Grapes of Wrath for French wine?

BORDEAUX, FRANCE — The French wine trade is taking a beating on the domestic front and it could not have come at a worse time.

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.

While the politicians, anti-alcohol, medical and wine lobbies fight it out, the 340,000 people employed by the wine business wonder if they have a future.

"All this at the same time, it’s a bit too much," said Aymeric Fournier, whose full-time position as communications manager for Les Vignobles Despagne suddenly disappeared last Friday.

The Despagne operation, considered one of the most successful in the Entre-Deux-Mers region of Bordeaux, owns five vineyards and produces 45 brands.

"They have to cut production costs as much as possible," said Fournier.

"Employees who used to work on the bottling line five days a week are now spending a few days in the vineyard because the bottle line no longer runs daily. They’re trying to find odd jobs for them."

Most of Bordeaux’s 400 wine merchant firms and 10,000 wine estates are family owned. Cellar and vineyard employees often spend their entire working lives at the same estate.

While no one is yet envisioning a remake of the Grapes of Wrath, merchants and winegrowers are asking employees to make sacrifices or lose their jobs.

Sales executives at some wine merchant firms will not be receiving their expected 2008 bonuses, a substantial part of their income.

Fournier plans to offer his services as an Internet brand management consultant for the wine industry but will need to circumvent potential restrictions that would be imposed by Bachelot’s law.

The Internet offers effective communications and advertising for winegrowers, and its low-cost makes it affordable for even the smallest vineyard. The Web site Fournier managed for the Despagne wines receives 4,000 visits per month.

"We know the Internet is the future," said Fournier. "It’s the best way to have direct contact with your consumers around the world."

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. — AFP