If you live in a town or village within a wine area, you may find that, from Thursday onwards, its name will cease to exist, at least for a few hours. No tsunami has been forecast by French weather stations, and yet, wine-growers will be getting plastic covers out of their garages, not because of the weather but to hide road signs indicating the "shameful" names of towns or villages, such as Pauillac, Margaux, even the city of Bordeaux. The Cognac, Bergerac, Madiran and Jurançon signs will also disappear. These places, as well as the wines which take their names from them, will all be wiped off the map. This symbolic action, christened "Censorship - a sign of things to come" is being led by most of the French vineyard owners, whose patience has come to an end. This is not a question of problems linked to the harvest or of economic difficulties but of a deeper uncertainty: that of a creeping, silent progress towards prohibition.
Wine is a cultural product: Two recent court rulings have stirred up this unease amongst producers and distributors of the wine world. Firstly the Heineken affair, which concerned the ban on using Internet as a promotional medium for products containing alcohol. This practice was previously tolerated, even if Internet was not specifically mentioned by the 1991 Evin law, one of the most restrictive laws in the world concerning publicity of alcoholic drinks and tobacco.
The second ruling ("Le Parisien" affair) ruled that an enthusiastic press article about champagne was illegal publicity. Needless to say, freedom of the press and promotion are being compromised in the wine sector.
In Jurancon which is an area of 1,100 hectares, producing dry and sweet white wines in the Bearn region, Jean-Marc Grussaute, who is just beginning his harvest, is enthusiastic about the demonstration planned on Thursday. Four road signs will be covered in the area.
"Wine is more of a cultural product than a foodstuff. It is our reason for living and working. This type of restriction undermines our industry. We have always encouraged responsible and moderate drinking which should be a simple pleasure," says Jean-Marc, who is the proprietor of Domaine Camin Larredya an estate of 10 hectares producing 45,000 bottles per year.
"France is beginning to lose faith in its wines. We appear to be on the slippery slope to prohibition. With these obstacles put in our way, our access to markets is put in jeopardy. Without modern methods of communication, how can we hope to reach those clients wishing to discover and drink good wine?" regrets Jean-Marc.
A future on the Internet : Roselyn Bachelot, the Health Minister, interviewed by the "Figaro" yesterday said that she was not opposed to an amendment re-establishing publicity on the Internet. This will be discussed in Parliament within the framework of the Hôpital law which concerns patients, health and territory. She however said that spams, or pop-ups should be banned. Some health associations have criticised the minister’s "false route".
As for Michel Barnier, the Minister of Agriculture, who was supposed to be awarding a prize to Château La Rose Trintaudon in the Medoc on Thursday, quickly altered his schedule, preferring to give a prize in the Landes, a region not renowned for its wines….
If the Internet seems to be in the process of regulation, then there remains the problem of the definition of advertising. Also under parliamentary discussion is a ban on free tastings.
César Compadre
http://www.sudouest.com/
S.O. 28/10/08
Translated by Maxine Colas.
In brief:
VINEXPO:
As in 2008, the next Vinexpo "Asia Pacific" will take place in Hong Kong from the 25th to the 27th May 2010.
The Vinexpo professional wine fair will, as usual, take place in Bordeaux from the 21st to the 25th June 2009.