The hooded vandals targeted an estate owned by Grands Chais de France, which is the second-largest wine producer in France.
They used planks and tyres to set a storage unit on fire, and they also opened four wine vats, two of which were completely emptied.
The public prosecutor in Narbonne said the vandals left a ‘CAV’ tag on the property, which indicates that they are part of Comité d’action viticole (Viticultural Action Committee).
They also wrote the inscription ‘viti en colère’ at the estate in Aude, which roughly translates to ‘viticulturalists are angry’.
The public prosecutor, which estimates the damage at €130,000 (£107,000), has opened an official investigation into the vandalism, which occurred on 30 November.
This is the latest in a string of symbolic protests against the low prices that French growers are receiving for their grapes.
Last month, growers smashed bottles of Côtes-du-Rhône wine outside Lidl stores in the Rhône valley. They were angry at wines being sold for just €1.69 per bottle, arguing that supermarkets like Lidl are ‘destroying viticulture’.
The following week, growers blocked a motorway near the border with Spain, intercepted lorries containing Spanish wine and emptied the tanks onto the road.
Union members have also been planning blockades of large distribution centres across the Languedoc-Roussillon region.
Now they have apparently trained their anger on a large negociant. Grand Chais de France is the second-largest producer in France and the country’s largest wine exporter, with brands including Calvet and J.P. Chenet.
Frédéric Rouanet, president of the
