1
00:00:01,802 --> 00:00:05,213
So when a region of the world 
becomes known for a specific type of food,

2
00:00:05,213 --> 00:00:07,237
they'll go to great lengths to protect it.

3
00:00:07,237 --> 00:00:08,832
I mean, let's look at Kobe beef.

4
00:00:08,832 --> 00:00:10,092
It can only be called that

5
00:00:10,092 --> 00:00:12,427
if it meets a very particular
set of requirements,

6
00:00:12,427 --> 00:00:15,460
including that the cow was born, fed, 
and slaughtered in a region of Japan

7
00:00:15,460 --> 00:00:17,730
that includes the city of Kobe.

8
00:00:17,730 --> 00:00:19,849
Quebec regulates who can sell maple syrup

9
00:00:19,849 --> 00:00:23,016
and the government even keeps
a strategic reserve.

10
00:00:23,016 --> 00:00:26,742
French champagne is from, you guessed it, 
the Champagne region of France

11
00:00:26,742 --> 00:00:28,576
and it's heavily regulated.

12
00:00:28,576 --> 00:00:31,265
But the pandemic is exposing 
the behind-the-scenes drama

13
00:00:31,265 --> 00:00:32,519
about how it's produced.

14
00:00:33,419 --> 00:00:35,678
DYING ON THE VINE

15
00:00:38,348 --> 00:00:41,725
You must hold it like this
and tap, all the way up.

16
00:00:41,725 --> 00:00:42,670
Okay.

17
00:00:42,670 --> 00:00:44,210
And I use the back of the knife.

18
00:00:44,210 --> 00:00:46,426
- Here, this part. OK.
- Yes, that part.

19
00:00:46,426 --> 00:00:47,699
Okay, merci.

20
00:00:48,519 --> 00:00:50,013
Oh, it's quite heavy.

21
00:00:51,016 --> 00:00:51,899
Okay.

22
00:00:52,701 --> 00:00:54,354
This is very difficult.

23
00:00:55,784 --> 00:00:57,070
Whoaaaaa!

24
00:00:57,260 --> 00:01:01,642
(Charlet) <i>There were many reasons 
to break out the champagne sabre in 2020.</i>

25
00:01:03,067 --> 00:01:04,503
Whooooo!

26
00:01:04,988 --> 00:01:08,469
<i>And that's bad news
for Charles Duval-Leroy and his family.</i>

27
00:01:09,086 --> 00:01:09,985
Merci.

28
00:01:10,421 --> 00:01:14,121
This is what we have today for 
Femme de Champagne: non-vintage.

29
00:01:15,001 --> 00:01:17,151
It is more of apéritif-style vintage.

30
00:01:17,151 --> 00:01:20,689
We stay in the frame 
of elegance and finesse.

31
00:01:21,039 --> 00:01:25,268
(Charlet) <i>The Duval-Leroy has been
in this business for 150 years.</i>

32
00:01:25,268 --> 00:01:28,169
<i>They produce more than
2 million bottles annually</i>

33
00:01:28,169 --> 00:01:30,615
<i>for big clients like Delta Airlines</i>

34
00:01:30,615 --> 00:01:32,293
<i>and the Moulin Rouge.</i>

35
00:01:33,096 --> 00:01:35,738
<i>With COVID-19 keeping planes on the ground</i>

36
00:01:35,738 --> 00:01:37,823
<i>and event spaces closed,</i>

37
00:01:37,823 --> 00:01:41,001
<i>sales have plummeted by almost 40%,</i>

38
00:01:41,001 --> 00:01:44,435
<i>and the champagne industry
has had to take drastic action.</i>

39
00:01:45,751 --> 00:01:47,776
This is an unusual year.

40
00:01:47,776 --> 00:01:49,335
We had a good harvest,

41
00:01:49,335 --> 00:01:51,665
but due to this COVID-19 crisis,

42
00:01:51,665 --> 00:01:54,303
we couldn't harvest all the grapes.

43
00:01:54,943 --> 00:01:58,311
As you can see, 
there are a lot of grapes left.

44
00:01:58,621 --> 00:02:01,197
It's a frustrating year for us.

45
00:02:01,833 --> 00:02:05,112
If I didn't know the context,
it looks like sabotage.

46
00:02:05,532 --> 00:02:08,692
It's really something unprecedented.

47
00:02:09,002 --> 00:02:11,144
There are so many times
that we ask ourselves

48
00:02:11,144 --> 00:02:13,823
if there's a new wine-making method.

49
00:02:13,823 --> 00:02:16,365
No, it's just throwing the grapes
on the ground.

