Fotos: lookin' back@2014 (part 1)

 Millesimé Bio@Montpellier – 

innovation of the year: chien de dégustation

 Alastair Marshall and Robert Chase: 

Adnams veteran duo @MillésimeBio

 Quizzical Robert

 L'homme des amphores: 

Fred Niger Van Herck as Aristide Bruant 

Emmanuel Giboulot@Renaissance tasting, Angers

One of the 2014 causes célèbres

 Arnaud Bourgeois@Salon des Vins de Loire

Henri Bourgeois will not be at the 2015 Salon

March: visit to Saint Chinian – Thierry Navarre

 March: Olivier Cousin: another cause célèbre

Long drawn out case with Olivier as 

winner, although prosecution is appealing.

Olivier leaving court with his daughter

 Vincent Cuisinier de Campagne@Tours for annual Bourgueil 

invasion cooking lentils in Bourgueil 

Bourgueil invade Tours: chef with freshly cooked rillons

Bourgueil à Tours: Gillette would never 

have made a fortune with this trio!

March: sheep cropping a vineyard in the Côte Roannaise

part of my excellent visit to the Côte Roannaise/Côtes de Forez

 March 2014: municipal elections in France 

– the unopposed slate of candidates for Epeigné-les-Bois

 Christian Percevault: the new Maire of Epeigné-les-Bois

Christian replaced Michel Mergot who became the Premier Maire Adjoint

The new Conseil@Epeigné-les-Bois

3rd April: early budburst in Savennières

Leading to fears of an April frost 

fortunately that didn't happen

Part 2 of fotos lookin' back@2014

Good news: Emmanuel Giboulot cleared

Emmanuel Giboulot@The Renaissance 

tasting in Angers 2nd February 2014

Many apologies for the belated posting of the news that Emmanuel Giboulot has had his conviction for refusing to treat his vines quashed. It was quashed because the original prefectoral décret had not been approved by the Ministry of Agriculture 

From decanter.com

'The court overturned the original judgment, given in April 2014, that found Giboulot guilty of refusing to treat his vines against the disease flavesence doree. He had been fined €1,000, albeit with €500 of it suspended.

Read more here

 

The Drinks Business
Giboulot conviction overturned. 

Read rest here.

 

 

Emmanuel Giboulot found guilty, fined but will appeal

Emmanuel Giboulot@Renaissance tasting, Angers February 2014

This afternoon Emmanuel Giboulot was found guilty by a court of Dijon for not treating his vines against the leaf hopper that spreads the vine disease flavescence dorée. He was fined 1000€ but will be due to pay only 500€ with the other half on probation. After the verdict Giboulot announced his intention to appeal against the sentence.

Some details here.

Emmanuel Giboulot: Verdict due tomorrow afternoon in Dijon

Emmanuel Giboulot

Dijon 7th April – Monday afternoon – verdict due:

Picnic beforehand with details from l'Institut pour la Protection de la Santé Naturelle:

'Pique-nique de soutien lundi pour le verdict d'Emmanuel Giboulot 
 
Vous avez été nombreux à soutenir Emmanuel Giboulot en signant notre pétition de soutien (accessible ici) et l'heure du verdict arrive maintenant. C’est lundi 7 avril.

A cette occasion vous êtes conviés à prendre part à un nouveau pique-nique bio pour soutenir Emmanuel Giboulot. Le rendez-vous est fixé à 12 heures devant le tribunal de Dijon, au 13 Boulevard Clémenceau (21000).

Toute autre décision que la relaxe serait inacceptable. D’un point de vue logique d’abord car soit il est coupable d’un délit, ce qui suppose une sanction sévère ce qui serait inique et infondé, soit il est innocent et on ne comprend pas bien dans ce cas pourquoi il paierait une amende.

Mais surtout, une fois de plus, Emmanuel Giboulot aurait dû être félicité officiellement plutôt que traduit en justice. Car il a agi d’abord pour la santé des gens avant son propre intérêt.

Comme il le rappelait lors de l’audience du 21 février, c’est aussi parce que la décision de traiter devait s’appliquer au mois de juillet, à un moment où les enfants, en vacances à ce moment-là, étaient dehors, qu’Emmanuel à refuser de traiter sa vigne. S’il avait répandu le Pyrevert, pesticide à base de produits naturels mais toxique, il aurait pris le risque de nuire à la santé de ses enfants et des consommateurs.

