French Winemakers Complain Of Difficulty Producing, Selling Vino

Paris, France (AHN) - French winemakers are complaining about the increasingly difficult business environment they face caused by the rise of anti-alcoholism sentiment in the country. They fear the French wine will one day go the way of the cigarette, which has been banned in public places.

At the heart of their anxiety is a government proposal last week to raise the legal age for purchasing alcohol to 18 from 16. Aside from hiking the legal age, the proposal will also prohibit the sale of alcohol at highway gas stations and will not allow all-you-can-drink open bar evenings at French high schools.

Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot explained the ministry had to step in following a 50 percent rise in hospital confinement of French youths under 15 years old for drunkenness the past four years.

These French wines are hauntingly good

"Parents carry their wine glasses from porch to porch," Parker said. "What you see are plastic pumpkins and crystal."

So what does he recommend as "porch-to-porch" wines? He suggested what he described as two "offbeat, good values" from France.

For a white, Parker chose the 2007 Novellum Chardonnay, selling for $12.99. Critics have awarded high marks to this wine, which comes from respected importer Eric Solomon of European Cellars.

Parker said that while the wine was aged in oak, it's brighter and fresher than many of its California counterparts. I agree.

France allows regions to do away with traditional 'ban des vendanges'

The Graves region of Bordeaux and Bourgeuil in the Loire have become some of the first appellations to do away with the traditional harvest start date, or 'ban des vendanges'.

As part of wine sector reforms initiated by the national appellations office (INAO), wine regions throughout France have been given the freedom to decide whether or not they wish to abolish the ban.

Allowing areas to abolish the harvest date can, in some cases, put an end to early harvesting and increase quality.

'Winegrowers went harvesting as soon as the ban was proclaimed without even looking at the maturity of their grapes,' one Loire winemaker told French wine site Viti-net.com.

The head of the Bourgeuil winemakers' union, Philippe Pitault said that his organisation would continue testing maturity and issue a 'correct' harvest date.

French wine export volumes fall, but values rise

French wine producers exported less wine in the first half of this year but got more for it than a year earlier as overseas markets opted for more expensive wines, a report said.

Ubifrance, the French export development agency, said export volumes fell 8.7 percent in the six months through June. However, the value of French wine sent overseas increased by 8.2 percent to 3.2 billion euros ($4.7 billion).

The author of the report, Herve Henrotte, warned against celebrating the rich returns, which "concerns only a small category of products, hiding a less euphoric reality."

While fine Bordeaux and other vintage wines are popular exports, lower-quality wines and lesser-known wine regions struggle against competitors from countries such as Australia, Chile and the United States.