Poor crops for Olive Growers in the South of France

October to February is usually a busy time, for olive oil producers, it is the time for harvesting and extracting olive oil but olive oil producers in our region in the south of France are totally frustrated with the olive crops this year. Some producers say they will lose 100 % of their crops, and quite a few are   now chopping down their trees, it is all quite alarming especially for produces in the Var and the Alpes- Maritime regions.

Weather conditions

Olive oil specialists are blaming the weather conditions for the most part; the dreaded olive fly is also responsible for the catastrophic results.

One producer from Nice said his olives were much smaller this year and that it was heartbreaking to watch his olive fall to the ground. French olive oil experts call this phenomenon, chute physiologique the condition where olives shrivel up and fall to the ground. They say it is weather related but cannot really explain why it happens.

Gilles and Brigitte Stalenque, gold award medalists in last year’s prestigious Olive Oil Times competition will also face heavy losses this year. Their family owned domaine is situated in the ancient village of Seillans, about 72 kilometers inland from Nice. From their five hectare estate, Domaine Stalenq,  they work hard every year producing sublime fruity green olive oils, proud of their first international win last year.

Sadly, it’s a different story this year.  

Brigitte said: “we are trying hard to be optimistic, but it isn’t easy.”



Brigitte and Gilles at their domaine in Seillans

 

With the drought in Andalusia and the problem of blight, which has hit Puglia, Italy’s main olive growing area, olive oil experts are predicting an increase in price for extra virgin, not good news for us consumers.

The Forgotten D Day in Provence

 Media coverage on the 70^th anniversary d day embarkation in the North of France allowed us to rethink of  the harsh realities of the second world war but let’s not forget that there was another landing, an equally important event, Operations Dragoon, which took place  August 15, a couple of weeks later here in the South of France. Historians refer to this landing as 'the forgotten D-day,' an attack involving not only French commandoes, British and American paratroopers but also around 200,000 soldiers from the French colonies of Africa and the Caribbean.

  With the help of the French résistance, these troops were able to march north through France and into Germany.  The airborne and seaborne attack in the South was a complicated operation, lasting only around four weeks but one which forced   the Germans out of the South of France, eventually liberating Paris.

Vidauban, a little town in Provence

The people of Provence  paid tribute this weekend in towns and villages and in the Mediterranean town of Toulon with naval frigates, aircraft carriers and submarines. Thousands of visitors and spectators attended the impressive ceremony but in the little inland town of Vidauban, roads were closed off for a few hours as the town people here also looked back, paying tribute and thinking of the thousands of troops that marched through the town seventy years ago, those brave soldiers who scrambled over vine and olive trees as they moved upwards and onwards unto the capital.

Two American veterans invited by the mayor also participated in the ceremony.

Robert Jackson from the 45^th Division made it all the way up to Paris but Michael Halik was not so lucky - he stepped onto a mine in Ramatuelle as soon as he landed and had to be sent home. This is his first visit back to France.

Michael Halik in Vidauban for the Liberation ceremony

 

                                                 

 

 

 

Why is Savon de Marseille Still Struggling against Fake Brands?

Only four genuine soap manufacturers make the legendry olive oil based Savon de Marseille soap and there is  only one place it can be made – Marseille, France’s second largest city. Over the years however, fake Savon de Marseille soaps are being been made elsewhere: in countries such as Malaysia, Italy, Germany, Tunisia and even in France.
You can find this olive oil based soap in almost any hygiene department, but have a closer look at the labels. On the cheaper imitations you’ll see that half of them aren’t even made in Marseille, some made without olive oil.

Why is this happening?

Because there was never any patent of protection laws put in place meaning anyone, anywhere can make soap and call it Savon de Marseille.  These knock offs are even carrying the Savon de Marseille stamp.

To protect the soap, the four remaining genuine soap manufactures formed a union, L’union des Professionnels du Savon de Marseille in 2011, they then approached the French Ministry asking for three specific criteria to be addressed; the composition, the method of manufacture and the geographic origin. Although they managed to get European official Protected Geographic recognition of origin and quality (PGI) in April 2013, fake soaps are still being made, even in France.
For PGI  products the link with the geographic area is not essential.


