[MadIvan]

I wonder if the American boycott has something to do with this as well?

Regards, Ivan

[Bonaparte]

"But we're beginning to see it's here to stay."

That right, Gilles. And your new islamic masters will be tearing down the rest of your vineyards in due time.

This is just too funny. A nation of winos undergoing delirium tremens en masse.

[napscoordinator]

Ivan,
I think it is a real shame that the regular people are being hurt by this. These people are not anti-American like their government is. I have been to France a number of times (especially in the south) and the regular people don't have this hatred for America like the government. Just my two cents.
Bob

[Cobra64]

Yes. There are no French wines on any of the shelves in North Carolina that I've seen. I drink the Aussie stuff myself, but always check for Frog wine just out of curiosity.

[Maigrey]

I can't stand Boujoulais anyway. No bofy and no flavor.

Give me a California Zinfindel or Australian Sharraz any day.

[Maigrey]

I can't stand Boujoulais anyway. No body and no flavor.

Give me a California Zinfindel or Australian Sharraz any day.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

I wonder if the American boycott has something to do with this as well?

Maybe. But I get the feeling I have read this before. Didn't they do this last year as well?

[Caipirabob]

I have to suspect that this problem goes beyond the boycott and approaches a problem at a cultural/societal level. Isn't 20% of their population some sort of muslim, and aren't they prohibited from drinking wine? Also, the French youth are probably not into wine as much as the older generation, so that will hurt them as time passes. Then we hit factors like the boycott, the higher value of the Euro impacting prices overseas and the competition.

Either way, the Vischey dream of retiring to the idyllic lifestyle of running a vineyard has been chucked out the window. Too bad, Jacques.

"In France, we used to think we were the biggest and best and no-one could touch us," he said.

Uh-yup. We noticed. Now no one wants to touch your sorry @ss vischy crap.

As far as market demand in China? Who's to say the Chinese won't chemically deconstruct the first few bottles of expensive french wine and come out with a kool-aid based knock off that tastes better and costs one tenth of French spew inside the first week? If there's a Chinese market to be exploited, bet on the Chinese to be the ones to exploit it. Don't the French ever learn? Nah...

[Joe Boucher]

Ivan, I know I drink a glass or two of wine nearly every day and I haven't had a glass of french wine in a long damn time. Don't intend to either. Hope this is adding to the french winemakers woes.
Just trying to do my little part.
Calif wines are just fine thank you.

[FreedomPoster]

>>I wonder if the American boycott has something to do with this as well?

I wandered through Costco yesterday, and they had some really inexpensive French wines, much cheaper than I remember them ever being.

I didn't buy any.

[gotribe]

It's really just a matter of boredom with the French product. There's just nothing new in French wines. All the fun stuff is happening in Australia / New Zealand, South America, Africa, Spain, even still in California and the Pacific Northwest. Why buy a cheap, bland Beaujolais when you can buy a dozen different wines and unlimited numbers of blends from elsewhere?

[steve8714]

Mooslims don't drink wine?

[wouldntbprudent]

I do believe the American boycott was part of a "perfect storm" that hit the French wine industry. As we here on FR said at the time, this was one boycott that would have longterm consequences, precisely b/c wine was the sort of product that once one ventured off into other markets, one would never go back to French, at least not in a big way.

That and this was a big part:

Louis-Fabrice Latour, who heads the Louis Latour label in Burgundy, admitted a feeling of superiority had made them slow to react. "In France, we used to think we were the biggest and best and no-one could touch us," he said.

[LIConFem]

Stupid. Stop distilling perfectly good wine, and ship it (C.O.D) to the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port instead. That'll turn the situation around right quick!

[Dudoight]

Maybe there are more Muslims in europe than they thought. They, after all, don't drink alcohol.

[Cheburashka]

I wonder if the American boycott has something to do with this as well?

Regards, Ivan
---
Probably three things.

1) The American boycott.

2) Competition from Australian and American vineyards.

3) What they don't want to talk about - Moslems tend not to drink alcohol. As the percentage of Moslems in France goes up...

[twntaipan]

Perhaps the growing French Muslim population (all of Europe for that matter) might be a new market? Oops. They don't drink!

[GreyFriar]

Obviously they are drinking more Coca Cola....dang the Americans.

[FDNYRHEROES]

Les Sour Grapes...

[DCPatriot]

I was thinking of the American's boycott of all things French may have something to do with this.

Then, I saw your comment. LOL!

[bert]

The solution to what is basically a mental problem is pretty obvious. The Euros need to convince the large Islamic population to take up wine drinking.