Bordeaux 2008 harvest: Better year at lower prices(2)

    In the other well-known big French wine growing area of Burgundy, stocks of wines at traders have decreased by 4.5 percent and reached their lowest level for 10 years, the BIVB sector organization said on Monday.

    There was a weak harvest in 2008 and sales of the 2007 harvest have only just begun.

    "In this period of crisis, the name of Burgundy is a safe-haven for consumers all over the world as a guarantee for authenticity and quality," the organization said.

    Burgundy exported 93 million bottles in 2008, down 15.5 percent, for a value of 635 million euros which is down 11.7 percent on the previous year.

    In France, it sold 100 million bottles which is about the same as in 2007, with a noticable rise in sales to tourists visiting the vineyards.

    The last quarter was particularly low with a 28 percent drop in volumes due to the crisis and the currency effect of a weaker sterling and dollar which made the euro-prized wines more expensive in the two top export markets for Burgundy.

    "Burgundy is reactive and mobile. She has the capacity to rebound permanently. Our companies are not large aircraft carriers that can change course only slowly, but rather fast vessels that can react and go anywhere," BIVB president Pierre-Henry Gagey said. 

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