Infuriated French winemakers in Languedoc-Roussillon turned on the taps of tankers full of red wine being transported in bulk from Spain, allowing it to gush out onto the motorway tarmac.
Angered by reports of a sharp rise in Spanish wine imports coming into France in 2015, 150 French growers gathered at Le Boulou motorway toll station, fewer than 10 miles from the Spanish border, to monitor the number of wine tankers coming into France.
The high number of tankers passing through caused anger among the growers, some of whom hijacked five tankers and flooded the motorway with tens of thousands of litres of red wine.
Change “grape” to “cattle” and isn’t that what’s been happening out west in the movement known as the Redneck Spring (or Autumn if you wanna get technical)?
Wow! I can imagine a future “Mad Max” type run by the Spanish wine trucks as they make a run to the bottling plant. Bodies here and there, French wine grower bikers shooting hand cross bows, etc. Boy oh boy, it looks like lots of fun coming up!! With the French police sitting by the roadside sipping some fine wines, munching cheese, and commenting on the show.
It’s been happening for a long time. That’s what happens when people ignore fundamental economics. The producers in France that are making generic bulk wine and aren’t able to compete prefer to eliminate their competition rather than produce a better product that might get buyers to select it.
It’s not about the quality of the wine. It’s about French negociants, like Val d’Orbieu, buying cheap Spanish wine to sell to low-end French cafés and restaurants who serve anonymous wine by the glass or pichet. Consumers assume they are getting a French wine but they aren’t.
Secondly the Spanish wine is cheap because Spain includes viticulture under its subsidised agriculture and the government effectively funds the production of below-cost wine. Furthermore, pesticide control in Spain is more lax than France and the winemaking isn’t regulated to the same level, nor do agricultural workers receive the same pay or benefits. (Yes, I know we are all in the EU, but the EU is a work-in-progress wrt worker’s pay and conditions).
The other thing the French militants are claiming is the wine may not even be European. It may be North African wine that has been fraudulently “converted” to Spanish wine and may be heading for a further fraudulent conversion into some more desirable French Appellation. If that is the case (and it wouldn’t be the first time) then they have a pretty strong point.
I don’t condone their actions but it upsets me to read the incident being used to bash Languedoc wine producers for not making better wine. It is because they are making better wine, and trying to maintain the sale price at a sustainable level, that the cheapskate negociants have turned to foreign imports.
I, too, read about this in the paper in Strasbourg. To my mind, the Languedoc farmers are completely misguiding their efforts. They should be angry and protesting the avaricious French government that imposes taxes and other charges on them that render their products uncompetitive price-wise vis-à-vis other (Spanish, for one) producers. This is not, for me, a question of anger at French negociants buying Spanish wine and then passing it off as French – although there may well be some truth to that; there are unscrupulous members of every profession – it is anger at not being able to compete on a level playing field because of ridiculous, unsustainable, French fiscal and social policies.
And as for subsidies, in France it is only “grands cultures,” for which read agribusiness, that are subsidised. Winemakers can receive some subsidies on investment in equipment through an organization called France Agrimer, but receive no subsidies to support the price of their products.
Jon,
So my hypothetical Napa wine costs more to buy than your French wine here in America. Does that give me the right to destroy all your wine because I’m unhappy at you for being able to sell it for less here? Sorry, but your argument is silly.
Furthermore, how often do we hear the French are protesting X, Y, and Z. Yes, all the time. The French and their not so peaceful and destructful “protests” are getting a bit old. When they destroy others property they should be arrested and sent to jail with all the other criminals for committing a crime.
I have heard for a long time that French wineries are actually the buyer of a lot of Spain’s bulk wines to fortify and blend with their juice. Some may get sold to be bottled for bar usage, but much is used in French bottles.
In just about every local bar in Spain, you can get a glass of wine for 2-3€ Most include a tapa. Even in our little village the have bulk inexpensive wine from La Mancha or Valdespeñas. They may or may not serve our wines as well. That used to bother me a long time ago, but it doesn’t now. Their business their rights. I think it is despicable to hijack a tanker and dump thousands of €’s of wine on the road.
It’s not the same. There are taxes when you import the wine over to the US. Or any other product for that matter.
Here we’re talking about free trade within the EU. How can you compete with other countries where their industry is subsidized but not yours? Just not possible. This is not an even playing field.
Still, I agree that this is more an issue with French/European law and taxes and that Spanish farmers should not be held responsible for the current situation.
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