Une chose est sûre son combat et votre mobilisation n’auront pas été vains ! D’ores et déjà les discussions avec les autorités pour les épandages de 2014 sont plus ouvertes que les années précédentes. L’arrêté pour cet été n’est pas encore sorti mais il pourrait être plus précis et plus ciblé que l’année dernière alors que la situation est à peu près la même.

Par ailleurs, l’incroyable mobilisation du public et de la pétition lancée par l’IPSN a suscité l’engouement en Italie où Emmanuel Giboulot est invité ce week-end à témoigner de son combat au cours d’un salon bio. Bref, il sera fin prêt pour faire face au verdict le 7 avril.

Nous vous attendons nombreux à Dijon !'

The court appearance of Emmanuel Giboulot will now be followed by that of Olivier Cousin

Emmanuel Giboulot@Renaissance tasting, Angers 2nd February 2014

Emmanuel Giboulot has now appeared before the court in Dijon where the prosecution has asked for a fine of 1000€ with 500€ suspended. If granted there will presumably be conditions attached to the suspended 500€. The judge will be giving her verdict on Monday 7th April at 13.30. 

Would the prosecution have asked for a more severe penalty if there had been such a show of support for Giboulot through the petition organised by the Institut pour la Protection de la Santé Naturelle with 481,746 signatures by 11.52 CET today? Not forgotting the thousand or so people who turned up in front of the court in support.

 Photo of the crowd on twitter posted by  Samuel Peltier ‏@SamuelPeltier today
 

The next vinous court appearance will be next week on Wednesay March 5th when Olivier Cousin will be up before the court at Angers on the 'Anjou Pur Breton' labelling charge. Cousin appeared in court on 2nd October 2013 but the trial was put back until a week on Wednesday. Will the prosecution be asking for a similar fine to that demanded in the case of Emmanuel Giboulot or will it be more substantial. I assume that similarly judgment won't actually be given that day but some weeks later.

Once again there will be a picnic in front of the Angers court house in the Place Leclerc from Noon.  

 

 Olivier Cousin with one of his horses@Angers 2nd October 201

 A couple of scenes from last October's picnic 

•••

Not 40,000 signatures but nearly 500,000!

There has been some comment about the inaccuracy of some wine blogs. However, it cannot be said that the traditional media where entirely accurate in their reporting of the petition in support of Emmanuel Giboulot. Both the Guardian and The Drinks Business got it well wrong:

The Guardian 

'More than 41,000 supporters of Giboulot have signed a petition calling for the charges against him to be dropped, and dozens are expected to attend a picnic outside the court in Dijon on Monday.'

The Drinks Business 24th February, 2014 

'His cause has elicited much support and an internet petition launched by l’Institut pour la Protection de la Santé Naturelle (IPSN), has already gained over 40,000 signatures.'

The petition here  actually attracted 481,746 signatures by around noon today (CET time)

Emmanuel Giboulot: the views of two expert Burgundian observers + some links

Emmanuel Giboulot@the Renaissance tasting, Angers 

The leafhooper that carries the flavescence dorée 

is attracted by particular colours – orange and, especially, yellow 

Emmanuel Giboulot will be up before le tribunal correctionnel (@Le Tribunal d'Instance) in Dijon tomorrow at 1.30 pm for refusing to buy spray needed to treat his vines against flavescence dorée. There will un grand picnic bio in front of the Tribunal building at noon.

Since the l'Institut pour la Protection de la Santé Naturelle launched their petition in support of Emmanuel Giboulot around a week ago it has attracted an extraordinary level of support – 452,823 signatures by 23.47 (CET) on Saturday 22nd February. A few days ago such was the rush to sign that the site kept crashing and they had to turn off the signature counter and only update from time to time news of the number signed up. It would seem likely that by the time Giboulot stands before the court tomorrow signatures will be close on half a million.*

*Update: As of 19.47 CET today there are now 474,212 signatories to the petition. The early rate of increase has slowed but the organisers will be close to their aim of 500,000 signatures by 13.30 tomorrow (24.2.14).     

I asked two expert Burgundian observers to give me their views of this now cause célèbre and how this case in perceived amongst other Burgundian producers.    

