While there is dynamism in certain sectors and a steady supply of new investors, the Languedoc and Roussillon are in a state of mutation. Varietal wines continue to gain market share, but the appellations are losing lustre.
Although the noble estates in Bordeaux are awash in success, their fortune has done little to relieve the misery of their neighbours. Jane Anson asks if it would be possible to turn things around with a mass market Bordeaux brand.
In spite of the phenomenal prices attained by a small number of top 2005s inBordeaux, life is increasingly tough for France\'s wine industry. The annual traditionof distilling excess production is now slowly giving way to a realisation thatvineyards are going to be uprooted. Things are changing. Too little? Too late?
