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French wine lovers revolt after a Japanese couple producing "exceptional" wine in the south of France is threatened with deportation.
More than 42,000 people have already signed a petition protesting against this "crazy, shameful and shameful decision" "
The" exceptional "red wine of Rie and Hirofumi Shoji, Pedres Blanques (White Rocks), elaborated from Grenache near Banyuls-sur-Mer in the French Catalan region of Roussillon, became an instant hit after their first harvest last year.
He has already made the cellars of the best restaurant in the world, Can Roca, just across the Spanish border in Girona, and the best Parisian restaurants have also been competing to stock up on on
Their first year of production has completely elapsed, with 10,000 bottles quickly snapped up and the price rising from 12 euros ($ 14) to 26 euros.
But immigration officials said that the couple could n They stayed in France because they were not earning enough and their trade was not viable.
The Shojis saved 100,000 euros and took out a loan of 50,000 euros to buy their vineyards on a difficult ground where the Pyrenees
Hirofumi Shoji, 38, fell in love with French wine when he started work for the three-star French chef Alain Ducbade in Japan.
The Shojis met in France after arriving separately in 2011 dreaming of making their own wine.
Both have studied and worked with some of the country's greatest wineries in the Burgundy and Bordeaux regions to hone their skills before getting married and buying the land together in 2016.
& # 39; Extraordinary wine & # 39;
But when they tried to change their status Their papers from "employees" to "farmer" officials told them that they would have to leave the country because they were earning less than 2,000 euros a month.
Their lawyer Jean Codognes told AFP that he thought "an administrative error" at first, but three days ago the prefecture confirmed his order. "
" Their wine was a huge success and 75% of the production for this year has already been booked, "he added.
He said the couple did not have a penny of state aid to found their business because they were not considered as foreigners.
The famous local winemaker Alain Castex also came to their defense, praising Pedres Blanques as "an extraordinary wine".
"These are really pbadionate people with very high ethical standards and they have enjoyed magnificent success," he told French public television
Jean L 'Heritier , organizer of a wine fair in Perpignan, the capital Roussillon region, said it would be "a huge loss for everyone if the Shoji had to leave. The quality of their grapes, and the typically Japanese perfectionism of their winemaking "had impressed their peers," he told local newspapers, "The Independent."
Appellants at local radio stations raged at officials as " "Moronic," and Twitter users also described the decision as "criminal." Green MEP Yannick Jadot called the decision "absurd" and urged his supporters to sign the petition to save the Shoji.
Banyuls is best known for its rich red wines, often called secrets of the wine world.
Codognes, who appealed the ruling, said the couple was doing well compared to many other local winegrowers. "The average income in the region (winemaking) even with subsidies is less than 1,000 euros per month, "he added.
Several Japanese winemakers have made a name in France in recent years, almost all organic and natural wines, led by Hirotake Ooka, whose wines from Domaine de Grande Colline have a cult in his country of origin.
© Agence France-Presse
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