Jasper Morris MW

Jasper Morris MW

People are not quite sure what to do, even the organic crowd. There is sympathy for Giboulot because he’s not a show pony, and he hasn’t deliberately tried to get up the nose of the authorities à la AOC chappy. 

(Jim: Jasper is referring to Olivier Cousin, who will be before the court in Angers on Wednesday 5th March for using the word 'Anjou' on a label for a 'vin de table'.)  

What people really want is a proper forum to work out the right way to go rather than having something forced on them. I think they will probably manage to establish this for next season.

Apparently there is an organic spray which can be used but it is even more toxic than the synthetic one, so thoroughly undesirable.

I suspect some people went through the motions of spraying but tipped it all down the drain (also unsound mind you).

I think my own solution would be to make the treatment heavily recommended with the option of signing out – in which case you would be liable to relatively heavy penalties if but only if the disease appeared in your vineyard.'

Bill Nanson

As you would expect there are many shades of view even in the über-organic camp.

Some say Emmanuel did good, some say he is stupid because it could become the new phylloxera - similarly, many people didn't treat to start with 130 years ago saying 'but my vines are okay...'

But all will tell you that what he did, the way he did it, was completely unnecessary and that it was basically his choice to 'go public' and end up in court/prison. The only checking/policing of the policy is that officials check the invoices to ensure a vigneron has bought the pesticide (a dividing word, but it is certainly bio/organic and I think maybe even biodynamic 'approved'). The officials don't at any stage check that the growers have actually used it! (Très French ;-)

Everyone will tell you that they know vignerons who have not sprayed, but they bought the stuff and have invoices to prove it. Hence, it was EG's choice for all this to happen, hence, very limited sympathy, despite many agreeing the 'cause'...'

•

I met Emmanuel Giboulot briefly at the Renaissance tasting in Angers on 2nd February and my impression chimes with Jasper's that he hasn't gone out of his way to seek confrontation.

Although it would be impossible to personally monitor spraying through out all the Burgundian vineyards, the French authorities could presumably insist that detailed records of spraying are kept. Is there feeling that this would be a step to far and that the present situation where the purchase of the spray is monitored but not its application keeps most of the growers happy and makes it look as though the authorities are applying the law? 

•  

Some links:  

On 26th March 2013 the INRA (The French National Institute For Agricultural Research) published a paper on flavescence dorée. It is clear from their introduction that the INRA recognised that the current sprays, although obligatory, are far from satisfactory – polluants, coûteux (expensive), et contrecarrent la démarche de réduction de pesticides de la filière viticole (go against the French Government's policy of reducing the use of pesticides in French viticulture. They acknowledge that this both poses enormous problems for organic wine producers and the need to find alternative measures to combat the disease and the leaf hoppers.  

'From introduction

'La recherche est nécessaire pour trouver des traitements

Les moyens de lutte actuels reposent sur l’arrachage des ceps atteints, la prophylaxie de l’état sanitaire des plants de pépinière, et les traitements insecticides contre le vecteur. Ces traitements sont obligatoires, polluants, coûteux, et contrecarrent la démarche de réduction de pesticides de la filière viticole. Ces plans de lutte obligatoire posent en outre d’énormes problèmes aux viticulteurs engagés en Agriculture Biologique ou en processus de conversion vers celle-ci.'

 
The INRA are trying to find sustainable alternatives:

'From 'Moyens de lutte alternatifs et durables'

'Proposer des méthodes qui vont permettre de mieux gérer la lutte actuelle et développer des solutions de lutte alternatives plus économes en insecticides est donc indispensable à court terme. Ceci nécessite une meilleure connaissance du pathogène, du vecteur et des mécanismes qui gouvernent les interactions entre le phytoplasme, la cicadelle et la vigne.'

 ••

From Hervé Lalau's Chroniques Vineuses: comments by Olivier Leflaive on treating flavescence dorée.

••

Le Bien Public: Emmanuel Giboulot : « Je ne suis que le détonateur d’un problème »   Emmanuel Giboulot talks about his case and tactics for tomorrow's appearance.   

••

Jim's Loire: previous post on Emmanuel Giboulot 

24.2.14: David Cobbold on Les 5 du Vin explains why he hasn't signed the petition and why he won't be signing.