Hitler's Atlantic Wall Restored
By John Barton
On a golden autumn day, there are plenty of good reasons to take off to the seaside at Arcachon.Read more
French Crooners Keep on Singing
By John Barton
If you can’t stop them, you may as well go and see them.Read more
Husband Fined over Lack of Sex
By John Barton
According to article 215 of France’s civil code, married couples have to agree to a "shared communal life".Read more
Calling all B&B and small hotel owners
Channel 4 are on the look out for passionate and out-going B&B and small hotel owners to take part in the third series of the British television programme Four In a Bed.Read more
China Comes to Bordeaux Wine Rescue
China now imports so much Bordeaux wine that there have been questions about the volume of its consumption of the chateaux compared to how much is actually being produced. So keen are the Chinese on the wine that they are now buying up the vineyards. Chateau Latour Laguens, south-east of Bordeaux, for instance, is now owned by the Longhai group from eastern China, which has set up a subsidiary to handle the vineyards affairs, Chateau Latour-Laguens (Qingdao).
Notwithstanding – or perhaps partly because of the Chinese interest in Bordeaux – the value of French wine and spirit exports has soared this year. According to French Wine News, the Exportateurs de Vins et Spiritueux de France said there was a 12 % hike in export sales during the first half of 2011, topping €4.3bn. July 2011 figures put the total increase in value for the first seven months at 12.2 %, to €5.1bn.
Wine is the major mover, at €3bn in value (a 14 % growth), or 67m cases in total. Producers of still wines seem to be the greatest beneficiary, up 23 %, and one of the main contributors to this surge has been Bordeaux wine, showing an increase of 34 % (against 15 % for Burgundy and 19 % for Rhone).
It wouldn’t take much to guess which is the fastest growing market. While the United States is the leading importer of French wine and spirits (12m cases, €782m), it is Asia that is showing the greatest acceleration in interest – up 45 % in China, 38 % in Singapore, and 69 % in Hong Kong. China on its own accounts for 80 % of Bordeaux and Cognac exports.
Meanwhile, in the Dordogne, Chinese interest in Bergerac wines is also said to be on the increase - according to the Inter-professional Council for Bergerac Wines (CIRVB), they have been working hard to introduce Chinese importers on the merits of Bergerac - a wine often overshadowed by its Bordeaux cousin. This year, the CIRVB expect to export 16% of their wines to China and hope that figure will rise in the years to come.
Mon, 5 Dec 2011 18:08
Tweet
Be the first to Comment on this story: