08/06/07 EU Wine

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran. Today we are going to look out of our own little provincial place and glance at what is happening with wine in the European Union. For quite awhile now exports of many European wines especially France has been falling. Many believe it to be in great part due to the European laws, which govern everything about wine from it origins, packaging even bottle styles and sizes. The wine industry is accused of not responding to changing marketing demands. With the current world wine production at about 30 billion liters, sixty percent of which is from the European Union and 70 of the total wines exported they cannot afford to drop the ball. Tradition and laws are slow to change. But much to my surprise the Champagne category seems to be taking the lead and doing some fun things. Long thought of as a beverage for only special occasions and difficult to keep once a bottle has been opened the producers are addressing and creatively overcoming their issues. Champagne is now being produced in flashy individual serving sizes and has some very clever and eye catching packaging going on, including neoprene zip jackets for the bottles to keep them chilled without hauling and bulky carriers or coolers. So far it seems to be working and they are moving beyond the black tie crowd at an ever accelerating speed. Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at Vine to Wine dot net and thank you for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.