Traditionalists whine as French bow to wine trends

FRANCE’S government is to allow vintners to flavour their wine with wood shavings - a money-saving shortcut to help face off international competition, and a reform that angered purists.

It was a sharp break in tradition: flavouring wine with wood chips was, until recently, a technique France’s vintners were proud to have nothing to do with. But many vineyard owners, whose fortunes have flagged, now want access to the same techniques as their competitors.

Wood chips can be added to wines to give them an oak flavour without using expensive wooden barrels. Such cost-cutting tactics are common across the rest of the winemaking world.

“France always wants to give lessons to the rest of the world, and in winemaking we are realising that the Australians and Americans also have things to teach us about wine regulations,” said Roland Feredj of Bordeaux wine council, CIVB.

The government announced a €90 million plan last week to help the French wine industry, which is suffering from overproduction, dropping consumption in France and competition abroad.

Nicolas Ronceray, who works at a small wine bar in Paris, says the reform will chip away at the strength of French wines: their timeless appeal and diversity.

“We are going to make wines like we make food at McDonald’s,” he said.

“When you put wood shavings in wine ... you can no longer speak about ‘aroma’, you must speak about ‘odour’. For me, this is the beginning of the end.”