How could it be otherwise in a country where the relationship to wine is so intimate? Where even the most humble corner grocery is certain to have a decent bottle of Bordeaux
PARIS — The government began a publicity campaign this week warning Frenchmen and women of the dangers of too much drink. When it comes to wine and other alcohol, it said, “for your health, it’s maximum two glasses a day, and not every day.”The French media hardly bothered to react. Wine producers in the multibillion dollar industry scoffed. The neat rows of wicker chairs outside the ubiquitous cafes continued to buzz with patrons.
Without going that far, several esteemed wine producers insisted Thursday that the scolds from the state’s public health agency, who now say that a quarter of the French exceed the recommended limit, are missing the point. “Look, we agree with the moderation aspect, but on the other hand, we always feel that they’re picking on wine,” said Maurin Bérenger, a well-respected producer of the rich dark Cahors wine, in southwest France. “Even limiting it, this is a constraint on liberty,” he said.
The old culture of the workman sidling up to the bar in the local cafe at 10 a.m. and demanding his small glass of red wine, or “petit rouge,” is far less prevalent, if it still exists at all. Consuming wine is about sharing. The French drink wine because, for instance, they might have friends over, “Consuming wine at the table, this is the specific French cultural model,” said Vin et Société’s delegate-general, Krystel Lepresle. “It’s a cultural object,” she insisted.
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