A radical new approach to producing and marketing Bordeaux wine is being proposed to help the region fight the increasing dominance of New World brands.
Christian Delpeuch, the new president of the Bordeaux Wine Council (CIVB), which represents producers and merchants, told The Grocer France’s most famous wine region was “in crisis” and it was inevitable some vineyards would be lost for good.
Faced with plummenting prices and ACNielsen research showing no French brands among the top 10 wines sold in British supermarkets, the CIVB is discussing measures including a relaxation of strict production
methods, more Bordeaux brands and labelling wine by grape variety.
“We are experiencing a very serious crisis,” said Delpeuch. “The producer and the merchant are losing a lot of money because the price has fallen so much in the past two years. The quickest way out of this is to improve the offering of the basic Bordeaux wines in the international market.”
The CIVB wants to see more wines being produced specifically to meet the tastes of certain target audiences, for example young British adults.
“The tastes of consumers have changed, particularly the younger generation which wants fruity, soft wines which give immediate pleasure,” said Delpeuch.
“In Bordeaux there needs to be more communication between the winemaker and the merchant about what is needed for the market. These discussions are already starting.”
Delpeuch said the offering in Britain was too “fragmented” and there was a need for more Bordeaux brands which appealed to foreign consumers.
The CIVB is calling for more flexibility under the strict AOC (Appellation d’Origine Controlée) rules, which dictate expensive oak barrels must be used to add wood flavour rather than chips as for some New World brands.
It also wants to start labelling basic Bordeaux by grape variety rather than vineyard, which again would mean a change in the AOC rules.
According to the CIVB, a 900 litre barrel of standard AOC red has fallen from around £845 in the late 1990s to £500 today. Producers have recently agreed to reduce sales from this season’s harvest by 15-35% in a bid to bring prices back up.
The CIVB has a marketing budget of nearly £2m for the UK in 2004, which will be used to step up promotional activity, in-store tastings and campaigns.
Claire Hu
Christian Delpeuch, the new president of the Bordeaux Wine Council (CIVB), which represents producers and merchants, told The Grocer France’s most famous wine region was “in crisis” and it was inevitable some vineyards would be lost for good.
Faced with plummenting prices and ACNielsen research showing no French brands among the top 10 wines sold in British supermarkets, the CIVB is discussing measures including a relaxation of strict production
methods, more Bordeaux brands and labelling wine by grape variety.
“We are experiencing a very serious crisis,” said Delpeuch. “The producer and the merchant are losing a lot of money because the price has fallen so much in the past two years. The quickest way out of this is to improve the offering of the basic Bordeaux wines in the international market.”
The CIVB wants to see more wines being produced specifically to meet the tastes of certain target audiences, for example young British adults.
“The tastes of consumers have changed, particularly the younger generation which wants fruity, soft wines which give immediate pleasure,” said Delpeuch.
“In Bordeaux there needs to be more communication between the winemaker and the merchant about what is needed for the market. These discussions are already starting.”
Delpeuch said the offering in Britain was too “fragmented” and there was a need for more Bordeaux brands which appealed to foreign consumers.
The CIVB is calling for more flexibility under the strict AOC (Appellation d’Origine Controlée) rules, which dictate expensive oak barrels must be used to add wood flavour rather than chips as for some New World brands.
It also wants to start labelling basic Bordeaux by grape variety rather than vineyard, which again would mean a change in the AOC rules.
According to the CIVB, a 900 litre barrel of standard AOC red has fallen from around £845 in the late 1990s to £500 today. Producers have recently agreed to reduce sales from this season’s harvest by 15-35% in a bid to bring prices back up.
The CIVB has a marketing budget of nearly £2m for the UK in 2004, which will be used to step up promotional activity, in-store tastings and campaigns.
Claire Hu
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