Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog

Asking For Wine...In A Good Way

Over the years I've found myself in a position of asking my colleagues in the wine industry and  folks in the hospitality industries to give me things. "Donations" they are called. Some people are better than others at doing the asking. I fall somewhere in the middle. In asking for wines, airline tickets, hotel rooms, memorabilia and other items, almost always for auctions, I have learned one thing: You get your best results when you tell the potential giver that the donation will help the cause more than it will help them.

I'm doing this again for Specialty Wine Retailers Association as we gear up for an important fundraiser in Chicago where we hope to raise funds to move hearts and minds toward re-opening that state for consumer purchases of wine from out of state wine stores. That option was stripped from consumers and retailers in 2007. I'm looking for Big Bottles, Bordeaux Futures, Verticals, Horizontal Collections, airline tickets, Guest Houses in Wine Country, Limos Services, etc, etc.

Here's how the request sounds:

"Joe, this is Tom at SWRA. I need your help. I need to fill an auction in Chicago with great lots so we can raise funds to change the laws in that state to allow direct shipment of wine by consumers. Our event is on August 6. If  you can donate a six liter bottle of your Cab, you'd be helping us tremendously and we need it if we are going to open that state back up. All I can promise you in return is a mention on the program and a guarantee the money will  be used wisely to fight the good fight."

The reason I never promise more than good will is because I've been the object of requests on too many occasions to count. The PR Guy is often the first person people go to when they ask for these things. I've listened to schpeal after schpeal about how my clients will receive tremendous exposure by having their wine available for auction. And I've been to these events. The exposure is minimal, at best. And I can't bring myself to puff up reality.

At some point, the person being asked to help simply has to decide if they can afford to help and if the cause they are helping is worthy of their support. Those are really the only two questions that someone being asked to give must answer. On top of that, these are questions that wineries in particular are confronted with constantly. and they usually have pat answers that resemble "no"...unless they are taken by the cause.

Of course, my cause and the cause of Specialty Wine Retailers Association is critical and I can't imagine why anyone would say "No" to my requests. And this kind of attitude and ridiculous optimism is key. If you've ever spent time asking for things, you know that "NO" is coming your way. It's a lot like selling vacuum cleaners though—something I have experience with: If you hear enough "No's" you'll eventually get to the "Yes". But it's a matter of asking and asking with honestly.

By the way, all donations to this worthy cause and worthy event can be made by calling Tom Wark at 707-935-4424.

Corrupting the Wine Market With Spin

One of the greatest joys of working in wine public relations has been the remarkably collegial, helpful and generally encouraging attitude of my peers. In the 20 some odd years I've worked in this area of the wine industry I can't recall a single instance in which I was disappointed with my personal interaction with other wine PR folks. And I can't count the number of times other PR people have helped me in significant ways.

Still, there is something of a negative connotation associated with the idea of being a Public Relations Professional, PR Guy, Flack, Hired Gun. Honestly, I really don't care. You can call me and my peers anything you want, but we'll keep smiling and doing our work of corrupting the market with spin.

It's those smiles I'm looking forward to seeing tonight as the newly reformed Academy of Wine Communicators gather for an event at the CIA at Greystone in Napa Valley. If you work in Wine PR in any capacity, I suggest you attend. At the very least you'll discover that you really do have a network of peers who take their work seriously and are likely to help you do a better job at your own.

The AWC first formed I'm guessing about a decade or so ago. But it didn't get very far if I recall. The new incarnation is being driven by Michael Wangbickler of Balzac Communications, one the oldest and most respected Wine PR firms in America. Michael appears to me to be enthusiastic in all things he does. I suspect that character trait will be on view as he guides the AWC down the road.

The American wine publicist needs all the help we can get. This is not an easy job if your client or employer is a winery. Consider that there are more than 5,000 wineries in the United States alone. They all do the same thing: They ferment fruit juice, put it in a bottle, try to put an attractive label on it and try to sell it to consumers or retailers or restaurants. Trying to use smart public relations techniques to set your client's wines or employer's wines apart is not easy.

Interestingly, you'd think that under such competitive circumstances you'd see PR flacks like me and my peers use some pretty gimmicky techniques. But you don't. Occasionally you see a funeral for corks or something like this. But it's generally straight ahead, traditional PR using the new and old tools of the trade and forming relationships with writers to whom we try to pitch compelling story ideas.

