From The Guardian, August 25:
Fund aims to help struggling winemakers as they adjust to consumers’ changing habits
The French government has announced it is to set aside €200m to fund the destruction of surplus wine production in an attempt to support struggling producers and shore up prices.
Several major wine-producing regions in France, particularly the Bordeaux area, are struggling because of a cocktail of problems including changes in consumption habits, the cost of living crisis and the after-effects of Covid-19.
A fall in demand for wine has led to over-production, a sharp fall in prices, and major financial difficulties for up to one in three winemakers in the Bordeaux region, according to the local farmers’ association.
An initial EU fund of €160m for wine destruction has been topped up to €200m by the French government, the agriculture minister, Marc Fesneau, told reporters on Friday.
The money was “aimed at stopping prices collapsing and so that winemakers can find sources of revenue again”, but he stressed that the industry needed to “look to the future, think about consumer changes ... and adapt”....
....MUCH MORE
August 18:"Bordeaux bloodbath! France pays winemakers to dig up vines"
