About 250 members of the Luxembourg Wine community, together with local and national political figures and foreign guests, gathered in the Institute Vinicole-Viticole in Remich on Monday evening to share a glass or two of Cremant and to discuss the industry and catch up with friends.
The assembly was first addressed by Robert Ley, Director of the Wine Institute, who spoke of the results of the 2015 vintage which appears to have turned out wine of above-average quality, but about 10% below the long-term average due to the exceptionally warm and dry summer. He warned that climate change may mean that similar conditions will become more usual.
The market is also changing, with consumption rising in amongst others the United States, China, Russia, and the United Kingdom, while the major European volume producers, France, Italy, and Spain show a drop in consumption. This brings with it, in particularly in Europe, a huge increase in competitive pressure. For Luxembourg this means more emphasis on quality, and the new AOP designation is a useful step in support of this.
Mr Ley mentioned other threats, in particular the statistic that the managers of 200 of the 324 businesses in the industry are over 50 years old.
2016 is a historic year, with the 50th anniversaries of both the Institute and the OPVI, the organisation for private vintners, and the 25th anniversary of the Grand Ducal Regulation defining Luxembourg Crémant, whose popularity and production is growing steadily.
Luxembourg's Minister fpr Agriculture, Viticulture and Consumer Protection, Fernand Etgen, in a short speech emphasised the importance the Government places on the Wine industry and the continued support offered. He also mentioned the importance of the Trade Associations and their officers, who mostly give their valuable services voluntarily.
Minister Etgen also spoke of the risk represented by the changing climate. The summer of 2015 was the second-warmest since 1947, when records were first taken at Findel, and over a period of nine days, the weather station at the Institute in Remich recorded a maximum temperature over 35°C. Then after the driest summer, in September 150 mm of rain fell! These warm and later wet conditions have brought new diseases and parasites to Luxembourg which were unknown here five years ago. We cannot change the weather, but the Government expects to help the vintners compensate for the expected drop in income with various actions including new advice services.
A new Agricultural Law is in process and is expected to be passed by the Chamber of Deputies in the course of the current year; Minister Etgen expected that despite changed conditions during the long consultation period, amendments at this late stage would make the new Law fit for purpose.
Photos by Mike Dickinson