It's not surprising, I hope, that frustration can often results from the attempt to be fresh and unique and different and compelling in your PR campaigns and techniques. This is why I think the Academy of Wine Communicators is a good idea. Having a vibrant and active resource of peers to gather with and bounce ideas off of and to learn from seems to be a critical aspect of one's professional development.

Again, if you work in or around wine PR, I suggest you look into the Academy of Wine Communicators.

The State of Wine Blogging—5 Years In.

I count 2004 as the birth year of wine blogs. Given that only slightly arbitrary date, the wine industry finds itself with only five years under it's belt of dealing with this somewhat chaotic, but impactful form of communication. And on the eve of the second North American Wine Bloggers Conference I have some questions and thoughts about wine blogs.

1. HAS OR WILL THE WINE BLOG TAKE DOWN PRINT MEDIA AS THE PRIMARY FORM OF WINE INFORMATION FOR CONSUMERS AND THE INDUSTRY?
To this point the traditional wine media is not in jeopardy of being replaced by wine blogs as the go-to source of information. While there must be upwards of 800 wine blogs out there, the readers still tend to be early adopting, internet-savvy folks and industry members. More importantly, no single wine blog has emerged as a go-to, important voice in the world of wine for either consumers or the wine trade that is read in very large numbers. This must happen, in my opinion, before blogs can emerge as a dominant source of information. One voice must lead the way, attracting readers, who then give credence to the format, thereby creating confidence in the format and leading readers to others.

Why this important wine blogging voice hasn't emerged is likely a simple thing: The groundbreaking, informed, well-marketed voice is hard to find in the wine industry. As I look out across the wine blogosphere right now, I don't see any contenders for that position. This does not bode well for the advancement of the format.

2. WHERE ARE THE HARD FIGURES ON THE READERSHIP OF WINE BLOGS?
Many wine bloggers understand that there is potential for generating advertising revenue from their blogs. I believe too that blogs with ads give confidence to readers. However, to generate serious advertising revenue it is critical that readership figures for the various blogs are available. They are not currently available. This fact has slowed down the development of the format and the lack of figures will continue to slow down its development as a serious format.

3. DO WINE BLOGS CARRY ANY INFLUENCE?
Not yet. At least not much. How do I know this? For one, it's very difficult to find any shelf talkers that actually carry quotes from wine bloggers. This might be a case of laziness and a lack of creativity on the part of marketers who have not figured out how to use the various reviews of wines by wine bloggers. But, I think it is more likely that marketers simple don't believe there is enough weight carried by any particular wine blogger to justify replacing a review of 85 points or more by a mainstream publication or a food pairing suggestion on the shelf talker.

4. ARE ETHICS AN IMPORTANT ISSUE FOR THE WINE BLOGOSPHERE?
No. I've met a number of wine bloggers. Few if any are prone to make unethical choices. They certainly aren't any more prone to make journalistically unethical choices than traditional media. Yet, wine bloggers talk a lot about this issue. Why? It's because ethics are primarily something that professionals think deeply about. That tells us something about the aspirations of the wine blogging community.

5. SHOULD WINERIES AND WINE COMPANIES CARE ABOUT OR INTERACT WITH WINE BLOGGERS THE WAY THEY CARE ABOUT OR INTERACT WITH TRADITIONAL WINE MEDIA?
Not if they can't figure out a way to successfully use the work and words of wine bloggers as a third party endorsement for their brand, product or service that makes their brand, products or service more valuable and profitable.

The New Wine Review

A WINE REVIEW

65% 2006 Mayo Family Winery Estate Bottled "Reserve Chardonnay—Sonoma Valley
35% 2006 Chateau Souverain Chardonnay—Alexander Valley

This blend of two Sonoma County Chardonnays combines to produce a striking, clear and brilliant deep straw color in the glass. The blend's aromas are dominated by stone fruit, including white peach and apricot, followed by distinct butterscotch and vanilla notes derived from oak aging. There is a rich, full bodied attack on the palate that leads into slight hints of citrus, but dominated again by peach and apricot flavors. The palate also detects attractive hints of sage. The finish is medium long. Though I'd like to see a bit more acid dance on the tongue, this blend works well and would be a lovely accompaniment to a goat cheese laced spinach salad with candied pecans. By bringing the Mayo Chard down to 60% and replacing the 5% with the winery's 2006 Ricci Vineyard Zinfandel (Russian River Valley), the new, slightly heftier blend would work well with grilled prawns with red pepper flakes. (blended and tasted June 22, 200)

Just how much control of brands will wine drinkers take over as the means to reach out to consumers (followers and friends) via social media expands? At what point to brand owners throw up their hands and hope this (see above) doesn't happen?

