t the end of the war commerce in champagne was in a critical situation. If it had kept up the soldiers' morale during the war then it now needed to do the same for the inhabitants of Champagne. It was true that, on the 10 May 1947, at the spring meeting of the A.V.C., René Chayoux, president of the merchants, was able to say, with the approval of Henri Macquart, the president of the vine growers: At the end of a period of terrible torment, the situation in Champagne is relatively fortunate. Our vineyards have not suffered as much as we might have feared. A sensible policy of restriction of prices and quantities sold has both maintained substantial levels of stock and Champagne's reputation from the point of view of price and quality. But in 1945, in the vineyards, many men had not come back, average yields had fallen to 32 hectolitres per hectare, a great deal of work which had been postponed for five years now had to carried out with some urgency if the prosperity of before the war was to be recovered. As for the merchants they, too, had a lot to do in order to restore and develop their businesses.

However, little by little the after-effects of the war disappeared. 1954 marked the beginning of an extraordinary phase of expansion for champagne both in terms of its means of production and its sales.

As time passed sales in France and exports to various countries grew rapidly.

Several remarks may be made concerning this dramatic evolution. Between the end of the hostilities and 1953 sales remained more or less at the level in 1938, i.e. around thirty million bottles annually, with a peak of thirty-five million in 1951. People restocked their cellars after the war but the stocks of the producers had not yet returned to their correct levels and the economic climate was hesitant. From 1954 the professions were able to evolve in a climate of healthy cooperation due to the creation of an interprofessional body, the spirit of competition seized the producers, merchants, growers who sold their own champagne, and the cooperatives; their combined efforts would, in a quarter of a century, multiply sales of champagne by six, which is considerable for a product with a relatively high price that, while it was certainly desirable and pleasant, was not a prime necessity.

Between 1910 and 1940 there was a stagnation in the level of sales, which hovered around 30 and 40 million bottles, with considerable and frequent peaks and troughs. The opposite was true in this period of expansion, of which the steadiness was remarkable. There were, however, four hiccups, which occurred for accidental reasons. The first in 1958-1959 was caused by a poor harvest due to frosts in 1957. The second, in 1968, resulted from the introduction of value added tax (VAT)⁴² and political and industrial problems. The 1970s began with a euphoric period of growth in sales, of the order of 10% per year, but then a third interruption occurred in 1974 as a result of the recession that was triggered by the fuel crisis. From 1973 to 1975 the British and Italian markets fell, in terms of bottles sold per year, from 10 million to 3 million and from 9.8 million to 2.8 million respectively. The French market fell by 6% in 1974 but quickly resumed its growth in 1975.

The fourth drop in sales occurred after a substantial jump of 53% over three years. The vines suffered badly in 1978, 1980 and 1981 with the result that four years produced the equivalent, in terms of harvests, of two and a half years. The shortage of grapes added to the drain on reserves that had resulted from the extremely rapid growth during the preceding period; producers found themselves obliged on the one hand to limit sales in order to safeguard quality and on the other hand to raise prices in order to make up for the loss, the increase also serving as brake on sales growth. The result was another dip in the sales curve in 1980, for in France as in a lot of foreign countries purchasing power had stagnated or even declined, the second fuel crisis also having had its effect. Fortunately the harvests of 1982 and 1983 were splendid, and also the largest of the century; they gave the economy of Champagne the boost it needed and paved the way for further growth.

We may conclude from the above that while sales of champagne are linked to the stability of the general economic environment, which can all too suddenly be upset, they also seem to recover very quickly from any such upsets, because, with surprising consistency, the losses were recouped and growth resumed within one or two years.

Whatever the case may be, the figures for the champagne trade in the years from 1950 to 1980 are undeniably magnificent. In less than thirty years sales increased by a factor of five, a record being achieved in 1978 with 186 million bottles. Theses results were, of course, obtained during an economic climate that was generally favourable, especially in France where in the period up to the fuel crisis the average income multiplied by two and a half, which meant that champagne became more accessible to the section of the population for whom it had previously been a great luxury. The price of a bottle now corresponded to a few hours work for an unskilled worker, as against a few days work in the previous century. Champagne also benefited from the growing consumer taste for dry sparkling wines that were drunk at celebrations, of which it remained the king.

This success was, nevertheless, not won easily, and we shall see further on the threats that arose from sparkling wines and other drinks and the obstacles that were encountered in external markets due to customs duties, taxes and quotas, and, in some of them, instability. As a result we can say that the growth would not have been what it was if the merchants and vine growers had not followed a policy of quality and reasonable prices which favourably influenced the way the market developed.

While in the middle of the nineteenth century growth was essentially linked to the developing export market, after the Second World War the internal market did nearly twice as well, accounting for three quarters of total sales by the beginning of the 1960s.

