The faltering economy has been hard on wine businesses. Althoughwinemakers hope things are beginning to turn around, the news is not good for France, the world's largest wine and spirits exporter.
The Federation of French Wines and Spirits Exporters reported last week that exports of French wine have declined. Frankly, the headlines were a little underwhelming. Dire predications about the French wine crisis have been making news for at least five years.
But it wasn't old news if you looked at the numbers. French exports fell 17 percent last year, while imports to the U.S. dropped by a staggering 23 percent. In Britain, a major consumer of French wine, sales fell by 20percent. Those are huge numbers, representing millions of euros.
The hardest-hit areas were the top-end Champagnes and cognacs, luxury items that people don't purchase when times are tough.
Even people new to wine know the French can produce some utterly amazing bottles. Ask wine lovers what made them believers, and you'll often find French wine was the turning point. For a couple of hundred years, French wine has been the standard by which all others are judged.
But for several years, France has been fighting declining domestic consumption and stiff competition from emerging wine regions, particularly in the affordable "everyday" category. With plenty of tasty, reasonably priced wine coming out of places such as Chile, the competition is stiff for the consumer dollar or euro.
One of the biggest obstacles for U.S. consumers is the difficulty of understanding a French wine label. Most U.S. wines are labeled by the grape variety that was used to make it. In France, most wine is labeled by where the grape grows. French wine law permits only certain varieties to grow in specific regions, and the consumer is expected to know which varieties are used in a particular region.
Students in a wine class might spend weeks studying the intricacies of French wine law, but the average consumer looking for a fruity $6 merlot isn't going to take that much time.
It will be interesting to see how the French respond to declining sales. There already has been some movement toward varietal labeling, particularly for lower-priced wines. Times are changing for wine sales, and the global market is shifting and adapting, too.
Pet project for Raffaldini
Raffaldini Vineyards is looking for a picture of a rescue dog for the label of its new release, Pino Vino II.
The winning photograph will replace the picture of the family's rescue dog featured on the first release of Pino Vino. A portion of the proceeds from sales of the wine is donated to local animal shelters.
Photos of dogs will be accepted by e-mail through April 30. Send high-resolution digital photos to info@raffaldini.com. Include your name and contact information, your pet's name and a brief story about your dog in 50 words or less. The winner will be announced May 14 and the wine will be released at the winery on June 12.