From a moral, ethical and practical standpoint there is absolutely nothing wrong with this kind of review. Yes, these products were produced with the idea that they would be consumed individually. But there is no requirement they be consumed that way and if you think about it, we alter the taste of wine when we pair it with different foods, when we age it and when we serve it at different temperatures. In each case we've individualized and taken control of the wine's character—to a degree. And of course, what real wine lover has never taken it upon themselves to make a little table blend with the remaining bits of wines on the table?

Of course what we have here is a legitimate mashup. It's the same sort that we see produced in the area of recorded music, web applications where data from different sources is combined, and video where a final product is created from various video sources. These mashups are very common now and almost always produced by aficionados of a medium who are not professionals. When completed it amounts to the creation of something entirely new built on scavenged materials.

The mashup, and this review of a blend of more than one wine, might drive home the point that once a product or idea is introduced into a world where it can be manipulated and observed and critiqued by millions and within seconds, a great deal of control of its meaning is lost. Who knows what will happen to it? Who knows what will be said about it. Who knows what will be made of it.

If you are the brand or product owner, you have very little to say on the matter until you are forced to react to the consequences of diminished brand and product control. But, we do have that "very little" that can be said. And that very little can be pretty powerful if it is said to the right people and through the right venues. And it is here, in this "very little" electronic passageway that a brand owner's most important interaction with social media tools is also most powerful.

Wine PR? What Exactly Do You Do?

For nearly 20 years, when I tell people "I work in wine PR", I often get the same response: "So what exactly do you do?"

Sometimes this questions sets me back on my heels because from day-to-day my responsibilities to my clients change, the things I'm asked to do change, and I'm not always sure, on any given day, exactly what I'll be doing. In other words, while there are some vague boundaries to the realm of "PR", it's not always so well defined.

For this reason, I thought I'd point readers to at least one view of what Wine PR is all about. In this case it's a job description for a "Director of Public Relations" now open with Constellation Wines U.S. The job listing is over at winejobs.com and is a pretty thorough, top-down explanation of what is expected from a PR pro working for a large firm. What's interesting about the job description (which does not list salary possibilities) is that if you scan it with a small winery's needs in mind it actually translates. That is, what Constellation expects of the person filling their Director of PR position is what would generally be expected of the person doing PR for a small or medium sized winery.

Now, while I have worked with large wine organizations over the years, it has not been my preferred sort of client. Things tend to move a bit more slowly than with small and medium-sized wineries and the layers of bureaucracy tend to be more imposing. Still, this kind of position doesn't open up that often. We are looking at one of the most influential, powerful and vibrant wine companies in the world seeking out a PR pro for the position that sits just below their VP of Public Relations.I would suspect they will receive MANY resumes.

One thing very interesting about the Constellation job posting is that there is no mention of Social Media. Among the Constellation-owned brands is Robert Mondavi Winery. They have a Facebook page. It possesses 2 fans. Perhaps the area of Social Media is part of the job postings note that candidates responsibilities would include: "Execute focused public relations and communications plans, ideas and programs that support the strategic messages of each estate for multiple wine brands."

Either way, for those of you who have asked, "What do you do", this job posting is a good start toward an answer.

On Reporters & Sources

In case anyone is wondering, THIS IS HOW IT'S DONE.

The topic of journalists and reporters issuing corrections isn't often discussed. Generally, these kinds of discussions take place via email or on page 20. So, it was with great pleasure that I saw one of America's best wine reporters come out with a straight up correction and make it nice and visible too. In This Story, Lew Perdue of Wine Industry Insight made his correction regarding a story he posted on New Vine Logistics front and center. But he also delivered some interesting commentary to boot. I want to quote it:

We regret these errors and incompleteness.

Reporting is an error-fraught process made unusually difficult by deadlines and people who would rather not volunteer information. But as I learned as a much younger reporter covering Washington D.C. and Richard Nixon’s legacy, stonewalling is never an excuse for failing to dig.

