12 October 2023
EXPROPRIATION OF WINE ESTATES, 7 Leads to Avoid Drinking from a Bitter Cup
by Isabelle Poitout, Law Counsel, LES CHAMPS DU DROIT, WI&NE Provence-Rhône Translated by Nathalie Parent Dumoulin, Founder, NEXT EDITION,…
Our Geographical Areas
ALTHOUGH INITIALLY A BORDEAUX-BASED ASSOCIATION, WI&NE HAS ALWAYS HAD A NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL VOCATION.
After the Gironde capital and the vast Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, WI&NE is progressively expanding towards the South-East, first in Occitanie and now in Provence-Rhône. The other French wine regions are also in the pipeline!
This development makes WI&NE the absolute specialist in wine and spirits property in France with a network of key experts throughout the territory.
But as each region remains unique, we invite you to discover their specific characteristics and key experts here.
Bordeaux
The Bordeaux Protected Denomination of Origin (PDO or AOC in French) is France’s largest wine-producing area.
Some Facts and Figures:
• Vineyard surface area of 110,000 ha (¼ of France’s PDO vineyard);
• 5,700 winegrowers and 300 merchants;
• 65 appellations in PDO;
• 666 million bottles produced annually;
• €4 billion in annual sales of which 55% in France and 10% in China (No. 1 export market).
The great wines of Bordeaux are renowned and recognized worldwide. The region attracts many investors mainly for its vineyards but also its rich cultural and real estate heritage, a symbol of the French art of living.
Understanding the complexity of these interrelated elements cannot be accomplished alone. The main reasons that drive international wine enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, financiers or venture capitalists to invest in the Bordeaux vineyards are:
• The potential profitability of their financial investment;
• The acquisition of historical, sometimes classified, real estate assets;
• The knowledge of wine-loving export markets around the world.
Indeed, although investors often value the region’s natural, gastronomic and architectural heritage, they are, above all, mindful of the return they can expect from their investments. Beyond the way of life and the passion for wine, an exceptional vintage is now a highly-prized and rare asset. Also, the wine tourism development in Bordeaux supports the investor in the diversification of his sources of income.
The main thing to remember is that vineyards are not exportable and will always remain on French soil. Suppose foreign wine-loving investors can invest the necessary fortunes to further develop the Bordeaux wine industry; in that case, a fair balance in investment and export relations seems to be an excellent opportunity for wine production and tourism in Bordeaux.
Cognac
The strictly delimited Cognac terroir is located in Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cognac production is intrinsically linked to the history of distillation. This technique, introduced by the Dutch in the 16th century, preserved the quality of Charente wine during shipment. It further developed in the 17th century with the emergence of double distillation.
A few figures on Cognac:
• A vineyard surface area of over 80,000 hectares;
• No. 1 white wine vineyard in France;
• 10% of the total French vineyard area;
• 4,300 winegrowers (including 3,600 distillers) and 300 merchants;
• 220 million bottles sold annually;
• €3.6 billion in annual sales;
• 98% of the cognac production is exported;
• China is the second-largest market.
Despite this apparent diversity, four cognac houses account for 90% of the global market and one, Hennessy, almost 50%. This downstream market concentration, added to the disparity of the upstream market (the average vineyard surface area being 19 hectares), makes investment in cognac very complex. Land prices continue to climb while current winegrowers are looking to expand. Although eaux de vie are selling well, thanks to the sustained demand, supplies are tight.
In short, the good health of the cognac economy makes investment complicated. In addition, cognac production is difficult to sell outside the traditional circuits held by the big cognac houses (all owned by international wine and spirits groups).
Therefore, it is fundamental to have good local insights into the economy, infrastructure and market players to make a successful investment. Thus, for the time being, few outside investors, particularly foreigners, have elected the Cognac region for their business venture.
Today, Occitanie represents the largest wine-producing region in the world in terms of surface area and production volume: 5% of the world’s production comes from Occitanie!
Some Facts and Figures:
• A vineyard surface area of 268,000 ha spreading over two wine-producing zones : the South-West (38,000 ha) and Languedoc-Roussillon (230,000 ha);
• Viticulture is the No. 1 leading sector of employment in the region (100,000 jobs);
• 14.8 million hectoliters produced annually, representing one-third of the total French production;
• It is France’s leading organic wine-producing region, representing one-third of all French organic vineyards.
