Joe Ray

September 6, 2004 - The Miami Herald

LUC-SUR-ORBIEU, France - BY JOE RAY

They say it’s the worst wine crisis in France in 35 years. In Bordeaux, they say that it’s the worst in 150 years.

Then again, the French can be notorious complainers. But this time the world’s master winegrowers have reason to complain.
The problem? The numbers are down. Wine consumption within the country is beginning to lose out to beer and responsibility behind the wheel, while beyond French borders the rest of the world’s winemakers are catching up to, and even surpassing, French quality standards.

Many fingers point at French government legislation and self-imposed regional quality standards, so in late July, agriculture minister Herve Gaymard held a round table with winegrowers to seek a way out of the crisis.

Together, they proposed changes that many a French wine snob would call heretical but that could make French wine more competitive.Changes include relaxing labeling restrictions, rethinking regional name-controlling standards known as the appellation d’origine contrlée (AOC), and allowing the use of wood chips to give wine an oak flavor without the use of wooden barrels. Also on the table is a 50 percent increase in spending for marketing wine abroad.

SEVERAL PERSPECTIVES

There is debate in the tradition-steeped French wine industry about the proposals, but the overriding sentiment appears to be that something must change.

One of the problems in competing on the world market against what the French call ‘‘New World’’ wines—those from the United States, Chile and Australia, for example—comes down to branding.

Instead of perceiving something from France as a mark of quality, as a consumer might have done 10 years ago, global tendencies have shifted toward marketing by grape varieties rather than regions. Varietal wines such as Chardonnay or Merlot can be grown by producers worldwide.

VARIETAL LABELS

Now a complicated system keeps most French winegrowers from slapping a varietal label on their wine, or even indicating which grapes are used to make the wine.

While people all over the world know of the great French wines named for regions such as Bordeaux and Burgundy, how many U.S. wine drinkers know the wines from Corbieres or its neighbor, La Clape?

These lesser-known appellations blanket the country. There are some 467 of them.

Scant brand recognition for these appellations outside France has made it tough for more obscure wines to compete against the varietal wines on the world market.

In Languedoc-Roussillon, a southern winemaking region that is one of the few French regions that allow varietal wine production, three winemakers spoke out about the French wine dilemma.

Michel de Braquilanges, a seventh-generation wine producer creates a gamut of wines at Chteau Moujan, ranging from the tongue-twisting AOC Coteaux du Languedoc - La Clape, to a trendier series of reds and whites called “Up Side Down.’‘

When asked if the French wine industry is really in its worst crisis in 35 years, he didn’t need time to reflect: “Without a doubt. There’s just not as much market for us as there was before.’‘

Michel de Braquilanges (l) and his son Thibaut outside of Chateau Moujan in Narbonne, France. “On the world market, it’s hard for a little producer like me because our prices can only go so low, ” says Michel, “so we end up sitting on our wine.” -Photo by Joe Ray

FRANCE DETHRONED

Indeed, 2003 was the year the ‘‘New World’’ wines collectively dethroned France in terms of the number of bottles exported.

On top of that, the French themselves now consume only about half as much wine as they did 35 years ago.

‘‘On the world market, it’s hard for a little producer like me because our prices can only go so low,’’ says Braquilanges, “so we end up sitting on our wine.’‘

At Domaine Roque-Sestiere in the small town of Luc-sur-Orbieu, Roland Lagarde is lucky enough that the old and new laws have little effect on his bottom line.

He makes affordable, award-winning Corbieres wines that are quickly snatched up in France. With no plans to produce varietals, he may provide as close to an objective view on what’s happening as is possible on French soil.

‘People used to buy French wine because it was a given that it was the best, but now if you’re Mr. X, how do you get your name out there? You can’t just call it `Mr. X wine’ because it doesn’t work anymore. But if you call it ‘Mr. X Chardonnay,’ it’s instantly known around the world!’‘

Robert Parker, the world’s best-known wine critic, summed up the naming debate at a conference in June: “For the average consumer, the AOC doesn’t mean a thing.’‘

But some industry analysts say it would be tough for small French wine producers to make varietals and compete in the world market.

The market, though, threatens to crush small producers who might try making varietals and selling them outside of France, says Michele Galinier, a retired winemaker in Luc-sur-Orbieu,

‘‘There’s no way small wine producers can fight the big wineries on the varietal front,’’ says Galinier. “We can’t even put our varietals in the bottle for the price they sell theirs.’‘

The best way to win back market share, she thinks, is by offering quality wine—rather than attaching a varietal label.

‘‘If you have a Chateaux Margaux chardonnay from Bordeaux or a Corbieres chardonnay, which one would you choose? Who’s going to want to drink a chardonnay from Luc-sur-Orbieu?’’ she asks. “If you don’t present the best quality, people are going to buy based on price.’‘

‘‘Maybe old France has been too set in its ways,’’ concedes Braquilanges, “Do people really know La Clape? Maybe we just haven’t been good at following the world.’‘

Braquilanges’ son Thibaut, who imports and exports wine for a company called LacrimaVini, agrees that something must be done, but gives a hint at why change is so slow in coming.

‘‘We plant our vines for the next generation,’’ he says, “If we’re wrong, we’re screwed.’’