The best a reporter can do in this environment is dig, press sources and corroborate and confirm. We’re always aware that sources can be misinformed, can deliberately mislead, or have just a part of a story, even those who corroborate what others say.

And we are always grateful to those in the know who come forth with information, or can tell us where we’re wrong or going astray.

Good reporting is a partnership between the reporter and those with information.

We say “thank you” to all our partners and accept all mistakes as our own.

Besides letting us know he is conscientious, Lew reminds us that even in the more gentile business of wine, there is an inherent, but usually friendly, adversarial position drawn between the reporter and those people and companies they report on. But the real take away line in Lew's commentary is this: "Good Reporting is a partnership between the reporter and those with information."

He's right.

But it leads me also to think again about how the person with information should approach inquiries by a reporter. There is a fundamental bottom line when it comes to interacting with a real reporter looking to report real news: "Do I or my client benefit from the information I know and that the reporter wants becoming public?"

That's the first question anyone interacting with a reporter must ask first. And there are really only three answers: Yes, No, and It Doesn't Matter. If the answer is "yes" or "it doesn't matter" then I believe you should give the reporter what they want. "It Doesn't Matter" is rarely the answer to the question, however. And even if the strict answer is "YES, I or my company do benefit," one must then answer the corollary: "What will be the impact on friends and colleagues of providing this information?" The answer to this question is NEVER "It doesn't matter" for the simple reason that the greatest equity any person has is their friendships and colleagues. Although providing the information to a reporter might benefit me or my company or client, it might put friends and colleagues in awkward or disadvantaged positions.

Answering the original question is more complicated than it seems. And this is why Lew and other good reporters are "always grateful to those in the know who come forth with information."

The best thing any person, be they a PR representative or a principle in a company, can do is make a point of developing honest and forthright relationships with the media so that when they are in a situation where they can help the reporter, they can look them in the face and tell them "I won't comment right now" and know that the reporter understands their position and respects it.

An Open Letter to Robert Parker, Jr.

Recently at the eRobertparker forum, Mr. Parker himself suggested that he could have no impact in changing laws concerning consumer access to wine. He wrote: "I would have a better chance of raising the dead from their graves than changing a totally corrupt system where the beer and liquor distributors have their respective politicians right where they want them...in their pockets....and then factor in 50 separate states....yeah....totally disgusting and about as anti-wine consumer as it gets....but let's not ignore history....those with the deepest pockets buy the legislation that protects their interests....always has worked like that...and always will."

I respectively disagree.
----------------------------------------------

Dear Mr. Parker:

Even wine drinkers need heroes.

You, above all, should know this as you are perhaps the greatest hero to wine drinkers for your constant advocacy on their behalf. And for your efforts you have rightfully gained fame and recognition along with the respect and power that comes with dedication to an idea.

But for all the work and effort you've put in to being the eyes, ears and palate of the American wine drinker, let me respectfully suggest that your work is not done.

Even after the narrow victory in 2005 at the Supreme Court in the Granholm v. Heald ruling, many wine drinkers are stymied by onerous conditions placed on their ability to obtain wine. They are limited in the amount of wine they can obtain by direct shipment. Some states place highly restrictive conditions on wineries who want to ship wine to adult wine lovers, making it more profitable to simply not do so. Most states still make it illegal for wine lovers to have wine shipped to them from out-of-state wine retailers, meaning that the vast majority of Austrian, Australian, French, Italian, New Zealand, German and Spanish wines that show up in the pages of the Wine Advocate are impossible to obtain since these wines are not distributed in the states where the wine lovers live and they may not seek them from outside their borders.

The effort to free wine lovers and the wine industry from the grip of ancient and archaic laws that empower and protect only the shrinking wholesaler tier of the industry continues. Free the Grapes remains to fight on behalf of wineries. The California Wine Institute deploys talented lobbyists across the country. Specialty Wine Retailers Association looks to change the landscape for retailer-to-consumer shipping.

But where is the true voice of wine consumers? This is where you come it. This is where you must come in.

In some states, wine lovers have organized. In Michigan "Wine Consumers Across Michigan" fought wholesalers. In Illinois the "Illinois Wine Consumer Coalition" has formed. In your home state of Maryland "Marylanders for Better Beer & Wine Laws" fought the good fight in opening up the state for fair access to wine—and lost.  But these are shoestring organizations that fight for funding and attention. They and wine consumers in every state need a powerful, respected, educated and respected voice to speak on their behalf.

