A movement in search of a cause

The American Thinker ^ | Jan. 2, 2004 | Thomas Lifson

[Kitten Festival]

France has found a new tale of good and evil about which to make clever conversation. As usual the villains are capitalism and America, and “globalization” is the bogeyman combining the two malign forces which have, in their paranoid vision, conspired to diminish la France. Ho hum.

The New York Times informs us that Parisian wine and film circles are abuzz with discussion of the surprise hit documentary Mondevino, which reportedly decries the “globalization” and “homogenization” of the world wine industry. Those under attack include Robert Parker, the American wine critic whose tastes have become the single most influential factor in determining the popularity (and pricing) of high-end wines, and wine industry consultant Michel Rolland, who is known for advising wineries how to tailor their products to receive Parker’s blessings.

Now, I have not had the opportunity to see Mondevino, though I will do so when it opens in the United States, so my initial reactions are limited to what I have read in the NYT and on a few film websites.

[Kitten Festival]

Delicious reading about seething French jealousy over American wine superiority.

[Earthdweller]

"The mind nearly boggles. Iraq (presumably the American occupation thereof) is apparently the end of an empire. And empires plant grapes as an expression of their power. So, growing wine in America, New Zealand and Chile is a bad thing? The artisanal winemakers in places “from Sardinia to Argentina” who receive “lyrical treatment” are actually imperialist remnants?"

Hahahahaha!!! LMBO