IS WINE A DANGEROUS PRODUCT ?

Government propaganda seems to be paying off : French government policies likening wine to drugs and giving it almost devilish connotations have had an effect on how citizens now perceive the product, as the results of a recent survey show. In the survey, carried out by the Research Centre for Study & Observation of Living Conditions (in short, the Crédoc : www.crédoc.fr), 51% of the French citizens questioned perceived wine as a food product presenting health risks as opposed to 26% in 2003. In the list of top 'risk' foodstuffs, wine is in second place, behind charcuterie. Butter and cheese come third.

The survey results read as follows : "Wine used to be considered as a noble, regional and cultural product, also as a symbol of French gastronomy's identity. Nowadays it is considered potentially dangerous for our health."

Government efforts to warn consumers of potential risks coupled with mounting general public concern for health issues have resulted in "...a recent and spectacular public awareness. Wine is no longer protected by its traditional ' cultural exception' image and is now assimulated with all the other alcoholic beverages", states the Crédoc analysis.


César Compadre S.O. 02/12/08 Translated by Maxine Colas.


VINITECH OPENS TODAY.

The Wine Technology Show, Vinitech, opens its doors for three days at the Exhibition Centre in Bordeaux-Lac today.
A thousand exhibitors ranging from manufacturers of machinery and corks to barrels and bottles, will welcome over 40,000 wine professionals including wine growers, merchants and oenologists.
On Wednesday ( 3 pm, Hall 3, Seminar Room 303), the regional newspaper, Sud Ouest, will be holding a conference on the theme "Is French wine packaging too conservative? : are labels and bottles really evolving or is it simply that French consumers themselves remain conservative?" Among the guest speakers and experts present will be : Alain Courbière, sales manager of the printing company Autajon ; Vincent Bonhur, marketing director of the merchant Cordier ; Jean-Christophe Icard, proprietor of Château de l'Orangerie (Saint-Félix-de-Fourcaude) and Franck Celhay, author of a thesis on wine labels.

VINTAGE 2008 : LOWEST EUROPEAN YIELD SINCE 1991 :

The International Wine & Vine Organisation (www.oiv.int) has published a comparative study of the 2008 vintage in terms of yield.
For the European Union (27 countries), with a total yield of 160 million hectolitres, this is the lowest yield since 1991. Italy obtained 47 million hl, France 43 million hl and Spain a mere 34 million hl.
Outside the EU, the harvest was more generous, especially in Australia (12 million hl) and the US yield was stable at 20,6 million hl. However, Argentina (14,7m hl) and Chilie (8m hl) registered a slight decrease in volumes compared to 2007.

The total world production for 2008 is 267 million hl, which is practically identical to that of 2007.

Author:

César Compadre

doc@sudouest.com


S.O. 02/12/08
Translated by Maxine Colas.
francewinechateaux@gmail.com