Chinese Sow Stakes in French Wine Country

We're not back in boom times, but things are looking more rosé

(NEWSER) - Olympic golds pale in comparison to this national feat: The US last year consumed more wine than France. And it's just one of many full-bodied wine stats for 2010. The Los Angeles Times shares the signs that Americans are trading their recession-minded ways for a good (or, at least, decent) glass of red:

• Shoppers flocked to bottles priced at less than $7 during the peak of the recession; sales of $7 to $14 bottles were up 5% last year.

Government suggests knowledge as tool to fight binge drinking

(NEWSER) - How do you get college kids to drink less? By giving them wine, of course! At least that’s what a French government-commissioned report suggests. By holding wine tastings, the reasoning goes, colleges can educate students on the merits of drinking well in moderation. “Why is there sexual education and not viticultural education?” study co-author and noted gastronome Jean-Pierre Coffe asks. More»

Industry pushes President Sarkozy for carbon emission cut

(NEWSER) - A warming world has French winemakers sweating more than a little, experts tell the Financial Times. “Current research suggests that by the end of the 21st century, one summer out of two will be at least as hot as 2003,” the year of a record-breaking heat wave that prompted early harvest and lackluster vintages, notes one scientist. Industry experts are worried enough that they penned a letter asking Nicolas Sarkozy to get behind a steep carbon emissions cut at a meeting in December. More»

(NEWSER) - The French wine industry is in a tough spot, Mike Steinberger writes on Slate. “It is hemorrhaging market share abroad, domestic consumption continues to plummet, and thousands of vintners are in desperate financial straits.” What’s more, “the appellation system that regulates much of French viticulture is a shambles.” Sounds bad, but here’s the silver lining: “France is still the wine world's beacon and will surely remain so long into the future.” More»

Futures sales in trouble after years of spiraling prices

(NEWSER) - The most serious wine collectors buy their bottles "en primeur"—paying vineyards for futures of wines that haven't been produced yet. Futures prices for wine had spiraled higher and higher in recent years, even for inferior vintages, as a new class of big spenders moved into the market. But many buyers are staying away from this week's tastings of the 2008 vintages in Bordeaux, writes the New York Times, as a protest at unreasonably high prices. More»