Ellen -- this has been in the works for a while and it's finally passed in the legislature. Kids have been binge drinking and the French want to contain it. In addition, the French are really trying to keep teens from smoking. But as we all know, when there's a will, there's a way. Eighteen-year-old friends will do the buying ....

It sounds like the effort to raise the drinking age to 18 is gaining steam. The times they are a changin'!

http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/03/12/europe/booze.php?WT.mc_id=travelalert

Wow, just... wow. I had no idea about the high school "all you can drink" nights--that seems somehow so un-French--but then I wasn't aware of the extent of those changes among the youth over the past four years either.

I mentioned the show "Un Dîner Presque Parfait" in the TV thread, and on there every time they drink alcoholic beverages the voice-over announcer makes an obligatory statement that alcohol should be consumed in moderation.

I hope the wine industry won't be subject to overregulation that will hurt it even further!

There's an article in today's IHT about the wine industry in France. http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/28/asia/wine.php?WT.mc_id=newsalert

There's a movement afoot to raise the legal drinking age from 16 to 18, to ban "all you can drink" nights at high schools(???) and sales of wine at gas stations. That's a lot of cheese on the move...

First, a smoking ban, then wine regulations, sacré bleu, what's next?

I purchase almost entirely Napa wines now and they are really wonderful. I enjoy red wines. I spend a lot of time in Napa, and love visiting the wineries. Occasionally, I do purchase some wonderful French wines, but where I purchase wine, they are about three times as much.

The latest issue of Saveur has an article on the wines of Langedoc. Wines we buy alot.( or maybe it was Food and wine) One had the article on wines from Maçon.
J. threw them out so could not recheck.

It's interesting to me how much wine from the Cotes Du Rhone region has made it to the US and it's no longer cheap. Then, it's no longer REALLY cheap when buying it in Provence.

Being a Californian who originally came from north of the Napa/Sonoma/Memdicino area, I see that the French wine growers are having the same problems as the Californian wine growers. I have had imported French Beaujolais over the past few years, but is more a curiosity than a desire for the wine. Besides the good California Crus, there is wonderful stuff being imported from Chile and Australia, and occasionally from South Africa. I'm sure that some of the Beaujolais wines must be great, but I have not been terribly impressed enough to buy a second bottle.

I'm afraid that the French wine industry has too much competition now, and the "collectible" marques are being diluted by so much other good wine. The war stuff put aside, I went to a party last month where someone brought a wonderful bottle of Maçon and was ribbed that he wasn't able to find an acceptable California or Australian wine. Now this may be a bit of West Coast snobbery, but the French wine industry needs to address this sort of view, or see their export volume continue to drop. The East coast seems to be more open minded as to source of wine.

Joe

I do agree with this, and consequently the wine "futurs" are in trouble, and the growers can not sell the wines before they are even made. Today it has to be a really good by for someone to buy a case "on the come"

BP Chuck

I did not mean to imply that I had not also seen some expensive wines in Paris. There certainly are. Only that many owners of vinyards are selling more of the expensive wines outside of France. I was also told by one of the better wine merchants in Paris that he rarely stocks wines anymore that require a long time before they should be tasted (i.e. some of the expensive 2000 Bordeaux) since his customers in Paris simply are not interested in "collecting" anymore.

Off hand I would agree with you that the more expensive wines are sold outside of France, However I did see some rather expensive wines in Paris also. Many of these would not make it in the US for the price they were asking for. I am taling about some older rare Burgundies and some 1ere crue Bordeaux wines in the 4 digits!.

BP Chuck

The reclassification of wine as a food is for the purpose of getting around advertising restrictions.

Wines purchased in France for 10 euros can be very good. Unfortunately, many French wines being sold in the United States or elsewhere outside of France are being sold for appreciably more. I was told by some wine growers in Bordeaux last year that they sell their more expensive wines abroad and the less expensive wines in France because of agreements they have with negociants. Perhaps that will change with current problems.

Al, I find your note very interesting. I did not realize that they are trying to reclassify the wines on a food basis. I do agree that many people here anything about wines. Personally I gave up buying wines here, particularly French Wines. Just too expensive. I now buy French Grape juice. (Merlot, Cabarnet Sovignon, etc. Then I make the wine myself. Takes about a month to make a Batch, and than I have to lay it aside for at least 3-5 months, when it becomes drickable, but it definitly is better after a year ortwo. Now prices did go up a bit for the juices, but it is still only about $ 3.00 a bottle for the French wines, and a few cents less for the Chilian or Australian ones, but that are not quite as good as the French ones.

BP Chuck

the wine lobby here has apparently tried to convince the government that wine should be reclassified as a type of food for its nutrient value, I suppose because of either tax benefits or relaxation of regulatory requirements. they've also tried to get the health authorities to boost their recommendation of one a day to two a day.

we have had a tough time finding good wines for money here, but it's because we don't know what we're doing, and we can't afford to spend a lot. still, the wines up to 10 euro a bottle from france seem a lot poorer for what you're paying vs. wines from australia, chile etc these days. my sense is french wines are still very competitive at the highest price level but less so for people like me. hopefully i will get smarter about the wines so i can do a better job of picking.

c

Al, I feel sorry for all people in France if we export to them all the cheap wine produced here!!! Why do you think I make my own wine from Grape Juice imported from France!

BP Chuck

You might be right! They're drinking less wine, and we're drinking more!!

Mimi....perhaps it was the story I saw in the NYTimes a few days ago not relating directly to wine, but about the increase of beer drinking in France. I could go on a beer binge in France because of their Alsatian lager. I think mention was made about the drop in wine drinking as a collateral item.

Al, I read that this morning as I sipped my au lait but I also read the about the situation last week somewhere else that escapes me at the moment.

According to Frank J. Prial, the wine editor of the NYTimes, the French wine industry is facing tough times. Consumption in France has gone down, foreign competition and the weak dollar have battered exports, overproduction is rampant and needed changes are thwarted by obsolete rules. How come we haven't heard about this on BP.?

For the story go to...http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/11/dining/11BORD.html