In Bordeaux, France’s most profitable wine region, the global credit crunch have brought sales skidding to a halt. Importers are struggling to find affordable credit lines.
Retailers are liquidating stock rather than placing new orders. The 2007 vintage is largely unsold and the 2008 vintage will soon flood the floundering market.
"The market has been completely blocked since September," said Bertrand Carles, buying manager for classified growths at Ginestet, one of France’s largest wine merchants. Enter France’s Health Minister Roselyn Bachelot and her proposed law that would ban free tastings, open bars and wine ads on the Internet.
Wine writers would be muzzled and hardest of all, replace the current official "drink with moderation" warning with "the consumption of alcohol is detrimental to your health." On the one hand, wine is one of the country’s most lauded products. On the other, should Bachelot’s law pass, wine would find itself tied up by many of the same restrictions as porn and cigarettes.
Parliament expects to vote on the law this week but that is not the only domestic battlefront for the wine industry.Two weeks ago, to the stupefaction of winegrowers, France’s National Cancer Institute (INCA) released a study that links wine consumption to an increased risk of cancer. The study says just one glass of wine increases the chance of developing mouth and throat cancer.
Critics have mounted a counter attack. Next week they will release the results of a study by the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) and the French National Research Agency (ANR) that claims moderate consumption of one to three glasses of wine per day instead reduces the risk of cancer.
In Bordeaux, France’s most profitable wine region, the global credit crunch have brought sales skidding to a halt. Importers are struggling to find affordable credit lines. Retailers are liquidating stock rather than placing new orders. The 2007 vintage is largely unsold and the 2008 vintage will soon flood the floundering market.
"The market has been completely blocked since September," said Bertrand Carles, buying manager for classified growths at Ginestet, one of France’s largest wine merchants.Enter France’s Health Minister Roselyn Bachelot and her proposed law that would ban free tastings, open bars and wine ads on the Internet.
Wine writers would be muzzled and hardest of all, replace the current official "drink with moderation" warning with "the consumption of alcohol is detrimental to your health."On the one hand, wine is one of the country’s most lauded products. On the other, should Bachelot’s law pass, wine would find itself tied up by many of the same restrictions as porn and cigarettes.
Parliament expects to vote on the law this week but that is not the only domestic battlefront for the wine industry.Two weeks ago, to the stupefaction of winegrowers, France’s National Cancer Institute (INCA) released a study that links wine consumption to an increased risk of cancer. The study says just one glass of wine increases the chance of developing mouth and throat cancer.
Critics have mounted a counter attack. Next week they will release the results of a study by the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) and the French National Research Agency (ANR) that claims moderate consumption of one to three glasses of wine per day instead reduces the risk of cancer.
Wine tourism provides an even more direct contact and wine regions depend on it to develop local economies. Unfortunately, wine tourism promotes the consumption of wine and invariably involves a convivial free tasting. Bachelot’s law would ban both.
"The visit and tasting at the chateau is fundamental to the wine tourism experience," explained Sophie Gaillard at the Bordeaux Tourist Office."Winegrowers cannot charge for a tasting because they would need a liquor license. How do we even promote wine festivals like the Bordeaux Fete le Vin?"
Many fear the problem would reach beyond France’s borders."How credible are we in promoting Bordeaux wine if it is condemned in its own country?" said Allan Sichel, owner of Chateau Palmer and head of his family’s wine export firm, Maison Sichel. And thus, the new French paradox emerges.
Winegrowers, merchants and wine tourism professionals, including public tourist offices, would find themselves purveyors of what the government has branded a vice. "We’re being stabbed in the back by our own people," said Fournier.