Weather, mildew … the season in hell for an Alsatian winegrower

Tall grasses surround his vineyard in Pfaffenheim, Alsace. Jean-Pierre Frick, 65, is a pioneer of natural wine, these Pinots Gris and other Rieslings grown without synthetic products and raised without any input. At the sight of the winegrower, we quickly understand that this “laissez-faire” is only apparent. Tall, dry and thoughtful, he tells about his work without a net and the vigilance of every moment that it demands. This summer, Jean-Pierre Frick has to face unprecedented climatic conditions. It rained uninterruptedly during the months of June and July on the southern slopes of Colmar, despite being considered to be among the driest in France.

Downy mildew, a vine disease that necroses leaves and fruits, has grown exponentially, without the possibility for the winemaker to respond effectively. In organic viticulture, only surface treatments are allowed, but they are quickly washed away by the rain. The operator is then obliged to spray again and again, during short episodes without showers. Jean-Pierre Frick thus carried out ten treatments in a few weeks, twice as many as last year. “We held out as best we could throughout the month of June, but in July the situation worsened and we totally lost control, laments the winegrower. In fifty years, I had never seen this. “

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One month before the harvest, scheduled for the end of September, when the disease has stopped its progression and his vines are greening again, Jean-Pierre Frick is doing his accounts: on 12 hectares of vines, only a third of the future harvest could be saved. . The winegrower, who sells all of his production directly, in France but also in Italy, Sweden, South Korea and Japan, fears that he will not be able to satisfy his customers.

The profession asked the prefects to file with the Ministry of Agriculture a request for classification of Alsace as an agricultural disaster zone, and meetings are planned to carry out a precise zoning of the damage. “The Bas-Rhin is less affected than the Haut-Rhin, where almost all the farms record losses of 15% to 30%, or even 50% for some, says Gilles Erhart, president of the Alsace winegrowers’ association. In organic, 60% to 80% of the harvest is lost. “

A weirdo for his colleagues

Gone are the days when this follower of biodynamics was considered a weirdo in the eyes of his colleagues. A third of the Alsatian vineyard is today cultivated organically, and the region has a good number of natural wine breeders. An evolution that reinforces the choice made by his father, fifty years ago, to do without chemicals, then praised by manufacturers for their practicality.

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