50
00:02:16,365 --> 00:02:18,813
It makes no sense.

51
00:02:18,986 --> 00:02:21,544
With the sales dropping 
throughout the year,

52
00:02:21,544 --> 00:02:23,168
how did the industry respond?

53
00:02:23,168 --> 00:02:25,500
The first step was to say,

54
00:02:25,500 --> 00:02:27,278
"Let's reduce quotas.

55
00:02:27,278 --> 00:02:29,468
If we reduce quotas, we reduce production.

56
00:02:29,468 --> 00:02:32,235
We won't inflate the stock
that hasn't been sold."

57
00:02:32,235 --> 00:02:35,119
It's a truly collective response
to lower production,

58
00:02:35,119 --> 00:02:38,100
which is why we have left grapes
on the vine today.

59
00:02:38,100 --> 00:02:42,913
It's a heartbreaking response,
but we know it's necessary

60
00:02:42,913 --> 00:02:44,930
for the long term in Champagne.

61
00:02:46,072 --> 00:02:50,336
(Charlet) <i>Champagne has spent decades
meticulously curating a global image</i>

62
00:02:50,336 --> 00:02:53,352
<i>as the way to mark special occasions.</i>

63
00:02:53,352 --> 00:02:55,719
<i>It's this type of deliberate management</i>

64
00:02:55,719 --> 00:02:59,312
<i>that led to cutting production
by 100 million bottles this year</i>

65
00:02:59,312 --> 00:03:00,728
<i>to prop up prices.</i>

66
00:03:01,218 --> 00:03:06,031
<i>But the decision left 
over 10,000 tons of grapes to waste away,</i>

67
00:03:06,031 --> 00:03:08,526
<i>and it didn't necessarily
account for issues</i>

68
00:03:08,526 --> 00:03:10,791
<i>that were already threatening 
champagne's reign</i>

69
00:03:10,791 --> 00:03:12,517
<i>as a celebratory drink of choice.</i>

70
00:03:13,468 --> 00:03:16,268
Can you talk a little bit about 
the state of of the champagne industry

71
00:03:16,268 --> 00:03:17,920
before the pandemic hit?

72
00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:20,062
Because I remember there was already
talk of champagne

73
00:03:20,062 --> 00:03:21,729
having a little bit of an image crisis

74
00:03:21,729 --> 00:03:22,834
before COVID.

75
00:03:23,374 --> 00:03:27,024
Since 2008, champagne 
hasn't regained its sales

76
00:03:27,024 --> 00:03:30,500
simply because the final consumer,

77
00:03:30,500 --> 00:03:32,886
due to to economic issues,

78
00:03:32,886 --> 00:03:35,235
has shifted from champagne 
to other alcohols

79
00:03:35,235 --> 00:03:37,487
or other aperitifs, of course.

80
00:03:37,487 --> 00:03:39,712
Champagne hasn't benefited yet
from Instagram.

81
00:03:39,712 --> 00:03:41,185
We see more and more that

82
00:03:41,185 --> 00:03:43,331
there is an audience that
needs to show itself

83
00:03:43,331 --> 00:03:46,650
with a big glass with lots of ice
and colors in it.

84
00:03:46,650 --> 00:03:49,134
A gin and tonic that's well prepared

85
00:03:49,134 --> 00:03:50,797
and looks beautiful.

86
00:03:50,797 --> 00:03:53,182
And champagne is very elegant,

87
00:03:53,182 --> 00:03:56,665
but it's served in a small glass
with not a lot in it.

88
00:03:56,665 --> 00:03:59,413
It's too discreet to take a selfie
or a photo with.

89
00:03:59,413 --> 00:04:01,150
"Look, I'm in a dreamy landscape."

90
00:04:01,979 --> 00:04:04,934
(Charlet) <i>But some smaller producers 
have a different take</i>

91
00:04:04,934 --> 00:04:06,797
<i>on the right response to the crisis.</i>

92
00:04:07,435 --> 00:04:09,620
The color is incredible,

93
00:04:09,620 --> 00:04:11,347
it looks like Roussanne [grapes].

94
00:04:12,481 --> 00:04:14,451
(Charlet) <i>While the big names 
in the industry</i>

95
00:04:14,451 --> 00:04:16,865
<i>sell millions of bottles each year,</i>

96
00:04:16,865 --> 00:04:20,403
<i>Alselme Selosse makes only about 50,000</i>

97
00:04:20,403 --> 00:04:22,891
<i>and each one can go for hundreds of euros.</i>

98
00:04:24,286 --> 00:04:28,018
We're looking for the grapes' stems.

