A great price. Charbonnay, yes, with a “b” for carbon because its grapes grow on a waste dump, one of those artificial hills formed by mining waste, near Béthune (Pas de Calais), sells for about 55 euros a bottle. The entire 2023 vintage is already reserved. In 2010, when six friends decided to plant vines at the top of a waste dump, the adventure seemed like an anecdote. Since then a company was born, Les Vins Audars, and these pioneers made their way and planted a second vineyard, 6 kilometers from Haillicourt (Pas de Calais). In Hauts-de-France, more and more farmers are dedicating themselves to the vineyard, especially to diversify, sometimes out of passion, always because they are convinced that climate change offers them a new opportunity.
Benoit Davin, a 51-year-old farmer from Aisne, “It clicked in 2016” : “The year had been catastrophic for cereals. We had the same gig as our grandparents in the ’60s.. » he was looking “Diversification with high added value”. Installed in Mortefontaine, in Soissonnais, he was “a little frustrated” : “I make wheat but not flour or bread. Rapeseed but without oil. Beetroot but without sugar. I wanted to reach the consumer. » And, above all, this is confirmed by a market study carried out with the Beauvais Agricultural Institute. With six other farmers, he bought equipment and planted 4,500 vines in 2020 and 2021. In 2023 he obtained 2,000 bottles of which he says he is proud although “young vines do not yet show all their aromas”.
The same feeling of having chosen well for Julien Dhaine, who has lived in Neuville-Saint-Vaast (Pas-de-Calais), near Arras, since 2006. He too was looking to diversify; He planted his first 5,000 plants four years ago “on a very calcareous plot, very suitable for vines”. A project for the future, he is sure: “I planted for thirty or forty years. » This year, after a very rainy spring, “The yield is less good but the quality of the grapes is there”explains.
“Local key”
Mr. Dhaine is one of the farmers who joined Les 130, a collective of winegrowers supported by the Advitam cooperative (1.9 billion euros in turnover, owner in particular of the Jardiland and Gamm vert chains). That a giant of these characteristics, one of the main regional agricultural players, launches itself into the vineyard in Hauts-de-France is obviously not due to chance. “Our mission, as a cooperative group, is to anticipate the crops of tomorrow in the region, especially in light of global warming”underlines Olivier Athimon, its general director. Advitam was based in particular on the conclusions of agroclimatologist Benjamin Bais, according to whom “The ripening potential of the grapes in Hauts-de-France corresponds to that of Dijon in the years 1960-1990.” He also believes that “Climate conditions should be even more conducive to quality viticulture in the coming decades. “.
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