A visit to Corsica
Here I am in Corsica with my dear friends, Alexandra and Claude. And as it happens, Claude has a nephew, Giocante, who with his wife, Agathe, have a stunningly beautiful vineyard.
Their vineyard is entirely planted with muscat grapes (they are not indigenous to Corsica). In the past, these grapes were used for making sweet wines. As consumer tastes have changed, they are now used mainly for dry wines.
This is one reason why the vendanges (harvest) takes place much earlier than in the past, now mid-August. The other reason is the impact of climate change.
Giocante does the vendanges by himself, with a tractor that drives over the vines. This takes a much shorter time than with a team of grape pickers. This means that Giocante can identify the optimal dates for the vendanges, and ensure that all the grapes are picked on those dates.
I asked Giocante about the merits of his flat-ground vineyards — by contrast, Alsace, Burgundy and other areas plant their grapes on slopes (“cotes”). He said that water is a big issue in Corsica, and that flat-ground vineyards mean that there is much less water wastage through runoff.
Giocante inherited his vineyard of 10 hectares from his family. But he has already removed 3 hectares of vineyards, and will remove more. It is more profitable for him to plant citrus fruits, rather than grow grapes. But this is not the case for most viticulteurs in Corsica.
I questioned Giocante about the quality of Corsican wines, which are not held in high esteem by many wine snobs. He remarked that Corsican viticulteurs are now emphasising quality over quantity, and that Corsican wines can be very good. He added that some of the highly reputable wine areas of France can tend to rest on their laurels.
Giocante painted a picture of a French wine industry in perpetual movement — adapting to climate change, and changing market conditions. While Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne are France’s traditional fine wines, areas like Corsica are modernising and catching up, and are becoming very competitive.
After our chat with Giocante, Alexandra and I took a walk through the vineyards. As you can see in the photos, they have spectacular views towards the sea and mountains, with great vistas across the countryside.
Logistics
Plane from Paris to Bastia (Corsica).