Is There A Chance That France Will Stop Producing Wine Soon?

[ToraToraTora]

what with all the remainiacs squealing it would be far more lucrative to go over to the production of sour grapes.

[Peter Pedant]

//.... far more lucrative to go over to the production of sour grapes.//

yeah and they could market it and call it "Whine"

yeah and they wouldnt call it "quaffable" but more scoffable

[jourdain2]

OP is a joking approach, I get it. If Q is about French wine production then I can say that the French are very, very worried about the challenges to their favourite product (I knew a representative of several vineyards). In French-owned supermarkets there is only a very small area allotted to 'other' wines, but in places like Lidl and Aldi other wine-producers are very well represented - this has added to the worm niggling itself into the French consciousness that they are no longer invincible in this area.

If this contributes to the discussion, OK. If not, OK. I'm beginning not to care.

[joggerjayne]

Does it matter what the French produce?

The way GBP has collapsed against the Euro since the "out" vote, we won't be able to afford anything from France.

The last time I bought Euros, I got €1.30

Now it almost 1:1

My £14 bottle of French wine would now cost about £20

[Khandro]

It's all Bordeauxing on the edge of insanity.

[joggerjayne]

I must find an opportunity to use that gag!

[youngmafbog]

Buy British or change or wine JJ.

[HansUrbancka]

I'm bottling-up my whine.

Hans.

[Khandro]

JJ; For your £14 bottle to cost £20 would mean the pound had fallen against the Euro by nearly 30% which is nowhere near true, it has only dropped a few pence and is now in fact rising.
It has fallen against the dollar, so Californian wine might become a bit more expensive if the trend lasts, but who drinks that?
You can find excellent wine, even in England, for much less than £14 so I would look around for better value. What are you drinking for £14 anyway?

[joggerjayne]

Mmm, not sure about English wine for under £14.

I don't drink anything special, Khandro. My current fave is Albourne Estate Bacchus ... partly because they are so local, just up the road ... which is £14. It's also just delish. That's closely followed by Bolney Vineyards Bacchus, also just up the A23, which is £17, then probably the Davenport, who are also local, although the one I really like is their Horsmonden Dry White, which comes from their vineyard near Tunbridge Wells ... also £14 from Ten Green Bottles in the town here.

There are loads of lovely ones from over in Kent, Chapel Down, etc, but all around the same price.

Those are all whites.

I love Pinot Noir so, if I'm buying French, I usually get Burgundy. £14 is really the starting point for that. Otherwise, I'd get a New Zealand Pinot Noir, which I suppose you might pick up for a bit less, but not much.

[joggerjayne]

I drink Californian sometimes.

There's a Riesling called Kung Fu Girl made by a grower called Charles Smith, which I first bought coz it had a cool label, but it turned out to be fantastic.

Actually, as I'm typing, I'm not sure now if it's from California. It might be from Washington state.

I quite often buy Pinot Noirs from Oregon. I hope they don't go up because of GBP being weak against the dollar.

[mushroom25]

I just buy swilling wine. i mean, if all you're going to do with it is pour some cinnamon and bits of fruit in it, then chuck it in a huge cauldron, you don't really want to be wasting the good stuff.... :-)

[joggerjayne]

// pour some cinnamon and bits of fruit in it, then chuck it in a huge cauldron //

Other ways of drinking wine are available.

he he x

:o)

[HansUrbancka]

Folk who really know about wine will look for the cheapest that they can enjoy.

French wine has now become overrated and it's all because Napoleon 111 wanted a classification, which exists to this day. However, it is now questionable as to whether the 1855 classification should still stand.

All vineyards in France are limited to the number of bottles which can be produced under their own name. Surplus wine is then bottled under a local name (e.g. Château Margaux will become Margaux ). The process then will continue to area etc. and, theoretically, one could end up with a premier wine being sold off as if a bottle of plonk.

I think I will now pour myself a glass of Spanish Red from a plastic bottle.

Hans.

[Baldric]

And I've just poured a large (SA) Red from a 3ltr cardboard box,
Cheers ;o)

[HansUrbancka]

Looks Baldric that I shall have to refill my glass to keep you company.

Incidentally cobber, I much prefer South African wine to Australian.

Hans.

[Peter Pedant]

I can recommend Sarth Efrican

and also Argentinian but only because my brother was arrested for spying in A and I feel therefore I should support their economy

[ my nephew had to drive 80 mi at high speed - you know before they chucked him out of a helicopter and so on - to persuade them he wasnt]

[Peter Pedant]

agree hands down ( pun alert)

[Khandro]

JJ; If you are buying English wine then obviously the price will not change whether the pound moves up or down, though why anybody would buy it for other than patriotic reasons beats me. The northern limit for wine production in France is the Loire and in Germany, the Moselle, north of that is beer and cider country, which is what England is.
I haven't bought any wine in England for over 10 years, as I'm the one who brings it over for friends and myself when there. But, Wow! I've just had a scout around on the internet and UK prices are horrific.
You are in Brighton I believe, why not pop over the channel every so often and top up? Really excellent wines of all nationalities can be bought in supermarkets for half that price (and less).

[joggerjayne]

You're quite right, Khandro. I just don't have enough wine knowledge to find the good ones. If I drink something and really like it, it goes on my mental "drink it again" list. The last one I added to the list was that Albourne Bacchus. I had a couple of bottles with a pal over lunch at Riddle and Finn, down on the front. It was stunningly good, and I've been drinking it ever since. Before we even left the restaurant I went online and ordered some bottles from the Albourne Estate website.