2007 : « Renewed interest in purchasing vineyards in France continues since the 11% increase in sales registered in 2006 », explains Hervé Olivier of « La SAFER » The French Department for Rural Land Development. Last year saw 9 900 transactions for 14 900 hectares of vines totalling
620 million euros.
Investors, foreign or native, are not always wine professionals either : many businessmen and industrials are taking the plunge into the world of wine-making. One such man is Pierre Satin, a businessman from Lyon, specializing in solar panneling, who bought the Château Puypezat-Rozette in the Bergerac area last Summer. »I had never imagined becoming a wine producer » says his 28 year-old daughter Cecile who gave up her job as a journalist in Dallas to run the château in France.
« I'm getting a real taste for it! I accept the challenge and am putting all my energy into this venture » And, talking of energy, the Satin family plan to use solar power for the whole property - a trend picking up speed amongst châteaux in the Bordeaux area : Château Montrose in St.Estephe and Clerc Milon in Pauillac are already equipped.
Indeed due to the difficulties in wine sales over the past few years, the average price per hectare (especially in the less prestigious regions) has become attractive to investors. Of course the price gap between the famous appellations and the more modest wine areas is wide...One hectare in Champagne is worth 73 times one hectare in Duras!
A few figures for prospective buyers : the average price of a hectare of vineyard in France ranges from around 10 000 euros (in Languedoc-Roussillon) to 734 000 euros (in Champagne!)
In the South West, the gulf is wide between the famous Bordeaux appellations such as Pomerol (700 000 euros per hectare), Margaux & Pauillac (700 000 euros per hectare) and the regions producing table wine such as the Marmandais (8 500 euros per hectare).
author C.Compadre
doc@sudouest.com
27/05/08