Diversity, proximity, responsibility, and typicality! In summary, this is the new wine strategy envisioned by the Interprofessional Association for Wine and Vines for 2020. Until now, communication was primarily based on the two emblematic Valais grape varieties: Petite Arvine and Cornalin. Almost everyone knows today that these two grape varieties, like a few others such as Humagne Rouge or Heida, are magnificent products of the old country. In this sense, the communication strategy of recent years has worked very well. Proof of this is the success of the Open Cellars and the increasing presence of Valais wines Outre-Sarine, one of the most important markets for Valais wines.
Opponents and supporters of this new strategy have been widely featured in the press in recent months, with the media giving them ample space. This is fair game; it fuels debate and fosters new ideas. The purpose here is not to determine whether one is for or against this new policy. Its aim is to extract one or more elements from this document and try to place them in a future perspective. By reviewing the 16-page document (you can easily find it on Google by typing viti2020), it is clear that Valais logically and fortunately remains very strongly attached to its identity.
However, it proposes several avenues to explore in order to open up to the world. While respecting its diverse grape varieties, its multitude of soils and microclimates, its different appellations, and its grand crus, the IVV proposes, among other things, the implementation of a "Valais Brand Label". This distinctive sign could be a sticker with a QR code to disseminate information related to the traceability and characteristics of the wine. Since the Valais brand already exists for other products, the link with Valais diversity would be quickly established. This is ultimately a very simple thing that can have very significant repercussions, similar to the Austrians who introduced a distinctive banderole applied to all quality wines. Wine lovers today recognize this label at first glance, and it has become a clear sign of quality for wines from our neighbors. Yet, that country fell very low after the antifreeze scandal in 1985.
In a completely different vein, but also part of a diversity policy, we observe the spectacular resurgence of wines in Languedoc-Roussillon (southern France), which was long burdened by extremely complicated legislation with a multitude of appellations. Consumers could no longer find their way. In 2007, the Languedoc region created the AOC Languedoc appellation, which encompasses the entire region while respecting the diversity of each part of this immense wine-growing territory. With sharp and uninhibited advertising, the Languedoc region now declares on its official website that 61 bottles of wine are sold per second worldwide!
Practically no wine-producing country associates its wine with only one or several of its dominant grape varieties. Whether it's wine tourism in Piedmont or Tuscany, the revival of Riesling in Germany implemented by associations of young winemakers in the Rheingau, or the capsule policy for grand wines in Australia, everywhere, the wine world is moving, advancing, and associating its nectars with history, the cultural richness of its country, and its diversity. With this new wine policy, Valais is on the right track! The path of openness in diversity.
