Posted on 01/26/2005 7:45:27 PM PST by quidnunc
Paris In A gesture likely to bring an apoplectic flush to the face of any dedicated claret drinker, French wine growers have proposed a desperate plan to prop up their slumping industry against New World competition by handing thousands of barrels to industrial distillers.
It is the first time that grand wines protected by the Appellation dorigine contrôlée (AOC) label have been treated in such a way. And as is usually the case with French agriculture, the vignerons are counting on their Government and Brussels to foot much of the bill for mopping up a wine lake of eminently drinkable if unfashionable quality.
The plan to distil more than 266 million bottles of Appellation dorigine contrôlée wine, to become ethanol for vehicles or other products, conjures up the bizarre concept of European drivers filling their tanks with 2004 Bordeaux and other vintages.
It is a symptom of the plight of growers in Bordeaux, Burgundy and other traditional wine regions as they face their worst crisis since the phylloxera disease killed many of the countrys vines a century ago. The worlds drinkers are turning away from complicated and uneven French AOC wines which bear the names of obscure châteaux in favour of simply and memorably branded tipples from the New World. At the same time the domestic market is shrinking as the French heed medical advice and the threat of the breathalyser and cut down on their consumption.
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(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
Eff the French.
We make excellent wine right here in Texas.
California products are also good.
But Aussie wine is always the best.....
Eff the French........
bump
The American market, the biggest in the world, is no longer buying French wine like it used to.
So sorry.
Not likely to change any time soon.
Arrogance is its own reward.
Actually, its the Assuies, not we, that are doing the real damage.
Why is anyone reporting news out of france, haven't they realized that they've become irrelevant?
Drink French Wines.......98.2 Octane, and anti knock additives.....frog egg cytoplam.
Funny post. I find I'm getting excellent mileage with Chevalier-Montrachet unleaded. The emissions have notes of currant and blackberry, and finish with strong overtones of lychee.
LOL
Not much into wine but sitting here in the middle of "Grand Central Texas" and sipping on ice cold Fosters.
Best beer on the planet...
"Actually, its the Assuies, not we, that are doing the real damage"
Thats fine by me. The Aussies have proven themselves time and again.
I've been buying lots of wine lately, and at every store I say no French or German wine as we begin the process
Citizen boycotts DO work. Take that, frogs!
I'm also partial to Fosters (pronounced: "Fostas"). My brother was particularly found of Toohey's.
Ah, enjoying a fine Washington State Cabernet as I'm typing this.
You can pick up Norton Malbec, my fave, for only $7.99. The Argentineans are really trying to break into the market.
Australian and Chilean wines almost exclusively here. They are much better....
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