The winemaker is presenting his new Viognier 2022 and sparkling cuvée at Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris 2023

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Jean-Claude Mas, Founder of Domaines Paul Mas, shares more details about his plans in an exclusive interview with The Daily.

How was the 2022 harvest?
The 2022 harvest was challenging for wine makers who did not have access to irrigation because of the high temperatures in April which forced them to start picking their grapes early. Those who did however, were able to postpone harvesting and obtain a good level of maturity. This year, we have some really good quality white wines. As for the reds, it was important to triage to ensure the health and quality of the grapes.

Is climate change having an impact?
I think we are too focused on the immediate and have lost the concept of time, because if you look back 30 or 40 years, winemakers were already facing these challenges. 1956 for example was a terrible year for the vines. Also we have to account for what we have changed with our own hands, in the way we cultivate and make wine. This makes it difficult for me to comment on the impact of climate change.

What are you presenting at Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris 2023?
We are putting our white and sparkling wines under the spotlight, with the presentation of our new Viognier cuvée 2022. We are also announcing the purchase of two new vineyards, the Château du Larzac and Clos De Maro.

In terms of technical innovations, I have been experimenting with resistant cépages like Souvignier Gris. These grape varieties will play an important role in reducing CO2 emissions because they require fewer treatments. We treat everything organically and based on my calculations, it saves around 350 litres of gas per hectare per year, which means I am saving around 30,000 litres of gas in total.

It is worth noting however that with the rise of inflation, consumers are more focused on price rather than aesthetic. The space for innovation is therefore somewhat limited because people do not want to necessary pay more.

You will be attending Vinexpo Singapore later this year. How are you approaching the Asian market?
The asian markets are particularly interesting, but we cannot generalise. Each market is unique and therefore requires a different approach. Singapore and Hong Kong for example are unique because they have a large number of expats. Then you have markets like Malaysia and Indonesia, where a significant percentage of the population is muslim and wine consumptions resembles the Moroccan market. There is also the Philippines, where peoples’ purchasing power is very low yet wine drinking is still part of the tradition. Japan on the other hand is experiencing a renaissance for old world wines and in particular, those from Languedoc. Then you have China, where the market has reopened albeit somewhat incrementally. Chinese people are increasingly interested in wine, especially red wines. So there is no one-size fits all.

What are the other markets of interest?
I am also interested in other markets like the United Kingdom and United Sates, but this is proving more complicated. I think we need to rethink our strategy for promoting white and red wines in the US. When you look at the shelves in the United States, you see lots of pale French Rosé but far fewer bottles of whites and reds. This is something we need to kickstart again.

Rosorange overcomes challenges of Rosé

Jean-Claude Mas, founder of Domaines Paul Mas, has developed a new concept dubbed Rosorange. Made form an assemblage of rosé and orange wine, the new blend offers certain advantages over Rosé. In particular, using orange wine overcomes many of the challenges which are associated with Rosé, including that it can be made anywhere in the world and usually, can only be stored for a couple of years. The innovative winemaker is at Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris, presenting his latest white and sparkling cuvées.