France is going through a crossroads in terms of sales, production and falling drinking numbers - what are you experiencing in Chablis?
Up to now, Chablis has been quite successful. Chablis wines are selling well all over the world except the UK. The production potential, concerning the vines, is more or less at its maximum. The main problem is the changes in the weather and the fact our production levels are very irregular.
What is the role of the Chablis Commission in helping producers and growers and addressing these issues?
Paul Espitalié says Chablis is well placed to attract younger drinkers with its fresher style of wine. Picture Sébastien Boulard
The Chablis Commission’s main role is to help promote Chablis wine both in France and abroad. We focus on the main markets but we also do activities in countries we think have good potential. We also have economic monitoring to study sales and analyse stocks.
What steps have you been taking over the last two years to help support and promote Chablis wines and its producers?
For the last two years, we have favoured Petit Chablis and Chablis which represent the largest volume of wines available for sale. We’ve also been focusing our communication on the new faces of the vineyard, because there is a real dynamic in Chablis with new people arriving.
It could be the new generation taking over their parents’ domaines, winegrowers leaving the cooperative to sell their wines under their own name, or people arriving from other wine regions. There are also more and more women involved in the Chablis wine industry and at the head of estates.
Our communications strategy has up to now focused mainly on professionals, restaurant sommeliers, importers and wine merchants. In the UK we will look to expand our communications in order to reach consumers as well.
What do you have planned in the next two years?
In a mature market like the UK, Chablis wines need to focus and work on talking to younger wine consumers, and to rejuvenate this target audience. There will be an important social mediacampaign, partnerships with key magazines read by these wine consumers, and hosting events, tastings and appearing at festivals so that we can go and meet our new target market. For example, we will attend the Taste of London in 2025.
Tell us about your personal role and what individual responsibilities you have at the Commission?
Chablis is also working working hard to increase wine tourism to the area. Picture Sebastien Boulard
As vice president of the Chablis Commission, my role is to lead the organisation alongside the president. We work together to validate the budgets and choose the companies who will help act on our behalf to deliver our messages and be our spokespeople to journalists and the trade.
I also help represent the commission at key meetings with the BIVB, the Wine Union and at major events.
What mark out of 10 would you give Chablis in terms of where it is facing up to the modern challenges of the French and international Wine industry?
A nine out of ten.
What is production like from the 2024 harvest and how would you describe it overall in terms of quality and volume?
The production for 2024 was very low. We faced a lot of hazards and problems, mainly with the bad weather. We suffered from frost, hail, rain and then cold weather during the vital flowering season and on into the summer. All of which meant we suffered from a number of vineyard diseases, particularly mildew.
So the volume was low, but the quality is very interesting with a typical fresh, lemon, grapefruit and mineral flavour and nice acidity. Thankfully, with the abundant 2022 and 2023 vintages, winemakers have been able to work with their stocks, so there is Chablis wines to sell.
Which areas did particularly well?
The south west of the Chablis area did quite well this year.
What were the biggest challenges?
Chablis vines had a difficult 2024 harvest with frosts and mildew. Picture Aurélien Ibanez
The biggest challenge for the 2024 vintage was managing mildew.
What are the biggest markets for Chablis around the world and has that changed at all over the last five to 10 years?
The US has become the first market for Chablis since 2023. This was a big change because the UK market used to be in first position. The other leading countries are Canada, Japan, Sweden, Belgium and Australia.
What do you think has driven those changes?
In the UK the price of Chablis wines may have had quite a strong impact. Since we went beyond £10 per bottle, particularly in supermarkets, sales have fallen. We also had small productions in the 2016, 2017 and 2021 vintages which meant there was less wine available to buy and it became more expensive.
We have also seen a new trend in the US for lighter and fresher Chardonnay which has been perfect for developing Chablis sales there.
What are your target markets for growth and investment in the next five years?
Chablis will be looking target younger consumers in the UK with a new advertising campaign in 2025. Picture Sebastien Boulard
We are very much involved in the countries where are sales are strong (the US, UK, Japan and Canada). We will start doing promotions in new target countries such as Australia, Brazil and South Korea.
What is the most cost-effective way of promoting Chablis?
We are looking for new ways to communicate. We have always done trade fairs, and run training sessions and master classes for professionals, but this year we are also going to invest more in direct advertising campaigns aimed at our target consumer in the UK. We will also work more closely with influencers and bloggers.
We have also developed an escape game for Chablis wines called ‘Unlock Chablis’. It’s virtual game that takes players into the heart of Chablis’ vineyards. Through four different chapters they can explore the history, vinification and food and wine pairings, but also see for themsthe specific challenges faced by winemakers in Chablis.
What are the main viticultural changes that are taking place in Chablis and why are they being introduced?
Viticulture in Chablis is evolving. In terms of sustainability, organic farming areas are increasing. Many domaines are certified in High Environmental value ( HVE ). Weeding of vines has now been abandoned in favour of tilling the soil. There is also a significant number of plots in conversion to organic farming: it went from 242 hectares of vineyards in 2019 to more than 720 in 2022.
In Yonne, 111 estates were certified in organic farming in 2022, for a total surface area of 717 hectares. With the new certifications, approximately 20% of Yonne vineyards should be certified in 2024.
What impact is climate change having?
Climate change is, of course, an important issue. Production volumes over the past 10 years have been very erratic. Episodes of frost, hail, heat waves or heavy rain followed one another.
Some years we have to harvest at the end of August to prevent overripe grapes and then in 2024 we had to wait until the end of September to have sufficient maturity. We also now have to implement new ways to combat the spring frosts be it heating wires, wind turbines with heating, or using protective covers.
Chablis was the first area in France to experiment and put into place the VCI (Volume Complémentaire Individuel) system in order to still have stock available in case of a low harvest due to climatic conditions. Today, this method is used by many other French vineyards.
* You can find out more Chablis and its wines here.