The growers who produced and sold their own champagne, who did not export much, played an important role in this change of direction by progressively increasing their sales in metropolitan France, to the point of covering half the French market at the beginning of the 1980s. However, due to the dynamism of the merchants, it was the exports that, from 1963, grew the most rapidly, representing by 1973 a third of total sales against a quarter in 1962. Upset by the 1973 fuel crisis, which had a greater impact on the external markets, this trend resumed strongly between 1976 and 1980.

The efforts of the trade were supported by the publicity campaigns carried out by the C.I.V.C. (Vignerons et Maisons de Champagne), in the name of the wine producing community of Champagne, under the direction of the successive presidents of its Commission de Propagande et de Défense des Intérêts du Champagne, which soon became the Commission d'Information et d'Accueil. Publicity initiatives were carried out via the press, radio, television, and cinema. From 1951 the Fêtes de Dom Pérignon were reintroduced which take place in Hautvillers. The Commission distributed quality publications that enhanced champagne's image⁴³, and increased involvement with prestige cultural events, participating in particular in 1962 in the 32e Gala de l'Union des Artistes, given at the cirque d'Hiver on the 9 March with a champagne theme.

The publicity activities of the C.I.V.C. (Vignerons et Maisons de Champagne) were not limited to the French market and reinforced those of the exporters and their agents in foreign countries. This took the form of the creation of a network of public relations offices that progressively covered the main importing countries, and also by considerable activity on an international level. In 1962 champagne participated in the second inaugural voyage of the France, from Le Havre to New York, the Voyage de l'Elégance et du Goût Français (A Voyage of Elegance and French Taste) playing such a major role that American journalists baptised it the Champagne Voyage. The C.I.V.C. (Vignerons et Maisons de Champagne) involved itself in certain festivities in various countries, notably sponsoring New York's Grand Balls, April in Paris, Débutantes Cotillon, and the echoes of these sparkling events were added to receptions in Champagne of substantial groups, such as in 1972, when a dinner was given for the nine hundred participants at the International Silk Congress.

It was for the benefit of visitors, as well as the French themselves, that the C.I.V.C. (Vignerons et Maisons de Champagne) instituted the Route du champagne, inaugurated on the 26 September 1953 by the Minister for Public Works, Transport and Tourism.

A tour of the wine producing region, the circuit is indicated by signs with an emblem involving a vine, some grapes and a white feather, symbolizing the lightness and panache of champagne. Despite its name the route could obviously not take in all the various localities of wine producing Champagne; there are thus three itineraries: the Circuit Bleu (Blue), which goes from Rheims to Epernay via the Montagne de Rheims; the Circuit Rouge (Red), which follows the right bank of the Marne, on both sides of Epernay; and the Circuit Vert (Green), which leaves from Epernay and passes through the Côte des Blancs. There are details and a commentary on the three circuits in a map-guide, entitled La Route du champagne, of which numerous copies have been printed in several languages⁴⁴.

THE SECOND RESTOCKING OF THE VINEYARDS

From the1950s onwards there was thus a period of huge expansion of the champagne market. The production of grapes, of course, had to increase in tandem with sales, and this was accomplished both by planting more vines and by improving yields.

From 1945 planting initiatives had been included in the general restocking program, which was carried out with a view to bringing the grape varieties used and planting practices in line with the new rules, thereby rationalizing the cultivation process, improving quality and quantity and ultimately resulting in a reduction of production costs. The A.V.C. encouraged and coordinated this second restocking, as it had done during the restocking following the abandonment of the vignes en foule ("vines in crowds") technique. Taking a degree of initiative that was unprecedented in France, the A.V.C. set up Commissions de Reconstitution and encouraged the vine growers through subsidies and various other incentives, such as discounts on vines that were recognized as being appropriately selected. There was also a drive to tidy up and restore vineyards and to encourage exchanges and consolidation of properties.

The Aube on account of the grape varieties particular to the region, undertook a more intensive restocking program, with the aim of bringing its vineyards in line with those of the Marne and the Aisne. This was successfully carried out from 1945 under the vigorous direction of Georges Lucot, the representative of the Aube vineyards within the Syndicat Général des Vignerons de la Champagne Délimitée, with the efficient help of Monsieur Dechambre, the director of the county's Agricultural Services, and then of Monsieur Maury, the Aube representative within the C.I.V.C. (Vignerons et Maisons de Champagne), which provided grants to help support these initiatives. In 1951 there were still only 250 hectares of restocked vines against 1,250 hectares of old vines, but the transformation was accomplished by the seventies, much to the benefit of the vine growers of the Aube and the harmony of wine producing Champagne.

In 1958 the total area in production in the official wine producing zone was 11,500 hectares. By using a part, and that it was only a part should be emphasized, of the land entitled to the champagne appellation, the area of vineyards was doubled in twenty years with the planting of 12,460 hectares, which, taking into account the effect of the unused plantation rights in 1958, gave a total of 24,252 hectares in production in 1978, the highest level of the decade following the stop in new planting in 1975. Vines also reappeared on hillsides from which they had long been absent, especially in the Sézanne region, in the valleys of the Aube and along the Marne, from Dormans to Château-Thierry and even beyond.

