[total BS or true?] "the French have been adopting US wine making techniques"

What do you think about this opinion? I personally believe this is total nonsense but one never really knows...

The Guy: On the flip side, the French have been adopting US wine making techneques faster than we've stolen their appelation names.

Me: Which tecnhiques?

The guy: The techniques pioneered by Charles Krug in storing and fermenting wines in huge storage vessels, then blending them to get the best results. This is old news in CA and revolutionized the production of mediocre grapes. France used to have what was called "pool wine" which was the major portion of all wine from small wineries producing only local grapes. It amounted to over 60% of all wine produced. Most of it was very poor quality and drank as everyday fare by the poor country folks. US blending and mass storage allows for more refined processing and can improve less than stellar grapes to be at least drinkable.

I'm no wine expert, but as a CA native around all that stuff all my life, ya gotta pick up some information and an appreciation for what CA has done to the wine industry. Gallo made some pretty bad stuff in its early days, but they kept at it. In '75, they won a Time magizine sponsored wine tasting against France. In 1994, a killer year for CA wines, Gallo put out a premium cab that was absolutely fantastic, for $9 bottle.

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ViLco
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