Just a short while away: the end of the year and, at the latest, the beginning of 2022. These are the dates on which the birth certificate of the Valle d’Aosta Doc Consortium will be deposited. A turning point for the queen of snow and the elegant white grape Prié Blanc. Nicolas Bovard, president of the Cave Mont Blanc cooperative, the most important in the area, is aware of this.
With the birth of the Consortium, will Valle d’Aosta be able to integrate better into synergistic wine projects?
«The consortium’s goal is to create collaboration between the various wineries. Ours is a small reality: just think that 2 and a half million bottles are produced in the region, while a single winery in Piedmont reaches 4 million. With these numbers, the more we work in synergy, also with Piedmont and Liguria, the more effective we are on the market ».
What could be the difficulties of a collaboration project in the North West?
«In Valle d’Aosta there are small and medium-sized companies. Those who produce a few bottles and sell them locally are not interested in “macro” synergy. But the wineries that are gearing up and are increasingly willing to collaborate. We are increasingly aware that compared to the other realities of the North West we are complementary and not competitors ».
Wouldn’t a Valle d’Aosta white be more attractive if proposed with Piedmontese reds?
«Cave Mont Blanc has been trying for years to collaborate with all the players in tourism: with the municipality of Courmayeur, with the company of mountain guides with whom we make an ad hoc wine, with the Skyway Monte Bianco cable car. We are ready to embrace Piedmont and Liguria as well. In a catalog for foreign markets, having the shoulder of Piedmont and that of Ligurian seafood wines would be nice and useful ».
Could reaching out to Piedmont be the first act of the Consortium?
«The consortium aspect gives authority to the proposals, the consortium by definition protects the territories and can sit down to discuss the laws of the sector. On the other hand, a network of companies, even if commercial, is more competitive on the markets ».