French wine exporter borrows some new world tricks
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A woman drinks a glass of wine in this undated file photo. REUTERS/Files |
LGI Wines in the southwestern city of Carcassonne invents catchy names, designs trendy labels and produces wines targeted at regional tastes just like competitors in Australia, New Zealand, California and Latin America.
Their wines may have names like Tortoise Creek, labels with pleasing pictures and a clear description of the grape varieties just like their new world competitors, but don't be fooled.
They're all made in the southwestern region of Languedoc-Roussillon, one of France's oldest and certainly its biggest wine-producing region, with a pedigree that stretches back to the Romans.
"There is no room for amateurs anymore," said LGI export manager Cedric Duquenoy, in a warning to the hundreds of Languedoc wine makers who still dabble in wine on top of other jobs as postmen or teachers.
Real success for the serious winemakers of this region will only come to those who listen to what the market wants, he said.
Most recently that means marketing targeted at taste rather than prestige and easy drinking wines for wine lovers rather than complicated rankings designed in the 19th century for sophisticated connoisseurs with time and money to indulge.
"It is hard for the French, it is not in our nature, but in the end you have to know what the customer wants," Duquenoy told Reuters this month. Continued...