“Apple juice is enjoyed like a good wine”: producers from Pays d’Othe want to defend their expertise with a PGI

This is another step on a long road, but it's not insignificant. In March, the Pays d'Othe Cider Syndicate, based in the Aube department, submitted its application for Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status in Épernay (Marne) to the National Institute of Origin and Quality (INAO) for cider.

This long-term work , after a first attempt in the early 2000s, was launched in 2021. The health crisis led cider and apple juice producers in the Pays d'Othe, an area straddling the Aube and Yonne, to relaunch these very important projects, while food scandals tend to multiply.

One request may hide another: after cider, a second application will soon land on the INAO's desk. It concerns "pure apple juice from the Pays d'Othe." While cider is often the beverage highlighted when discussing the region, it is apple juice that is produced in the largest quantities. "We produce around 200,000 liters of cider and 250,000 liters of apple juice annually," estimates Gérard Hotte, president of the Pays d'Othe Cider Syndicate, himself a producer in Eaux-Puiseaux (Aube).

The approach of producers from Aube and Icau is being closely followed by their counterparts in other regions, especially for fruit juice. Applications for PGI status for cider are commonplace. Their counterparts in Brittany and Normandy have already done so. "For fruit juice, however, this has never been done in France. We want to have our distinctive character recognized," continues Gérard Hotte.

Among the forty or so apple varieties grown in the Pays d'Othe, of which Avrolles is one of the jewels, some are exclusively used for cider and juice production. They are too acidic to be eaten with a knife, but they give the juice an inimitable taste.

"Just like wine, pure apple juice from Pays d'Othe is a blend of several apple varieties," explains Gérard Hotte. "We established a tasting grid and called on oenologists. Apple juice is enjoyed like a good wine: with the eyes, the nose, the palate..."

Despite the continued success of their products, which continues year after year – apple juice is gaining popularity, notably at the expense of orange juice – cider and apple juice producers in the Pays d'Othe want to go further. "These two PGIs are a protection we want to give ourselves for our territory and our expertise," argues the president of the Cider Syndicate.

The soils of the Pays d'Othe, composed of clayey soil and leached silt with relative humidity, give its apples particular flavors that are not always found in the west of France.

Of the fifteen producers identified, the majority have joined the union and the PGI initiative. Long gone are the days of petty squabbles between the Aube region of Pays d'Othe and its Icunais counterpart. New generations have injected new life into the process and put resentment to rest.

"Despite everything, the applications were not easy to put together," the union president clarifies, "because, in addition to the departments, we are in two distinct administrative regions." The Grand Est for Aube and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté for Yonne. The area defined for the PGI includes 41 communes in Aube and 49 in Yonne.

"We're working for the future and the future of our young people," insists Gérard Hotte. "In recent years, there has been a generational revival, with children and even grandchildren taking over family farms." The Pays d'Othe has its expertise and wants to share it.