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Independent wine-maker Fabienne Capello at Vinopolis in Borough |
French fight-back for market share
Aussie and US wine producers beware – the French are staging a re-invasion
THE French are serious, they want their market back. The once dominant, French wines, have lost acres of shelve space to other wine making countries. Now they are fighting back.
Their re-invasion of the UK wine market is gathering pace. January saw the arrival in London of a big battalion, the Burgundians – wave upon wave of them.
Burgundy produces some of the greatest and most expensive wines in the world.
Throughout the month, wine merchants and producers from Burgundy, invited members of the London wine trade and the press to come and make their day. They requisitioned some of the capitals most salubrious joints and offered – at 18 different venues – the opportunity to sample, hundreds or was it thousands of bottles of the regions legendary wines.
Understanding French wine making, is like learning the French language, first you learn the rules, than the exceptions to the rules, next are the exceptions to the exceptions and by the time you learn these you will have forgotten the original rules. For this article we are going to ignore the exceptions.
First the rules, Burgundy’s wine production is controlled by strict legally enforable regulations. These were introduced in the 1930s in an effort to combat fraud and protect consumers.
Red and white wine is produced. White wines are made from Chardonnay, red from Pinot Noir. The best whites come from the northern Chablis region, best reds from the central Cotes de D’or region. There are – according to the regulators 40 exceptional wines – called Grand crus.
They represent one per cent of total production and the best reds can cost hundreds of pounds per bottle. Even the second – 11 per cent of production and about 600 producers – premier cru wines are not cheap.
However the market sometimes undermines these rankings and recently Berry and Rudd were offering a premier cru, Meursault, Perrieres, 1er Cru Domaine Jean François Coche Dury, at £610 a bottle (this is not a misprint).
While Waitrose were selling a top ranked grand cru, Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru 2001 Domaine de la Pousse d’Or, for £40.
Waitrose which lists over 40 different burgundy wines – far more than any other major supermarket chain, offer several premier crus, some exclusive to them, they include White, Chablis, premier crus, from £15 and red, Pinot Noirs for around £30. Selfridges and other big stores will also sell a range of these up market wines.
Third in rank are the village wines, mainly red – 23 per cent of total production. The best known and most widely available are (white), Pouilly Fuisse (Sainsbury’s £9.95/ Tesco £11.95) and reds such as Nuits St George (Tesco £11.95), only Waitrose and independent wine merchants (who can give advice) will stock a range of these wines – expect to pay between £11 – £15, but you can pay more.
Last come the sub-village Burgundies, 65 per cent of total production, these you will find everywhere, including many convenience stores – Tesco and Sainsbury’s sell several. Most white wine labeled Burgundy or Macon is produced from grapes grown in vineyards to the south of the top Burgundy wine areas, the reds are a blend from all over the region.
The first wine we quoted cost £610 a bottle, basic Burgundy even Chablis can be yours for under six pounds but you can pay more.
A new and interesting development, many of the cheaper Burgundy bottles on sale in the UK, would be illegal in France.
They state the grape variety boldly on the front label, ie: Red Burgundy, Pinot Noir, undermining the core French belief that land not grapes make a wine special.
The Aussies and the Yanks had better watch out, the gloves are off, nothing is sacred. The French, are clearly determined to win. |
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