Beyond its size, this region’s terroir is blessed with a mosaic of soils, sub-soils, climates and grape varieties. Thus, counting several PDO appellations.
Offering a wide range of wines in all three colors – white, red, and rosé – Occitanie attracts progressively more investors, whether on historic properties or modernized estates.
Moreover, the constant qualitative progression of the last decades makes it an extremely dynamic playing field. More affordable than elsewhere, wine investment projects with tremendous potential are multiplying in this region.
WI&NE Provence-Rhône covers two major French wine regions.
Provence extends from Nice to Avignon with some 370 wine estates and châteaux. This region benefits from the high attractiveness of quality rosé wines production recognized worldwide. The major wine and spirits groups (LVMH, Pernod Ricard) and celebrities such as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are snatching up the most prestigious estates.
The Rhône Valley, the second-largest PDO vineyard in France after Bordeaux, stretches from Avignon to Vienna (south of Lyon) and has enjoyed great dynamism in recent years. Quality producers rub shoulders with famous merchants and qualitative cooperative wineries in this region, offering a unique diversity.
Select your geographical area above
Geographical area:
Whether you plan to buy a wine estate or manage one, each WI&NE wine expert will work directly with you and is committed to providing you with their services as soon as possible. You choose the areas of expertise you need and call on the corresponding expert(s). You can include our experts at any time, whether in the preparation phase of your project to buy a wine estate, the realization phase or, later, in the management phase of your vineyard. WI&NE offers you the opportunity to work with your teams and to intervene in addition to your own experts, in particular to assist you in understanding the French rules in this area, buying a wine estate being an act subject to specific legislation.
Whether you are planning to buy a wine estate or manage one, each WI&NE wine expert will work directly with you and is committed to providing you with their services as soon as possible. You choose the areas of expertise you need and call on the corresponding expert(s). You can integrate our experts at any time, whether in the preparation phase of your project to buy a wine estate, that of the realization or, later, in the management phase of your vineyard. WI&NE also offers you the possibility of working with your teams and of intervening in addition to your own experts, in particular to assist you in understanding the French rules in this area, buying a wine estate being an act subject to specific legislation.
Whether you are planning to buy a wine estate or manage one, each WI&NE wine expert will work directly with you and is committed to providing you with their services as soon as possible. You choose the areas of expertise you need and call on the corresponding expert(s). You can integrate our experts at any time, whether in the preparation phase of your project to buy a wine estate, that of the realization or, later, in the management phase of your vineyard. WI&NE also offers you the possibility of working with your teams and of intervening in addition to your own experts, in particular to assist you in understanding the French rules in this area, buying a wine estate being an act subject to specific legislation.
WI&NE Experts!
Caroline CARLINI LOUP
Vineyard Transaction Expert
MICHAËL ZINGRAF VINEYARDS / CHRISTIE’S INTERNATIONAL PACA
Provence-Rhône
Sandrine Castineira
Wine Consulting & Strategic Audit Expertise
L’Heure de la Véraison
Provence-Rhône
Samuel Chouzenoux
Bank Institution Services
Caisse Épargne Aquitaine Poitou-Charentes
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Isabelle Arnaud Despréaux
Vineyard Property Disposal & Acquisition Expertise
MBA CAPITAL BORDEAUX
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Hélène Dessort
Vineyard Property Disposal & Acquisition Expertise
PONCET & PONCET / CHRISTIE’S INTERNATIONAL
Occitanie
Caroline Mansart
International patrimonial and agricultural tax lawyer
Les CHAMPS du DROIT
Provence-Rhône
Guillaume MARCHAIS
Lawyers – trademark rights
MARCHAIS & Associés
Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Provence-Rhône
Frédéric Massie
Viticultural and Environmental Consultancy
DERENONCOURT CONSULTANTS
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Isabelle Poitout
Wine, Urban Planning & Environmental Law Counsel
Les CHAMPS du DROIT
Provence-Rhône
Thomas ROLLAND
Accounting Advisory & ServicesConsulting and Engineering in Public Funding
ABF Décisions
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
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