 Bordeaux vignerons have, of late, been beating their collective breast, about the best way to bolster flagging wine sales.
To put it bluntly, profits for both red and whites from the “world’s wine capital” have recently plummeted. This applies to those former bastions of vinous excellence, the Left and Right Bank regions including the Médoc, Haut-Médoc, Graves, Pessac-Léognan, Gironde, St-Emilion and Entre-Deux-Mers. Even the Margaux Appellation vineyards have taken a bit of a bashing.
Recent statistics have revealed that sales of Bordeaux wines, through restaurants, bistros and bars, have dipped by as much as 15 percent. And, to add insult to injury, a detailed analysis of the figures has also revealed that Bordeaux’s total exports of 716 million bottles, sold in the 12-month period up to July 2003, are down compared with the previous year’s sales of 730 million bottles.
Triggered by the publication of these less than healthy annual sales figures, panic is now rife throughout the wine-producing regions of southwest France, a fact to which the recent crisis summit of Bordelaise vintners bears testimony. The aim of this recent confab was to thrash out a recovery strategy and to implement a damage limitation plan for 2004.
In their drastic attempt to recover lost market share, The Inter-professional Council of Bordeaux Wine has come up with some innovative solutions. At the summit, for example, Alain Vironneau, President of the Union of Bordeaux Wines, emphasised the need for the regions’ viticulteurs to adopt modern marketing techniques, to trim costs by replacing corks with screw-caps and to increase the use of wine boxes – or face further years of decline. In the words of Monsieur Vironneau, “We have to adapt wine lists to new eating habits such as fast food, takeaways…exotic restaurants and pancake houses”.
Another groundbreaking plan involved the launch of a campaign to promote the sale of fine Bordeaux wines by the glass – an approach that hitherto would have been unthinkable among château owners, throughout the wine-growing regions of southwest France.
Now, the opportunity to sample fine Bordeaux wine, by the glass, without breaking the bank, sounds hugely inviting – a rare opportunity. And to this end, The Times newspaper recently ran a “Dine With Wine” promotion offering British diners the opportunity to “Enjoy a two-course meal and a glass of Bordeaux for £10”. Certain participating restaurants also offer three courses and a glass of wine for £15, or two courses and half a bottle of Bordeaux for £20. So, for those of you who have been collecting the tokens, you can still redeem them, until March 31st, 2004, at over 450 restaurants across Britain.
Interested? The following list offers a selection of participating London restaurants. You will need to mention the Times/Bordeaux menu when you book:
3 Monkeys Restaurant, 136-140 Herne Hill, London SE24 9QH
Cactus Blue, 86 Fulham Road, London SW3 6HR
Café De Paris, 3 Coventry Street, London W1D 6BL
Cinnamon Cay, 87 Lavender Hill, London SW11 5QL
Citronelle, 21 Lowndes Street, Belgravia, London SW1X 9ES
Cottons Restaurant, 55 Chalk Farm Road, London NW1 8AN
Fire Station, 150 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8SB
Gilbey's Restaurant, 77 The Grove, Ealing, London W5 5LL
Greig's Grill, 26 Bruton Place, Mayfair, London W1J 6NG
Istanbul Iskembecisi, 9 Stoke Newington Road, Stoke Newington, London N16 8BH
Kennington Lane Restaurant and Bar, 205-209 Kennington Lane, Kennington, London SE11 1QS
Maggiore's, 33 King Street, Covent Garden, London WC2 8JD
Salieri, 376 Strand, London WC2R 0LR
Thai Pavilion East, 82 Kennington Road, London SE11 3NL
Viet Hoa, 70-72 Kingsland Road, London E2 8DP
Yatra, 34 Dover Street, Mayfair, W1S 4NF
Once recognised as (and arguably still) the largest “fine wine” district in the world, Bordeaux can no longer rest on its elegant vinous laurels. And, of course, the question remains whether, in the face of global competition, the Bordelaise vignerons can regain the affections of discerning wine lovers, worldwide.
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