Professor Bainbridge...on law, politics, religion, culture & food

What would Al Bundy drink?

The Wine Spectator reports that "French Wines Still Facing Hard Times in U.S. Market":

Sales of French wines have been suffering in the United States ever since March, when some American consumers threatened boycotts to show their displeasure over France's opposition the U.S. plan to invade Iraq. But with the passage of time and changes in the global political situation, have French wines been recovering in the market? Not according to the latest figures on wine imports and retail sales.

The six months of retail sales data available since March from Information Resources Inc. shows that French wines dropped in each of six periods through mid-August compared with 2002, yet Americans bought more table wine overall in that time. And imports of French table wine were down more than 20 percent for each of the months of May, June and July, according to Impact Databank. The first shipment declines, of only 1.1 percent, were noted in April. In contrast, imports were up 22 percent in January.

Yet many specialty fine-wine retailers around the country say that political resentment against France has only had a small impact on them and that other economic factors are at work.

The last is almost certainly the sort of puffery one gets from anybody trying to sell something (hey, I say the same sort of things about my books!). Consider that the blockbuster 2000 Bordeaux vintage has to be keeping sales from falling off a cliff -- no wine geek can pass that one up, no matter how sterling their neo-con credentials. Once that fabulous vintage works through the marketplace, and gives way to the far less impressive 2001, we'll have a better sense of just how bad the damage to French wine sales in this country will be long-term. My guess, and its just a guess, is that there will be a long-term hit. Not so much because Americans hold long grudges, but because American consumers shifted short-term to Australian or Italian wines (note that total wine imports are up, despite the drop in French imports). And, I'd be willing to bet that American consumers will find that Italian and, especially, Australian wines appeal to the American palate. Most American wine drinkers I know tend to favor wines that are intensely fruity and oaky, with rich and complex flavors, but with smooth tannins that make the wine accessible early without extended aging. Which is a great description of Australian and Italian wines, not to mention most of our domestics, but leaves many French wines out. A short-term political change in behavior thus may have long-term consequences on the palate.