You should be that voice. You, with the recognition, respect and reputation for consumer advocacy that you have earned can do wonders to shine the light on the corrupt system that leaves free trade in wine wanting, punishes consumers for the sake of politicians retaining campaign contributions, and leaves a small shrinking clique of oligarchs controlling which of the now hundreds of thousands of wines Americans may taste and buy.

The power of your voice is needed in the halls of government where positive wine legislation often fails for want of exposure and gravitas among the laws' supporters. Your pen is needed in the editorial pages of the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek and Time. Your presence is needed on the sets of "Good Morning America", CNN, FoxNews and the "Daily Show With Jon Stewart". In all these places your voice and your advocacy on behalf of wine lovers is needed to finally draw widespread attention to a corrupt system and frustrated wine lovers and consumers that have been controlled and conspired against.

You, Mr. Parker, can and should be the hero to wine lovers that steps up and changes the debate, that alters the debate, that gives impetus to a new chapter in the slow moving story of wine drinkers rights and the false system that governs those rights.

The vast majority of the wine industry will get behind your effort. More importantly, your effort to raise this issue will inspire wine drinkers across the country to follow your lead, speak out more loudly and work for change. They will follow your lead and commit coin to the effort. They will follow you to rallies and write letters at your urging. It is true that small groups of dedicated people can move mountains. This is how it has always worked and how it will always will work.

It's time for a hero to step up, Mr. Parker. And you are the right person for the job.

Sincerely,

Tom Wark

Is Wine One Letter Away From Disaster

I'm a curious guy. That's why I decided to do a quick google search today on "Wine and Swine Flu". Who knows, maybe something interesting will pop up. But right when I finished giving Google instructions on what to find for me the search sentence hit me in the face: "Wine and Swine Flu". Holy Cow. What if it there were no "S". What if it was the "Wine Flu"?

Pork Futures have dropped and there are reports of consumers pulling back considerably on their pork eating and purchases. Now, let's be clear, there is no danger of contracting Swine Flu from fixing up a batch of Baby Back Ribs or grilling up some Pork Tenderloin. Nevertheless, folks appear to be extra cautious, perhaps to the point of over reaction.

But it just goes to show how various things, even ludicrous ideas, can pound an entire industry. And it got me to thinking, what would bring the wine industry to its knees?

Certainly a virus or disease named the "Wine Flu" would cause sales to drop, whether or not the virus was aptly named. But unless a particularly virulent and smelly form of Cork Taint can infect a person and make them smell like trichloranisole, I think the industry is safe.

But if you want to worry about a real potential problem, go visit Highway 29 in Napa at noon in the summer. It's bumper to bumper. What happens when a pedestrian gets plowed over by someone driving to their 7th tasting room? What would be the political reaction? What would be the legal reaction. What restrictions would be put on tasting rooms? How would it effect travel to wine country?

Here's a good one. Remember the Tylenol Scare? What if it were the Wine Scare? What if some sick bastard who's dog died and wife had left him decided to do the syringe-through-the-cork in a few different cities in a few different stores? Im guessing a 65% drop in wine sales within 48 hours of it being reported.

What about scandal? What would be the consumer reaction to reports that a number of wineries that labeled their wines "Cabernet Sauvignon" were not in fact using that grape but a much something else? Or if it were reported that a number of wineries that labeled their wines "Napa Valley" or "Sonoma Coast" were actually using Fresno grapes. There would be a reaction by consumers. I guarantee it.

The point is fragility. Markets and economies and industries are fragile and can be disrupted easily and quickly. The saving grace is that while there are often long last repercussions to market disasters, markets, economies and industries are all capable of recovering quickly. Still, let's tale note that the "S" and the "W" are right next to each other on the keyboard.

A Dying Culture's Last Words

The European Community wants to ban the sale  of U.S. wines that carry on their label the terms "Clos", "Chateau", "Vintage", "Vintage Character", and "Classic", among others.

If you ever wanted really good, solid evidence that the European culture was speeding toward insignificance, this trade position just might be it.

There was a time when the Europeans were in the business of imperialism and colonizing. And they were damn good at it too. Sure, they tended to point their colonial and imperial ambitions most successfully at countries that were smaller and less technologically advanced, but still the Europeans were pretty good at being bullies.

