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:: MAX BLACK ::

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." --C.S. Lewis

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:: Saturday, July 09, 2005 ::

French Wine Sales Tank

From the Adam Smith Institute:

French wines "bland and of poor value..."

"Bordeaux exports fell more than 22 per cent in value and 12 per cent in volume last year, under pressure from the New World, falling consumption and the high euro. Claret sales in the UK fell 25 per cent in value over the past year."

"8,000 to 10,000 hectares of vines are being torn up, with farmers receiving 11,000 pounds per hectare to reduce or stop their production. Meanwhile, for the first time ever, Appellation Controllee wines are being distilled into industrial alcohol.

"What happened was New World vintners and a failure to respond to them. They entered the market at the low end about 30 years ago, selling cheap and cheerful wines with names like Kanga Rouge. Over the course of a generation they have educated British tastes, producing award-winning wines, and persuading the British to pay for them and enjoy them. The result is that the British now drink excellent wines from places like Australia, South Africa and Chile, and find many of the French ones to be bland and of poor value."

:: Max 1:30 PM [+] ::
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