Why the finest vineyards in France are tipping away 266 million bottles

[emad]

Times
From Charles Bremner in Paris



IN A gesture likely to bring an apoplectic flush to the face of any dedicated claret drinker, French wine growers have proposed a desperate plan to prop up their slumping industry against New World competition by handing thousands of barrels to industrial distillers.
It is the first time that grand wines protected by the Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) label have been treated in such a way. And as is usually the case with French agriculture, the vignerons are counting on their Government and Brussels to foot much of the bill for mopping up a wine lake of eminently drinkable if unfashionable quality.

The plan to distil more than 266 million bottles of Appellation d’origine contrôlée wine, to become ethanol for vehicles or other products, conjures up the bizarre concept of European drivers filling their tanks with 2004 Bordeaux — and other vintages.

It is a symptom of the plight of growers in Bordeaux, Burgundy and other traditional wine regions as they face their worst crisis since the phylloxera disease killed many of the country’s vines a century ago. The world’s drinkers are turning away from complicated and uneven French AOC wines which bear the names of obscure châteaux in favour of simply and memorably branded tipples from the New World. At the same time the domestic market is shrinking as the French heed medical advice and the threat of the breathalyser and cut down on their consumption.

The ploy by the growers’ and merchants’ organisations would have been unthinkable when AOC labels ruled the world market for medium to higher-quality wines. The EU millions that were spent in recent decades ending the wine lakes applied in France to the humble vin de table and vin de pays, not to the grander AOC labels. Only Champagne and the highest-quality Bordeaux, Burgundies and Loire wines are untouched by the worst slump since the early 20th century.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1458297,00.html

[MercutioATC]

1. I have the perfect place for them to dump that wine....

:evilgrin:

[emad]

2. Right behind you, MercutioATC, right behind you....

//

[xchrom]

3. this is where the line starts?

[On the Road]

4. Looks Like That Freeper Boycott is Working...

NOT!

[truebrit71]

5. They should rest assured that any barrels they send my way...

..will be fully utilized!!!

[Roxy66]

6. I heard a Financial Radio Show host over the weekend..promote Boycotting

all French products...and he claims to be non-political..just an advisor. I couldnt believe it!!!

[KurtNYC]

7. Would rather hear that wine from Chile, Australia and South Africa

was being dumped or refined into fuel since most of what I have had from the new wineries isn't worth a damn. Argentina's new stuff on the other hand is some respectable wine.

Dumping wine?

[ClassicDem]

8. Which South African wine did you try?

I tried "Goats do Roam" the other day and really liked it.

[Warpy]

10. Hardy's Johannesburg Riesling

was wonderful stuff, as I recall. Dunno if it's still available.

[KurtNYC]

11. I had a Shiraz

could have been Robert's Rock. Have had Goat Do Roam before - not bad.

[Warpy]

9. French plonk is worse than California plonk

no matter how ancient the castle or how well known the label on the bottle.

Very good to outstanding wines will be as they are. My guess is that the plonk will be turned into fine distilled alcohol.

It's probably for the best.

[robcon]

12. The AOC wines are mostly AOC Bordeaux.

The most over-priced plonk in the world may be most non-chateaux Bordeaux. It's basically undistinguished Merlot, and the French haven't recognized that the many parts of the world - e.g. Chile, Australia, California - make better Merlot for a lot less money. The French are not competitive in low end Merlot, either in price or quality.