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| Europe |
| In Bordeaux, some growers are in tears |
| 2004-08-11 |
| Frank J. Prial/NYT NYT Wednesday, August 11, 2004 BORDEAUX With their elegant gardens in the English style, their placid swans, their manicured lawns and their meticulously trimmed vines spreading to the horizon, the great wine chateaux of Bordeaux are pictures of prosperity. The 2002 vintage has just been bottled, and the small, uneven 2003 vintage, most of it already sold at double the 2002 prices, is maturing in oak barrels. But these great estates, most of them members of the prestigious Union des Grands Crus, account for barely 5 percent of the Bordeaux's production. For the 95 percent outside this magic circle in what was once the undisputed capital of the wine world, life has grown grim. Their vineyards are in what may be the deepest crisis since the phylloxera aphid devastated Bordeaux's vineyards more than 100 years ago. For the French wine industry as a whole, these are tough times. Domestic consumption is down, foreign competition and the weakness of the dollar have battered exports, overproduction is rampant, and needed changes are thwarted by obsolete rules and regulations. Bordeaux has been hit particularly hard because it is the largest of the country's wine regions and wine is central to its economy. The Bordeaux appellation comprises well over 10,000 wine properties, most of them small (eight hectares or less, about 20 acres) and many of them in trouble. Privately, industry figures here predict that 600 to 1,000 smaller producers may be forced to close over the next few years. Patrick Tauzin is a small producer in the quiet southernmost reaches of the Bordeaux region. He has never dined with the Rothschilds at Lafite, but he is a Bordeaux winemaker nonetheless. He farms about 35 hectares of grapes at St.-Pierre d'Aurillac, 55 kilometers, or 35 miles, southeast of the city of Bordeaux. He produces about 16,000 cases a year. He is 44 years old, has a wife and two children and cannot make a living from his wine. Yet feels no compunctions about sneering at America. |
| Posted by:Zenster |
| #14 Interesting correlation there, Stephen. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-08-11 22:40 |
| #13 Let them drink Ripple! Have some T-Bird! Get on the Night-Train. |
| Posted by: FlameBait93268 2004-08-11 16:21 |
| #12 Maybe if France hadn't let 50,000 senior citizens-who had nothing to do but sit around and drink wine-die local consumption of wine wouldn't have fallen as much.(Say 25,000 drank wine at 160 bottles a year:25,000senior citizens x 4 months worth of wine they would have been drinking=1 million bottles not bought/consumed).Cause meet effect. |
| Posted by: Stephen 2004-08-11 15:21 |
| #11 Caliifornia and Washington State wines are my poison. Besides it's more patriotic to drink domestic wine when toasting the victories of our soldiers and our spooks over the forces of evil. |
| Posted by: badanov 2004-08-11 13:16 |
| #10 I didn't drink a lot of Frog wine before they made public assholes of themselves (German, Italian, California were my choices), but now I wouldn't touch their plonk with a 50-foot tuning fork. Just finished a nice Australian merlot the other night (Black Swan, I believe). I buy what tastes good, of course, but I BUY IT FROM FRIENDS, not Frogs. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-08-11 13:04 |
| #9 Hey Pierre, it's tough all over. I look forward to seeing shelves of cheap Bordeaux at Trader Joe's...not that I'd drink it mind you, |
| Posted by: Anonymous6038 2004-08-11 12:14 |
| #8 snicker...maybe you can ask your government to get their Islamic buddies to help you out.... but don't look to us...we've discovered that California, the other 50 states, and Austrailia...just to name a few... all make better wines than you do anyway.... Even if we weren't boycotting you, you've lost your perceived brand superiority and you can't get it back without earning it back...which isn't likely...seeing how your wine really isn't superior. Dial 1-800-wha-whaa .... |
| Posted by: B 2004-08-11 10:28 |
| #7 foreign competition and the weakness of the dollar have battered exports Oh yes, it's the weakness of the dollar again. You guys are going to have to find another excuse when the dollar goes up and your sh*t still isn't selling. F*ck you all, I drink Australian. |
| Posted by: BH 2004-08-11 10:20 |
| #6 Ah, beer goggles... Yes, this can be a problem, heh... |
| Posted by: .com 2004-08-11 09:19 |
| #5 But when the "Power of Beer" wore off... she never looked like that. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2004-08-11 09:17 |
| #4 tu - Behold the Power of Beer... |
| Posted by: .com 2004-08-11 09:16 |
| #3 Mmmmmmmmmmm....beer. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2004-08-11 09:05 |
| #2 Sorry but I don't feel your pain when I have read the same types of stories about near by California grape farmers. Losing it all is a drag but I can say I don't feel your pain. I prefer my wine without the chunks usuallty found in the vin ordinare these folks grow and would not drink it at 50 cents a bottle. Because your country men are back stabbing supporters of terrorists and antisemites I don't really care about you. Maybe the Spanish , Portugeese and, Italians in your "Latin Empire" might but hey, they grow there own wine grapes too. Sounds like a case of suck it up and STFU to me. Whaa! |
| Posted by: FlameBait93268 2004-08-11 06:11 |
| #1 In the area around Maysville Kentucky, burley tobacco is the most prevalent crop. Currently, domestic consumption is down - but we haven't declared a national catastrophe. We consider ourselves healthier. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-08-11 03:37 |
