early in the morning
or really late in the evening. (laughter)
This is really good, though.
(Charlet) Most champagne makers are doing fine
for now.
But their future depends on when the pandemic ends.
And more importantly, if sales pick up when it does.
So, of all the industries that have been hurt by the pandemic,
champagne is not necessarily the most sympathetic one.
Why should people care that champagne's been hurt?
In many countries--
whether it's the English, the Americans, the Germans--
nobody likes French people but everyone loves France,
and champagne is the tip of that image.