A crowd of disgruntled vignerons and their allies marched through downtown Bordeaux in December, calling for help to save their livelihoods. When the hundreds of marchers reached the doors of the Bordeaux Wine Council (CIVB), the local trade organization, they piled dead vines on its doorstep and hung a dummy from a tree outside, representing financially troubled grapegrowers at risk of suicide.
The growers are demanding financial compensation to pay for grubbing up their vines, calling on the French government to subsidize uprooting efforts in Bordeaux’s less prestigious areas. They want roughly €4,000 per acre, but the government has said European Union rules prevent such payments—and that’s causing anger, frustration, even despair.
For decades, Bordeaux has been grappling with shrinking sales of value wines. Consumption in France has dropped by more than 70% in the past 75 years. In France, people aren’t just drinking less, they’re opting for beer and cocktails; and when they do drink wine, they tend to prefer higher-end reds as well as white, rosé and sparkling wines.
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