French wine union rejects EU/US deal.  Add/Read Comments

French co-ops have rejected the recent EU-US wine accord claiming the deal will not benefit European producers as much as the Commission thinks.

Beveragedaily.com
"France's wine cooperatives union (CCVF) has called the agreement 'unacceptable'. It said that even if the US succeeded in gaining protection for the 17 names 'there would be no concrete changes'. 'Businesses already using semi-generic names [for their wines] could continue using them for an unlimited time period,' the CCVF said.

While I can understand the postions commentators such as Huge Johnson and Tom Wark are taking I think they should remember that the wine industry in France is a very proud one, steeped in tradition and bound by laws and as such they should receive a little more respect and understanding of their ideas and these traditions. I too can see the stance made in some areas, in the face of declining sales and the popularity of New World wines, is akin to putting your head in the sand but putting water in wine for example seems plain wrong to me. It appears to me that the Americans lack confidence in their own products in wanting to label them Champagne and Port rather than use their own geographic descriptors which have potential to be equally as good and as well known as the originals.