Posted on 12/18/2004 3:28:30 PM PST by schaketo
PARIS (AP) - Wine is less a beverage than an elixir of life in France, but the country's vintners say they're vexed by a problem that threatens their livelihood - too much of a good thing and not enough people drinking it.
Pinched by overproduction, shrinking exports, advertising restrictions, an aggressive campaign against alcohol abuse and changing drinking habits, at least 6,000 growers and winemakers staged spirited demonstrations nationwide Wednesday to press the government for help.
``We are a sector in crisis,'' said Jean-Michel Lemetayer, the head of France's main farmer union, urging the state to bail out an industry awash in a sea of Chablis and Bordeaux.
Vintners wearing black armbands marched through Bordeaux, Avignon, Angers, Macon, Nantes, Tours and other cities in key winemaking regions to urge the Agriculture Ministry to help offset their financial losses.
Protesters from vineyards that make the celebrated Cote du Rhone reds carried a mock coffin with the inscription: ``Here lies the last winemaker.''
France's wine industry, which employs about 500,000 people, says exports through Aug. 31 dropped by more than 5.5 percent in volume and 9.6 percent in value. Experts say Bordeaux was particularly hard hit, with foreign sales of its signature reds down 25 percent.
Vintners say overproduction worldwide, and especially in France - which harvested a bumper crop of grapes this year - has glutted a market where French wines already face fierce competition from vintages from California, Chile and Australia.
In the past, producers of cheap table wine suffered the most when there was a surplus. Now, makers of more prestigious ``appellation'' wines face bankruptcy if prices keep sinking, the Confederation of French Wine Cooperatives warned.
Agriculture Minister Dominique Bussereau promised to meet with industry leaders next week. ``The government understands these difficulties,'' he said.
Aggressive campaigns against alcohol abuse and drunken driving also appear to have curbed consumption.
President Jacques Chirac, determined to reduce the 45,000 deaths a year blamed on alcohol, launched a crackdown in 2002 that officials say has led to a dramatic decline in road deaths - but also has been blamed for a drop in wine sales.
``Thanks to the sword thrusts by the French state, wine is becoming synonymous with alcoholism,'' the Wine Academy of France, a group representing top wine makers and growers, said in a statement last week.
The industry is lobbying the government to ease tough restrictions on alcohol advertising in an effort to stimulate sales and counter the growing popularity of beer and other beverages among younger drinkers.
The average Frenchman now drinks half as much wine as in 1961. Nonetheless, France continues to rank No. 1 in the world in per capita wine consumption, with the average person putting away some 13 gallons a year.
``We just want to promote products that consumers already understand carry no risk if they drink with moderation,'' Lemetayer said.
He and others contend that wine - which traditionally has enjoyed special protections as a part of French culture - shouldn't be lumped with hard liquor like whiskey.
``Wine is a part of France's cultural heritage. We shouldn't demonize it,'' said Karine Pech, 28, who works in publishing in Paris. ``It's not a strong drink, and consumed with moderation, it's a part of a good meal.''
Since 1991, advertisements for alcoholic drinks in France have been allowed to contain only factual information about a product, including its name, manufacturer, alcohol content and origin.
Last month, the state-funded National Association for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Addiction urged Chirac to oppose a move in parliament to let print or television ads also mention the color, smell and taste of wines.
But under pressure from vintners, Chirac's ruling conservatives in the lower chamber backed the push to loosen the advertising restrictions. The Senate is expected to take up the measure in January.
Gregory Lozinski, a 22-year-old businessman, said he empathizes with winemakers - even though he only drinks about a bottle a week.
``I can understand that the wine industry is anxious,'' he said. ``I'm a partisan of freedom: If you want to get drunk and die of alcohol abuse, that's your problem.''
Associated Press Writer Mikael G. Holter in Paris contributed to this story.
I’ve found that Chile produces a very nice Sauvignon Blanc and California Merlot with Australian Chardonnay – who needs the frogs?
Maybe they could market the stuff to the paleocons.
Bite me frogs...
Ping!
Here in the People's Republic of Kaleefornia, that vile French plonck is no longer allowed (by me, anyway.)
No wonder the whine market is so soft, there's so much of it.
Oh wine. Nevermind.
Emily Latella R.I.P.
The French really screwed themselves not aligning themselves with us on the WOT. Too bad, and it's showing, hahahaha. I can get a great California Pinot Grigio for 12.99 a liter. The French aren't worthy of a penny from me.
They left out BOYCOTT.
Wot's this??? You mean pissing off one of your major customers (the United States) causes your business to drop???
There oughta be a law, I tells ya.
Last night, I was picking up beer for a little poker party and an older gentleman was in the liquor store at the same time building up his holiday liquor cabinet. He was an avid wine-buyer, and the store was scrambling to fill out his wish list within his request of no French wine. The store says it hardly sells any French wine anymore. This guy dropped over $700 on high-end wines, none of it French.
Sounds like a bunch of sour grapes to me.
California produces the kind Merlot, Syrah; Australia produces a respectable Shiraz.
French wine - an artifact of Old Europe.
My wife and I are members of a small (5 couples!) wine tasting club ("The Taste of the Grape"). Each couple brings 1, sometimes 2 bottles to a meeting. In 19 months we have yet to try a French Wine and I doubt we will.
What Saddam not buying (bribing) anymore? whine...and Cheese anyone. poor frogs.
Ah, the free market at work.
Awww. So sorry Frenchies! But what are you complaining about? You should have plenty of money from the Oil For Food program to pay off your unemployed. I don't drink, but any wine gifts I buy are NOT French and I encourage all my friends to NOT buy French wines. C'est la Vie !!
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