99
00:04:28,018 --> 00:04:29,025
(Charlet) Like this?

100
00:04:29,025 --> 00:04:31,461
(Anselme) Yes. And then, on the soil.

101
00:04:31,461 --> 00:04:33,400
(Charlet) No. That's sad.

102
00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:38,297
(Anselme) Yes, it's sad because 
there's a full team that worked on it

103
00:04:38,297 --> 00:04:39,515
for a whole year.

104
00:04:39,515 --> 00:04:41,438
This is a gift from nature.

105
00:04:41,438 --> 00:04:43,012
We're insulting nature.

106
00:04:43,012 --> 00:04:47,385
We're not able to keep what it gives us.

107
00:04:47,813 --> 00:04:49,892
(Charlet) <i>The quotas mean all producers</i>

108
00:04:49,892 --> 00:04:52,532
<i>are leaving grapes on the ground
to compost.</i>

109
00:04:52,532 --> 00:04:56,449
<i>Something that Selosse sees 
as particularly hard for smaller companies</i>

110
00:04:56,449 --> 00:04:57,977
<i>that can't lose out on revenue.</i>

111
00:04:58,577 --> 00:05:02,803
So the industry implemented a quota
to try and ease the crisis.

112
00:05:02,803 --> 00:05:04,995
Do you think that was the right solution?

113
00:05:04,995 --> 00:05:06,377
It's not a solution.

114
00:05:06,377 --> 00:05:11,309
It's a way to carry on
while keeping everyone at ease.

115
00:05:11,309 --> 00:05:14,370
I see it as a race to the bottom.

116
00:05:14,370 --> 00:05:15,922
Those who make no effort,

117
00:05:15,922 --> 00:05:17,475
who don't adapt,

118
00:05:17,475 --> 00:05:21,894
who see vines as grape-producing machines,

119
00:05:21,894 --> 00:05:24,398
they are the ones being rewarded.

120
00:05:25,599 --> 00:05:30,926
So they want the good producers
to waste their high-quality fruits

121
00:05:30,926 --> 00:05:34,545
so that they can sell
their poor quality fruits.

122
00:05:34,702 --> 00:05:37,275
That's not how you give
young people a future.

123
00:05:38,715 --> 00:05:42,436
These three young men
are the future of the region.

124
00:05:42,886 --> 00:05:46,295
(Charlet) <i>For Selosse, champagne success 
depends on innovation</i>

125
00:05:46,295 --> 00:05:48,328
<i>from the next generation of winemakers.</i>

126
00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:51,986
Charlet, would you like
a glass of champagne?

127
00:05:53,026 --> 00:05:55,239
Okay. (laughter)

128
00:05:55,879 --> 00:05:59,010
(Charlet) <i>But younger producers,
like Alexander Chartogne,</i>

129
00:05:59,010 --> 00:06:02,043
<i>are also the ones
with the most recent investments,</i>

130
00:06:02,043 --> 00:06:04,619
<i>leaving them the most at risk financially.</i>

131
00:06:06,300 --> 00:06:07,297
I love it.

132
00:06:07,973 --> 00:06:11,469
Would you drink this for
an aperitif or with food?

133
00:06:11,887 --> 00:06:13,063
It depends on your mood.

134
00:06:13,063 --> 00:06:14,271
It depends on the moment.

135
00:06:14,271 --> 00:06:16,360
You can drink it
really early in the morning

136
00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:18,785
or really late in the evening.
(laughter)

137
00:06:19,317 --> 00:06:20,927
This is really good, though.

138
00:06:22,644 --> 00:06:25,184
(Charlet) <i>Most champagne makers
are doing fine</i>

139
00:06:25,424 --> 00:06:26,571
<i>for now.</i>

140
00:06:26,728 --> 00:06:30,053
<i>But their future depends
on when the pandemic ends.</i>

141
00:06:30,483 --> 00:06:34,096
<i>And more importantly, 
if sales pick up when it does.</i>

142
00:06:35,146 --> 00:06:38,734
So, of all the industries 
that have been hurt by the pandemic,

143
00:06:39,570 --> 00:06:42,100
champagne is not necessarily
the most sympathetic one.

144
00:06:42,461 --> 00:06:45,282
Why should people care
that champagne's been hurt?

145
00:06:45,717 --> 00:06:46,756
In many countries--

146
00:06:46,756 --> 00:06:49,553
whether it's the English,
the Americans, the Germans--

147
00:06:49,553 --> 00:06:52,168
nobody likes French people
but everyone loves France,

148
00:06:52,168 --> 00:06:55,454
and champagne is the tip of that image.