It should be made clear that it was not only in the Aisne and the Aube that new vines were planted, in fact it was rather the opposite. The vineyards in these two counties or départements expanded by 16 and 17.5% respectively, against 22% in the Marne and in 1978 the latter represented 79.5% of the total area of vines in the Champagne's wine producing zone, i.e. about three quarters, the Aisne and the Aube accounting for 5.5% and 15% respectively. The grands crus, which were already well-stocked, had taken little interest in planting new vines and the average price of vineyard land had thus slightly fallen. But it should not be forgotten that all the smaller vineyards were graded, and presented characteristics which had always been recognized as being suitable for producing good quality champagne.

At the same time yields had increased as a result of improvements in the productivity of the vineyards, and rose from 33 hectolitres per hectare in the 1950s to more than 60 hectolitres in the 1970s⁴⁵. This was obtained not through changes in pruning techniques or increasing the amount of fertilizer used, which would have compromised quality, but through better growing techniques that reduced the number of factors that could adversely affect the yield, such as parasites and diseases. The annual capacity of the vineyards, which had been between 50 and 70 million bottles in 1950 was thus increased by 1980 to between 180 and 200 million, in accordance with demand.

In order to be prepared for the future and to be able to cope with the continued growth in sales that was, naturally, hoped for, it was considered necessary to gradually increase production capacity to 240 million bottles and to plant in such a way that the merchants, in particular the exporters, would be able to obtain the grapes that they needed, without the vine growers being exposed to the risks of overproduction, the memory of which still lingered from the dark years between the wars. It was thus decided by the C.I.V.C. (Vignerons et Maisons de Champagne)'s board of consultants that 5,000 hectares, within the wine producing zone, would be planted over ten years beginning in 1981, at an average rate of 500 hectares each year, which by 1992 would increase the total production area to 29,000 hectares. This initiative would begin to literally bear fruit from 1984-1985 and enable an increase in sales of between 5 and 8 million bottles per year, corresponding to a growth rate of 3%, which was more restrained than that seen in the 1970s, but still very satisfactory compared to numerous other economic sectors.

THE EVOLUTION OF GROWING TECHNIQUES

In the years between 1950 and 1980 growing techniques were modernized. Tractors gradually replaced horses, which practically disappeared from the vineyards⁴⁶. Perhaps this is to be regretted in an age when energy is metered and expensive, for, as was remarked at a meeting of the A.V.C. on 1 May 1948, the horse could be said to constitute the perfect engine for the wine producers of Champagne; able to go everywhere, responsive to verbal commands, capable of extra effort when required, they have excellent instincts and frequently prevent the ploughs that they are pulling from causing damage.

But a desire to fully mechanize the vineyards was born, not so much to reduce production costs as to reduce the amount of manpower involved, and the accompanying problems. The invention of a young engineer from Epernay, Vincent Ballu, did much to advance this goal. In 1946, in his garage, he built and perfected a tractor that was specially adapted to the steep slopes and narrowly spaced vines of Champagne. Revolutionary in design, the tractor could straddle a row of vines, the two left wheels going on one side and the two right wheels going on the other, giving rise to its name of tracteur-enjambeur (stradle tractor or high clearance tractor). Presented to the A.V.C. in April of 1947, in competition with a three wheeled tractor from Montpellier, Vincent Ballu's machine was unanimously selected and was awarded a grant from the C.I.V.C. (Vignerons et Maisons de Champagne) enabling its builder to perfect its design and make it suitable for use during all stages of the growing process.

With the industrial manufacture of the high clearance tractor in 1952 the motorisation of the vineyards of Champagne was born, and celebrated by a Journée de Motoviticulture d'Ay (Motorized Vine Growing Day at Ay) on the 30 October 1954 at which various tractors and motorized aids were presented. Despite corresponding to an investment that was, depending on the type, the equivalent of the price of between three and six horses, the high clearance tractor was immediately a huge success in the vineyards of both the merchants and the vine growers. They became even more attractive in 1961 when the C.I.V.C. (Vignerons et Maisons de Champagne) launched a campaign to restore all the roads through the vineyards, resulting in the renovation, over twenty years, of 110 kilometres of roads, spread over 114 communes, with grants equivalent to well over a million pounds in 1980.

The contemporary period was rich in innovations for facilitating the cultivation of vines and reducing the manual labour required. With special attachments the high clearance tractor, of which a larger model that straddled two rows was developed, became capable of carrying out ploughing, pruning, leaf stripping, transporting the grapes during the harvest, spreading new earth and manure, and treatments against disease, being helped in this last task, from the beginning of the 1960s, by helicopters. For small parcels of land motorized cultivators were perfected, as were sprayers that were worn on the back. Experiments were carried out with new growing methods, the use of chemical herbicides, and methods of protecting against frost. All of which were developed later.