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Europe
French wine industry plunging into state of crisis
2006-02-17
This story makes me a little melancholy for some reason...
... try a nice, light Australian zinfandel ...
Thousands of French winegrowers took to the streets in towns across southern France on Wednesday to raise the alarm over the crisis gripping their sector and demand more help from the state. In Nimes, around 3,000 people marched behind a banner reading, in the local Occitan language: "Faren tot peta, gardaren li vigno" — "We will blow everything up but keep the vineyards". Trailing the procession were a group of farmers and hunters, with donkeys, goats and sheep in tow. According to the head of the local winegrowers' association, nine out of 10 vineyards in the area around Nimes are struggling to make ends meet. Large protests were also held in Avignon and the Mediterranean towns of Beziers and Narbonne, where protestors marched to demand a state moratorium on tax and social security payments to compensate for their plummeting revenues. In Narbonne, 5,000 people — winegrowers, but also farm union leaders, lawmakers and local clergymen — marched under banners reading: "Break with the EU, to defend wine and winegrowers!"

"We want an answer from the government by tomorrow morning," said the head of the area's winegrowers' union, Philippe Vergnes, accusing authorities of treating winegrowers with "contempt".
No, that would be us Americans ...
More than 100 winegrowers from the southwestern Bordeaux region, faced with their worst crisis in 30 years, presented the regional governor's office with a list of their demands earlier Wednesday. France's wine industry faces serious problems caused by overproduction, falling demand at home and intense competition in export markets from 'New World' producers such as Australia, Chile and California. Many protestors also vented their anger at large retail chains — accused of driving down prices — and public health campaigns which they say have turned French consumers off wine.
Posted by:Seafarious

#17  You gotta comment early on Rantburg!!
The tyranny of time zones.

Perth, Australia
Posted by: phil_b   2006-02-17 23:06  

#16  Danish flag sales are up, tu.
Posted by: Darrell   2006-02-17 18:35  

#15  "Break with the EU, to defend wine and winegrowers!"

Boy, that EU thing looks like it's working out real well, don't it? When is that "economic powerhouse" thingy supposed to show up?
Posted by: tu3031   2006-02-17 15:33  

#14  "This story makes me a little melancholy for some reason..."

Yeah, me too, until I read the article while enjoying a nice American IPA home brew:)

Mmmm home brew...
Posted by: Hyper   2006-02-17 15:24  

#13  Um, I think you left out the little bit about their political leaders being duplicitous back-stabbing pricks and assholes, pissing off the deepest pockets on the entire planet and causing sales to fall precipitously

Sorta sums it up. To quote Monty Python:

Never kill a customer!

We'll leave out how the Australians are now producing some of the most innovative (cabernet - shiraz blends) and entertaining (white shiraz) wines on the planet. Good to see one of our best allies eating France's lunch.
Posted by: Zenster   2006-02-17 12:13  

#12  I actually prefer Spanish and Australian wine to French.
I just see this as more proof that the EU economic and socialist model is f00ked.
Posted by: mmurray821   2006-02-17 11:17  

#11  
Crap, I was gonna type some witty and unique comment, but N guard stole thought in the 1st post. You gotta comment early on Rantburg!!

Posted by: macofromoc   2006-02-17 10:56  

#10  Hey Seafarious, try Golan Heights wines.
Posted by: gromgoru   2006-02-17 10:54  

#9  Look, it's happening in Kentucky, too...
Posted by: Raj   2006-02-17 10:24  

#8  ...with donkeys, goats and sheep in tow.

Look, an Arab harem! Whooo hoo!
Posted by: Raj   2006-02-17 10:20  

#7  LH, I think you're right. I posted about a year ago about another demonstration in the same region, and A5089 or JFM said these are the table wine producers. And I still feel sad, because a nice glass of good French wine is one of Western civilization's finest achievements and I'd hate for that to go away.
Posted by: Seafarious   2006-02-17 10:12  

#6  from the geography i dont know that these are high end guys. We forget that France produces oceans of "vin ordinaire" thats consumed domestically. Drops in domestic consumption could be really hard on these people.
Posted by: liberalhawk   2006-02-17 10:05  

#5  PlanetDan

When you aim for the high-end customers then being expensive actually increases your sales: your customers don't want a beverage that your average can afford and in addition your outrageous prices mean nothing to them: Bill Gates can afford to drink only wines at 1,000$ per bottle: his annual consumption will be only a few seconds of his revenue.

Being very expensive has ever been one of teh secrets of the French producers of Bordeaux and Champagne.
Posted by: JFM   2006-02-17 10:00  

#4  Um, I think you left out the little bit about their political leaders being duplicitous back-stabbing pricks and assholes, pissing off the deepest pockets on the entire planet and causing sales to fall precipitously, there, PD. But your point is taken, heh. ;-)
Posted by: .com   2006-02-17 07:48  

#3  part of the problem is that they rejected modern, scientific management of grape cultivation and wine production which has produced higher quality wines at lower costs.

they wanted to adhere to traditional practices. quaint, but less efficient.

this is the fallout of those decisions.
Posted by: PlanetDan   2006-02-17 07:44  

#2  their government and urban elites pushed policies which led to a backlash among consumers, harshened by a wine glut on the market. Get over it. When I see Paris's gutters run with red wine and strikes/uprisings among farmers demanding Chirac's head, I'll smirk and shed a slight tear
Posted by: Frank G   2006-02-17 00:24  

#1  Why are they worried? Its not like they are going to be allowed to produce wine anyway, after Sharia is imposed. If anything, by having their wine industry collapse now, there will be less trauma more important things to worry about when all the other...features...of islamic law kick in.
Posted by: N guard   2006-02-17 00:18  

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