LAT:L Who's killing the great wines of France?

Thanks for the link. It seems odd, though, that they don't make any mention of some peoples' decision to boycott anything French.

Dan-O

because

getting rid

winegrowers or

spite their

I don't have any stats for you Timothy, but I have noticed that my local state-owned store has fewer "everyday" French wines than it used to. And I live in a "blue" state (Pennsylvania). I won't touch the politics of the boycott with a ten-foot pole. I did that last summer already, and it started a major flame-fest! As for the article itself, I suppose the writer may have been limited by space, a tight deadline, or (possibly) an anti-boycott editor. Mere speculation on my part.

Dan-O

[] ] ] I don't have any stats for you Timothy, but I have noticed that my ] local state-owned store has fewer "everyday" French wines than it used ] to. And I live in a "blue" state (Pennsylvania). ] I won't touch the politics of the boycott with a ten-foot pole. I did ] that last summer already, and it started a major flame-fest! ] As for the article itself, I suppose the writer may have been limited ] by space, a tight deadline, or (possibly) an anti-boycott editor. Mere ] speculation on my part. ]

I meant to post this article before. It states that '04 sales of french cheese in the US is up 20% over 03, champagne up 4.5%

I don't think the boycott is anything more than a media issue. The consumer issue has to do with IMHO varietal labeling more than anything else. Also "new world" style wines in general seem well suited to "new world" cuisine, (vastly generalizing I know!) with its bold flavours. (FYI I'm an american, and I like "new world" cuisine a lot, even if my tastes in wine run towards the old world.)

It is typically french to throw out everything good and emulate the market success of another rather than trying to stand and build on ones own strengths. In my view oak chips and over extraction are not the answer. Quality and traditional methods, with more transparence and simpler labeling are...

-E

As has been noted, having the varietal on the bottle might help a lot. The French assume that you should just drink the wine and not care what the blend is, but that's not how American consumers think. I, personally, like to know how much petit verdot makes it into a Bordeaux blend I am drinking. I think less educated wine consumers don't realize that Burgundy is almost always pinot noir if its red and chardonnay if its not. Someone who likes merlot may not know what to buy and if you tell them Bordeaux they might still guess wrong when selecting a bottle. Sometimes even wine shop owners don't know for sure if a Bordeaux is merlot-based without pulling out a reference guide (yes, right bank/left bank but it's not always true!).

Another issue is naming. I do not speak much French and so to me it is difficult to memorize the names of producers and chateaus. We all know Lafite, Leroy, and Beaucastel, but I know that I have a problem memorizing French names as compared to American counterparts simply because they are all so foreign-sounding to me. On top of it, one often has to know the name of the producer as well, because (as someone pointed out with Clos Vougeot) the winemaker is often more important than the vineyard. This presents a barrier to entry at the lower end of the market where wines like Columbia Crest and Gallo reside. Is Etienne Sauzet a man or a woman, how exactly does one pronounce Echezeaux, and why don't those darn grand crus list the village they are from on them? :)

Also, there is an issue of quality. This is also tied to price, as in quality/price ratio. French wine can be very high quality, but there is an awful lot of bad wine produced and that is with only the best even being imported to the USA. The swill that stays in France can be even worse! At the top end French wine can still be a relative bargain, but at the middle and lower tier parts of the market it does not stand up well to the wine of Spain, California, and Australia. What's worse is that the wine in California (at least) seems to be getting better and better as new varietals are planted, growing regions are experimented with, winemaking and growing techniques are honed, and plant material is brought in from the Old World. At the same time, I see very little movement in France. Although there has been some, it is happening at the levels where good wine is already produced. It needs to happen at the village levels among the producers destined to make $10 wine.

Finally, it helps wineries in California to have diverse lineups of good quality wines. For example, I went to Adelaida Cellars in Paso Robles last weekend. The best known wine is the Viking Reserve, which is a cabernet. Also fairly well known is the HMR pinot noir. However, while there I tried (and liked) their white Rhone blend (grenache blanc and rousanne). French winemakers often don't have that luxury of cross-selling. Even when a major negociant or conglomerate owns many different labels it is difficult to cross-sell them. Margaux makes a blanc in addition to the rouge, but its not always as easy to find. Imagine if Margaux also lent their name to a Rhone red, a pinot noir, and a riesling made with grapes from vineyards held by them, tended to their standards, and by their winemaker(s). It's how large wineries like Mondavi are able to leverage their good name into larger profits (and, often, produce some good wine in its own right). I've been to wineries with a lineup of 6-8 wines and debated which among those is the best with other tasters. Even though the best wine is often 'clearly' the signature wine, there is always someone in the room who just doesn't like that syrah and buys a bottle of the lowly zinfandel instead. Indeed, each of our palates is unique. Maybe American wine consumers who don't like Pavillon Blanc would really love Margaux's pinot gris at half the price, but we'll never find out with the current system.

Dimitri

Greetings Dimitri;

Not for me it wouldn't.... I'm kinda interested.

For them perhaps, but that's the point; they're trying to flog their product to the rest of us.