As reported on Decanter.com on November 19, the main wine appellations in France are working to counteract the “vilifying” of wine in France. Burgundy Wine Board (BIVB) President Pierre-Henry Gagey announced the pro-wine lobbying effort at the annual Hospices de Beaune charity wine auction. In addition to Burgundy, the Bordeaux and Champagne appellations will contribute a combined €2m to support and finance, according to Gagey, “serious, in-depth studies by doctors and scientists to show the beneficial effects of wine.”
Wine producers in France have been on the defensive since the French Parliament adopted a 2005 amendment to the French law on Alcohol Advertisement (the so-called Loi Evin). This amendment allows the use of objective characteristics in the promotion of wine, but bans any promotion that uses qualitative arguments. So, a wine producer can use facts, such as geographical origin, the color and taste of a wine, but not terminology that indicates qualitative aspects, such as the pleasure or desire produced by the consumption of that particular product.
To the extreme consternation of drink firms like the Cognac group Courvoisier and Heineken, all Internet promotions have been banned in France. If you’re living in France and try to visit the Courvoisier website, you are shown a message stating that this law prohibits you from accessing the site. Heineken.fr has been offline for over 18 months, which must make their social marketing efforts in France extremely difficult.
BIVB President Gagey said that they “are sick and tired of government vilifying wine. To tell people that one glass of wine causes cancer is shocking,” he added, referring to a recent finding by the French National Cancer Institute that consumption of only a small amount of wine may increase the risk of mouth and throat cancer by 168%.
A BIVB director, André Segala, told Decanter.com that they don’t wish to finance new studies. He said that they want “to work with studies and avoid hasty and devastating conclusions like the last report from the cancer institute. This report was later disputed by doctors and scientists,” he added, “and we need to assist in avoiding such misinformation.”
The €2m will help to expand the activities of an existing French association, Vin & Société, which spends between €200-300k annually to communicate information about drinking in moderation.