One of the primary tactics of the old European colonial impulse was to not just accumulate control of lands and natural resources that belonged to other people, but to leave behind their culture and language. By doing so, an imperial power didn't just enjoy the benefits of raping lands and peoples, but they were able to undermine the indigenous culture and go a long way toward replacing it or overlaying it with their own culture.

This tactic, at least for the European colonialists, made it a heck of a lot easy to do more raping and pillaging of other people's lands and resources in the future, as well as to enjoy a nice holiday without much effort.

Now, the Europeans have not only given up any imperial or colonial ambitions, but they are insisting that their own culture, particularly in the form of language, never be glorified on products that make their way back to the homeland.

Ready for the irony? The European Community must have, at some point, decided that their own home markets were at risk of being raped and pillaged by former colonies who in fact adopted the language that was once imposed upon these colonies by these Europeans.

The process of the European Community banning the use words like "Classic", "Vintage", "Vintage Character", "Chateau" and "Clos" on wine labels is a complicated one that involves intercontinental negotiations, the World Trade Organization, input by Non-Governmental organizations and associations of producers who have skin in the game.

I have no way of knowing this, but my gut tells me that U.S. trade negotiators will eventually cave, forget the obscene silliness of this European demand and agree to accept a ban on American winemakers exporting wine to Europe that have the word "Classic" or "Vintage" or "Chateau" on the label. Already America's own trade associations appear to be caving. You see this when you read the Napa Valley Vintners issuing this statement: "When it comes to the use of words not used to describe a place or an origin, we don't have strong opinions about that."

Maybe it doesn't matter. Maybe it's not necessary to have a strong opinion on the attempted theft of generic terms that have no geographic meaning and no implications for quality or place of origin. But maybe the Napa Valley Vintners and the U.S. trade negotiators know something else. Maybe they've realized that it just doesn't matter what restrictions the EU places foreign wines to be sold in that region of the world since their opposites at the trade table represent a dying culture whose people don't care to buy the wines from America that long ago outpaced their own in terms of quality. Maybe our trade negotiators and associations realized before the Europeans have that it doesn't matter what restrictions a dying culture puts on their counterparts around the world.

A Prohibitionary Moment est passe´

It looks as though the French wine industry and common sense dodged a barrel, according to Decanter

The French National Assembly passed a healthcare law that DID NOT include a ban on alcohol advertising on the Internet and DID NOT ban promotional wine tastings at Chateaux, wine festivals and promotional events. On the other hand, 16 and 17 year olds may no longer buy alcohol.

France is in the midst of what we would call in the United States a "Prohibitionary Moment". Binge drinking and irresponsible use of alcohol has led to a number of problems for that country which in turn has led to some pretty drastic measure taken by the national government.

Among those measures was the interpretation of an elderly, pre-Internet law that did not explicitly allow advertising of wine on the Internet to mean, well, that wine my not be advertised on the Internet. This meant no mention of wine on producer websites and quite possibly no writing about wine on the Internet.

The Internet issue in particular has dogged the French wine industry or a couple years as the anti-alcohol lobby in that great country as become more and more empowered. The vote by the National Assembly, which appears to be followed up by a similar vote by the French Senate, will finally put the threat of blinder-based stupidity, where the Internet and wine is concerned, behind the French Wine Industry.

But it's also important to note that the Health Bill now passed by the National Assembly also originally included a provision that would have banned free promotional tastings, a ban that would have extended to chateaux and wine festivals.

The blow to tourism in wine regions and the blow to the French wine industry that such a ban would have been really isn't calculable. It's a bit like trying to estimate the effect that a ban on the use of spoons would have on the breakfast cereal industry.

I can't see any such threat to common sense here in the States. We still have our blue laws and we still have laws that limit access to wine and delivery of wine. But the danger the French face passed us by about 70 years ago.

On the other hand, the same healthcare bill will raise the age at which one is allowed to buy alcohol from 16 to 18. I can't argue with this. Any age restriction on buying and drinking alcohol is arbitrary. Eighteen seems reasonable to me.

That the French lawmakers were able to stand up to the nonsensical lobbying of the anti-alcohol types means credit is due. And credit is due to those who fought so long and hard against ignorance born of fear.