Save the soap petition

The four soap makers are now asking French consumers to help them save the true Savon de Marseille by signing a petition addressed to the appropriate French Ministry. 

Keeping the traditional soap making technique is important for these manufacturers. The real soap is cubic shaped with no preservatives and no perfumes. It is made from olive oil, takes about two weeks to make and about a month before it’s ready to be sold.  The final product is stamped by hand with details on all 6 faces indicating the weight, the name of the manufacturer, the percentage of oil and the legendary Savon de Marseille stamp.

Protected Designation of Origin

Manufactures such as Savon de Marseille need to be protected. After all it is a regional and traditional product, one based on special savoir- faire. Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) the European Union protects food products closely linked to terroir.

Granted Savon de Marseille is not a food product  but why can't it apply to  Savon de Marseille where there is a specific link between the  product and its geographic link?

                         Genuine Savon de Marseille will be stamped on the sides.

5 Things You Should Know About Rosé Wine from Provence

With this fine weather we’ve been having one thing’s certain: families and friends will be bringing out chilled bottles of rosé wine, the fun wine that goes well with friends, sunshine and good times.  Without going into details about how to make Provencal rosé, here’s what you need to know if you’re heading down south to Provence this summer.

 Brief history of Rosé

Wine makers have been making rosé wine for centuries in Provence, France’s oldest wine making region.  But it was only round about the 14^th century when kings and aristocrats started taking a keen interest in the pale wine that the real history of rosé began. The tourist industry in Provence increased over the years and so did rosé wine production.  Today rosé wine producers have their own center, The Rosé Center for Research and Experiment the only dedicated centre for Rosé wine in France.  Set up in 1999, in Vidauban in the heart of Provence, the Centre de Recherche et d’Expérimentation works directly with producers enhancing the quality of rosé wine from Provence through   training courses, research and development.

 Facts and Figures

Provence is France’s leading wine region specializing in rosé wine. According to the Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vin (CIVP) also known as the Provence Wine Council:
- Provence produces 35% of AOP rosé wine: AOC assures authenticity and quality.
- Around 15 million liters of Rosé wine from Provence is exported yearly: exports to the U.S have increased by 40% by volume and value from November 2012 to November 2013.

 Rosé wine from Provence is not a mixture of red and white wine

Rosé wine is make from red grapes but produced differently from red wine. Rose producers from Provence quite rightly went up in arms a few years ago when the European Commission in Brussels argued that rosé could be made simply by mixing   red and white wine. The draft which luckily did not go through would have allowed any European wine maker to mix red and white wine and call it rosé. Imagine  the anger of the wine producers who have been struggling for years to give rosé wine the recognition it so deserves.

 Versatile and easy to please

You don’t have to be a wine snob to appreciate rosé. There’s no need to impress with elaborate vocabulary, no swirling of glasses or allowing the air to breathe with rosé. Simply raise your chilled glass and enjoy the aroma of this festive versatile juice. A well balanced Rosé not only goes well with Provencal cuisine but also complements a lot of dishes. And with Rosé becoming trendier and trendier, more and more of us Southerners are having it as an aperitif.

 

You don’t have to look too hard to find good Rosé wine

The Provence region is well known for its diversity, with different landscape, valleys, altitude and climate; even the soil is different. Sun, soil, landscape and climate all play a part in this terroir.  You can't visit the hundreds of private vineyards in the South,  and taste them all, but try to get to a couple of local vintners where you’ll learn lots; get them to explain how they get  the different colors of rosé.
You can even buy rosé in bulk from the  wine cooperatives, outlets in most towns and villages where you can get excellent quality wines at reasonable prices.
 

   A votre santé

Coffees and cafés

A winter day in February

 The local viticulturists are now relaxing - they have pruned all the vines, the skies are blue most of the time and the countryside, an amazing tapestry of colors, the sort that inspires painters.

