Bordeaux is in trouble, just not the Bordeaux you know

[AlexR]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ ... rade-sales

This article in the Guardian speaks of a very serious problem in the Bordeaux wine country. However, if you look at the BWE board, you’ll quickly see that the majority of posts concern only the tip of the iceberg, i.e. the 5% of Bordeaux that consists of great growths and assimilated wines, rather than Bordeaux as a whole. Therefore, the crisis seems of little importance when seen from afar. It is nevertheless crippling to the local economy.
The overproduction largely concerns the Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur appellations, accounting for 55% of total output.

The article is unsurprisingly a little sensationalist, starting with the title. Excess wine will not be “poured down the drain”. It will be distilled to make industrial alcohol.
The cursory analysis of decreased wine consumption is accurate as far as it goes, but the article does not address the specific challenge in Bordeaux as compared to other French regions.
There are many reasons for the decline…

I believe that the trend for alcohol-free drinks is less consequential than is made out. Because, although young people are avoiding wine, they are nevertheless drinking other alcoholic beverages.

If you drive through the Entre-Deux-Mers region (where most of AOC Bordeaux comes from), you see a distressing number of vineyards that have been simply abandoned. It is no longer economically viable to make wine for many growers. The real drama is that many winegrowers’ children do not wish to embark on a backbreaking career with all sorts of risks and a small income at the best of times. The future looks bleak. And, sadly, quality is not the most important parameter. Bordeaux is seen as a commodity and few producers are able to price their wine, however good it is (and with the accompanying increase in cost) outside of a narrowly defined bracket.

As always in France, the government and the EU (i.e. the taxpayer) are being called to the rescue, with thinly-veiled threats if they do not help financially…

Bordeaux needs to reinvent itself, but how?

Best regards,
Alex R.

[Claudius2]

Alex you beat me to the punch with this Guardian article.

Despite the fame of the top wines in the best appellations the production of AC Bordeaux etc has long been a hard job with little income. The same can be said for numerous other regions in the world so I’m not sure that Bordeaux is isolated here. Similarly growers in new world areas outside of the more famous regions find it tough.

I can’t imagine there is a simple cure. The Chinese market was a booming one for some time and now there are problems there. The only suggestion is to invest rather than bail out to make more reliable and saleable wine and improve marketing to the age groups that are ignoring it.

Over heee we are being flooded with distressed Australian wines - that is, volume diverted from China. Nice to get good deals but it’s also crowding out the French and the same is happening across Asia-Pacific.

Cheers
Mark

[RPCV]

Thanks for sharing the article. I imagine that other wine regions across world are or will soon be in a similar position.

[Comte Flaneur]

The other 95% of Bordeaux I fear is rather poor, lazy and unimaginative at marketing itself. Refusing to speak English doesn’t help.

Compare to the way the antipodeans marketed themselves in the UK.

I got that impression when I visited the Cotes de Bourg region with Christine.

I don’t think it helps that so many of the reds seem to be high in alcohol - often 14% plus - and high in merlot - there are undoubtedly great and passionate producers but within so much mediocrity, linked to despair perhaps?

I may be completely off base here, but that is my limited experience.

As Alex said the French government is likely to intervene but perhaps the best solution is to allow market forces to take their course and creative destruction to take its toll.

[stefan]

>>
perhaps the best solution is to allow market forces to take their course and creative destruction to take its toll.
>>

I agree with this. For a long time many Bordeaux producers made lousy wine that sold at a premium because they could label it Bordeaux. I see no justification for the government bailing them out.

[AlexR]

Stefan,

I'm all for extending a helping hand to people who are suffering.
Poor people are often stigmatized because their sad situation is perceived to be their own fault.
They deserve what they get (or, rather, don't get)...
The Protestant Ethic .

While there *are* people coasting along with an inferior product banking on a magic name and government handouts, there are a lot of good, hardworking people who deserve to be assisted at a difficult time.
Market forces are not sacred.

Best regards,
Alex

[Claudius2]

Alex
The fact that there are changes in demand that seriously affect Bordeaux attest to the idea that nobody can be right all the time. Markets are fickle and if they weren’t, well, my own career would have suffered as clients paid me to inform and guide them.

There are something like 8000 growers in Bordeaux and I do feel sad that many are genuinely struggling. They don’t have the luxury of spending millions to improve technology and marketing. However if the French Govt can throw money their way, maybe driving change would be a better option?

