Awards and citations:


1997: Le Prix du Champagne Lanson Noble Cuvée Award for investigations into Champagne for the Millennium investment scams

2001: Le Prix Champagne Lanson Ivory Award for investdrinks.org

2011: Vindic d'Or MMXI – 'Meilleur blog anti-1855'

2011: Robert M. Parker, Jnr: ‘This blogger...’:

2012: Born Digital Wine Awards: No Pay No Jay – best investigative wine story

2012: International Wine Challenge – Personality of the Year Award




Saturday 7 March 2009

Letter from Mark Angeli


Earlier this week I received a letter from Mark Angeli (La Ferme de la Sansonnière, Thouarcé). In the letter Mark announces that from next year, following the report from MDRGF (Mouvement pour les Droits et le Respect des Générations Futures) on pesticide residues, he will no longer sell his wines to merchants who continue to sell wines from producers who use chemicals. Mark's wines used to be distributed by Vini Be Good. However, Mark left as some of the vignerons distributed by Vini Be Good still used chemicals in their vineyards.

'Le pubication par le MDRGF des analyses de résidus de pesticides dans les vins m’a bouleversé. Lequel d’entre nous aurait des taux aussi élevées?’



'En consequence, dés l’année prochaine, je ne vendrai plus de vin à des professionals qui auraient encore dans leur gamme2010 des vins chiniques ou qui, à tout le moins, ne les distingeuraient pas explicitement des vins sains. Je suis à leur disposition pour leur indiquer d’ici là, des solutions de remplacement advantageuses dans chaque région.

Je suggère meme aux plus révoltés d’aller au-delà de cette “contrainte” en affichant ouvertement une phrase de type:

“Souhaitant vus consverer vivant le plus longtemps possible, nous ne vous proposons en magazin que des vins certifies sans poison.”


Although Mark clearly has an awareness of the net – he gives the url for MDRGF – he continues, as far as I know, to eschew the net as though it was the devil’s work. Instead he prefers to send letters. In one sense this is admirable but I can’t help feeling that if he embraced the net Mark would be able broadcast his message much more quickly and to a much bigger audience.

Mark Angeli, La Ferme de la Sansonnière, 49380 Thouarcé
Tel: 02.41.54.08.08
Vins de table, farine de froment, jus de pomme, miel, huile de Cathame, poulet fermier


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

A very bold decision.

The net may well be the devil's work, but sending out a mass e-mail has a much lighter carbon foot-print than a stack of letters going through printing and travelling through La Poste.

Jim's Loire said...

Thanks Tista. Next time I see Mark. I'll point this out to him. In the meantime if any of Mark's friends see this perhaps they could pass this onto him. Lourd bilan carbone!

Jim's Loire said...

Without taking anything away from Mark's decision, he is small enough and with an established reputation to be able to sell all he makes. Much more difficult for someone with 20-30 hectares to make a similar move.