Wine tasting in France, soon forbidden?

French wine producers are worried. A new law has been proposed to forbid wine tasting in fairs, exhibitions, supermarkets and on TV cuisine programs.

French wine growers are worried. They fear that the law proposed by  Madame Roselyne Bachelot (French Minister of Sport and Health) to prohibit the free tasting of wine, in fairs or exhibitions. According to the wine growers, this would lead to an immediate fall in sales.

In France, for years, alcohol and tabacco advertising  has been banned from the media  (TV, newspapers) and in the street

This weekend the aisles of the Salon des Vignerons Indépendants in Lyon,  15,000 people are expected to visit, a meeting place for oenophiles: here they can taste wines from all regions of France, and most are here to taste and discuss what they taste!

"We do not come here to drink. We do not come here like we would go to the pub.  It is completely different it is not the same," says a visitor.

Boire un petit coup c'est agréable, said the song, but now the coup de rouge has a bitter taste. This kind of exhibition would be in the spotlight of government. Article 24 of the Act proposed by Roselyne Bachelot,  prohibits offer for free alcoholic beverages in order to sell them. For some growers, this would put the key under the door.

"Direct sales are 70 to 80% of my production. It goes without saying that this is even more punishment for the industry" laments Serge Grosset, winegrower.

The fairs are not only areas affected "open bar" or offers of wine with meals could also be prohibited. The wine industry, already in crisis, is now incensed.

"This is in the process of advocating prohibition, highlight the prohibition, and I think it is seriously wrong target," saidEric Rosaz, director of the Salon des Vignerons Indépendants.

And the pressure mounts. The producers have already galvanising their members to fight this law. The wine has no political colour, the debates ahead on the benches of the National Assembly look to be heated!

Erick Munnings

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