For several years many European vineyards have been making a percentage of their wine into alcohol to use in disinfectants and as gasoline additives. The European Union may have to force vineyards to destroy some of their vines because the over-production of wine is getting out of hand. The EU has been trying to control prices on wines and been spending $190 million a year in destroying perfectly good wine to do so. Now there is a proposal out to destroy 100,000 acres of wine, more than 10% of Europe's total acreage of vines, over the next five years as a way to control the surplus. Europe, especially France has suffered from poor wine sales the past decade.
Other wine producing areas such as New Zealand, Australia, South America, South Africa, and the US are producing very good wines at decent prices that are now controlling the market. It is yet to be seen whether the European vineyards will be cut back or if some other method of control will be used. Personally I might drink more French and European wines if the price dropped, especially for the better quality products which I don't try as often as I would like.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-29-2006 @ 6:35PM
MHS said...
Strange that they don't increase export, for example to US. Here is always was bad situation with luxury wines. But, of course, European economists are smarter than I
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11-29-2006 @ 9:13PM
Becki said...
This is a moronic situation brought about over many years through a combination of the dictator bureaucrats of the EU and French farmers, who wield enormous power in that same European "Union". The dictato-crats are unable to keep their regulating and taxing fingers out of everyone's business, and the farmers became addicted to the ludicrous subsidies they bribed themselves into.
If, instead of burning 10% of the vineyards they burnt 100% of the EU buildings then Europe would be 500% better off.
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11-29-2006 @ 9:18PM
Dave said...
Wouldn't reducing the supply drive prices up? They are perhaps trying to keep prices above manufacturing cost, so farmers aren't forced to sell their product at a loss.
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11-30-2006 @ 1:29AM
Steven Andrew Miller said...
Wouldn't reducing the supply drive prices up? They are perhaps trying to keep prices above manufacturing cost, so farmers aren't forced to sell their product at a loss.
If they are "forced to sell their product at a loss" they will go in to farming something else, hence reducing the supply. Economics 101.
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