In the sixties the Barossa was on its knees. The Govt established the vine pull program and surely not, the old vine Shiraz was pulled out… 100 yr old vines were sacrificed and not long after the demand for old vine Shiraz exploded. Oh well

Cheers
Mark

[JimHow]

Everyone needs a little help sometimes. I wasn't starving in 2020 during the pandemic, but my normal income was down. I've been paying taxes since I was 15 years old working my high school job at Georgio's Pizza. I wasn't ashamed to take $20k in PPP funds, I could have asked for a lot more. It felt good to get a little assistance from the government after nearly 50 years of paying in. And now I'm 7 months away from Medicare, it'll be a big help, especially with some of my expensive medications, one of which would otherwise cost $1,300 per month. We're all in this together, no one gets out alive.

[AlexR]

£ 1,300 per month?!

I realize that pharmaceutical firms spend millions on research but that seems like an outrageous price.

Aren't their any government watchdogs to keep a cap on things?

Alex

[JCNorthway]

Alex, unfortunately, pharma and medical companies can pretty much charge whatever they want to in the US. And the main reason they can get away with it is that much of it is covered by insurance companies, which is why health insurance is so expensive in this country.

[Chateau Vin]

£ 1,300 per month?!

I realize that pharmaceutical firms spend millions on research but that seems like an outrageous price.

Aren't their any government watchdogs to keep a cap on things?

Alex

Watchdog?

If you are a big buyer from a manufacturer, you are free to negotiate a lower price in any business. Medicare can’t negotiate drug prices with manufacturers, and it’s written into law (I guess the law is written by Pharma lobby)!!

Even much smaller VA can negotiate drug pricing...

[AlexR]

The French have a saying "There is no paradise on earth".
This is to say that everywhere, even places like wealthy, postcard pretty, neutral Switzerlan, has its problems, failings, and frustrations.

Let's face it: the cost and organization of medical care in the US is not anything to boast about.
Fortunately, there are many wonderful things about America to compensate.

AR

[JimHow]

Indeed. I take 7 medications for cholesterol and blood pressure, including Praluent, which I inject twice per month. It is a miracle cholesterol drug, it has completely conquered my hereditary cholesterol problem. Without insurance, it would cost me $1,300 per month. With the scam that is Anthem Blue Cross, I still have to pay $500 per month for that one drug alone, even though I pay over $1,000 per month for my health insurance premium. In 7 months, though, when I hit Medicare, my whole monthly premium for all 7 drugs will be about $70. Why the stupid American public opposes Medicare for all I will never comprehend.

[AKR]

People have forgotten, but Parker used to taste and review this category too, and his favorable comments on some of them helped drive exports. I can't remember if Jeffrey Davies is still involved with these two properties, but a couple of Bordeaux Superieur AOC I have liked in recent years include La Croix Mouton and La Coueur d'Argent. Those are Janouiex and Barraud projects respectively, so the AFWE should steer clear.

[jckba]

https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2023/ ... vineyards/

Looks like the motion has passed.

[Claudius2]

Jim
Believe me I understand.
I take twice as many drugs and some of them are to offset the side effects of others.
Last year I spent SGD45k on medical expenses and based on progress so far this year will be a lot more.

In my case I can’t get insurance simply as I have a long list of pre-existing illnesses and conditions. However Medicare is a universal coverage in Australia but people with chronic diseases (like me) benefit little from it. Being considered old by bureaucrats means many treatment regimes are not funded so while I support it in theory, it never helped me at all. The Australian system is black or white. You are either a public or private patient and not a combination. So I always needed private insurance.

I worked at a health industry association when Medicare was introduced in the early 80s in Australia though politics generally win over logic and economics. Internationally health policy is a nightmare as there is little to be gained politically and most govts see it as an ever increasing cost.

By the time I was 28 I left the health industry despite three university degrees in it and having reached a fair degree of seniority as I just did not want to do it any more. I never regretted it. The health industry is still a nightmare. Oh well.

Cheers
Mark

[Blanquito]

Why the stupid American public opposes Medicare for all I will never comprehend.

Slippery slope here, but the quickest answer is Fox “News”.

[RPCV]

My distain for Trump aside, he did propose most favored nation clause on drug pricing that was struck down after heavy lobbying by pharma groups. I would venture a guess that regardless of one's political leanings, that program would have been very popular.