News article: "Winemakers protect 'outlawed' vines"

Sep 25, 2004 9 Replies
R

Hi All,



FYI, I found this story in the Herald Tribune today, which I found very interesting:


Winemakers protect 'outlawed' vines
>
>BEAUMONT, France The wine produced in this remote valley of
>southern France is dark crimson, somewhat fruity - and illegal. For at
>least three generations, local families have tended to the gnarled
>vines that grow from rocky terraces above the Beaume River. The wine
>they make is banned for sale in Europe because it is made from an
>American grape that was ordered uprooted by the French government >70 years ago.
>
>Outlawed grapes?
>
>The story has been all but forgotten in France today except among a
>handful of wine experts and a gaggle of bureaucrats who enforce the
>law: The French government banned wine made from American grape
>varieties on the grounds that it tasted like raspberries and was thus
>offensive to the palate. The European Commission adopted the French
>rule in 1979, making it illegal to grow these varieties anywhere in the >European Union.

The rest of the article is on the IHT's site:


formatting link


cheers, robin

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Z

How quickly they forgot that American grapes (specifically, from Texas) saved their entire industry from Phylloxera in the late 1800's.

Bob

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P

And how quickly some forget that it was some American grape vines taken to Europe that caused the problem to begin the whole thing.

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L

Perhaps they are still upset because the Phylloxera originated in the USA. Lum Del Mar, California, USA

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Z

They didn't *have* to import it if they didn't want it...

Bob

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P

Hmmmm, I guess that is a lot like saying that we did not *have* to import insects that are destroying large portions of our forest or import invasive weeds if we did not want them.

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J

Doesn't ANYONE know how to use the mouse and delete button to get rid of the previous messages? We used to have a pretty good board etiquette in this group.

p.s. I agree with Paul. They thought they were just importing the vines. They knew nothing about the powdery mildew and phylloxera that came with them.

Jack Keller

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E

That doesn't change that they are there now, and they have to live with it. Seeing as most vineyard now grow vinifera grafted onto American variety rootstock, there's little point in keeping people from buying and enjoying wine they want based on snobbery ("Ugh, tastes like raspberries!") and woulda-coulda-shoulda's regarding imports.

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