The days, though, are still cold even here in the South so I very often take refuge in my local café after an exhilarating long walk amongst the vines and olive trees. Despite the name – Café de Paris, this is a quiet place, a totally unpretentious rural café in a small town. I go there to take in the ambiance, to observe, to listen to the locals exchanging mandate chit chat; this is after all a way of life in France, even more so in the little towns and villages.

Locals will often meet up in the local café ordering a warm alcoholic drink, or perhaps a coffee. Those who come for the coffee will mostly ask for un café, un petit café, or un expresso. They get a small cup of strong black coffee with only 2 calories. Those who like it stronger will ask for un café serré and believe me, it is strong.
Coffee with milk can be either un café noisette, which is a small cup of expresso with a dash of milk or cream or café crème, an expresso with hot milk served in a large cup.

If you plan to visit France here’s what you need to know:

--You have your coffee after your meal.  The waiter will not be impressed if you order it with your dessert.

--Forget about take away coffee in France; you don’t consume your coffee in the street.

--Don’t order café au lait; order instead a café crème or un grand crème if you’d like a larger cup.

--If you are in a hurry, then have your coffee at the bar and pay less.

Bonjour, un café si’il vous plaît

A café in Nice made the news recently when the owner, wanting to make a point to customers who barged in and ordered coffee, upped the prices for coffee.

Manager, Fabrice Pepino started charging his stressed out and busy customers 7 euros for a coffee if they didn’t include please at the end of their order and 4.25 euros for a coffee with please at the end. If they said, ‘Hello, a coffee please,’ they were rewarded. The price for these ultra polite customers -- a more reasonable 1.4O euros.

His plan to remind customers to be polite worked. Pepino said it made a difference almost immediately and he didn’t have to enforce the price scheme for very long. He said his customers are more relaxed these days.

 
Café de Paris; always a warm welcome from the friendly owner

French Olive Oil

Today, around 30,000 growers cultivate olive trees in the sunny southern regions of France, 260 millers extract their own oil and 18 registered nurseries strive to produce the best olive trees.

French olive oil is recognized by experts as one of the best in the world but it hasn’t always been easy for growers.

Here is an extract from An OliveOil Tour of France.

A Brief History

The Phoenicians, the great merchants of ancient times planted the first olive trees in Spain, France and Sicily around 800 BC, but it was the Romans who first recognized the richness of the soils and climate of the Provence region in France and how perfect this was for growing olives. They lost no time setting up plantations and mills for producing oils in the region, developing the industry wherever they settled so much so that the olive tree featured on many early Roman coins.

France’s oldest city Marseille became a focal point for the industry, the place where much trading of oils, wine and spirits took place. The highly prized oil was soon being exported creating enormous wealth for the Romans. The Roman Empire eventually collapsed but the seed was sown. The thirst for olives was started, enthusiasm and love for olive cultivation burgeoned and large areas were set aside for the sacred olive tree.  Today it has become a symbol of peace and longevity.

In 1840, there were 26 million trees in France covering an area of 168,000 acres. France has around 4.3 million olive trees tended by some 29,000 olive farmers in the 20 regions where olive oil is produced (including Corsica). Unlike Spain and Italy, olive oil is produced mostly by small producers, mostly traditional olive growers who recognize the importance of maintaining their Provencal heritage, growers who strive for quality more than quantity. In other words, less is more for French olive oil producers.

It hasn’t always been easy for the people of the South to farm olives. In 1956, they had to contend with devastating frosts which hit the normally robust olive trees of the South of France.

Some owners resorted to a drastic solution – they decided to chop down the trees at the base. Mother Nature was kind; although it took time, the main branches known as the charpentières miraculously started growing again by 1980.

Then in 2001, there was more bad weather, more frustration for growers. The temperatures dropped between – 3° and - 10° for several days resulting  in a loss of 80 percent of the fruit. Discouraged, many planters replanted with grapes instead of olives.

In the eighties, olive growing started in earnest due mostly to health experts talking about the benefits of a Mediterranean diet and the various subsidies offered by the Government. With this renewed interest, olive oil cultivation and exploitation took off once more.