INDUSTRY REPORT French Twist Despite fierce competition and a fluctuating Euro, savvy marketing keeps French wine sales going strong in the U.S. By Roger Morris A mericans have always had a love affair with France’s fabled wines, although, a few gloomy nights in recent years led pessimists to bid adieu to the French wine trade in the U.S. Yet, the prestige of drinking French products has continued to hold steady even with the challenges. And considering all of the growing competition, the French have been exercising their marketing muscle to keep Americans drinking French wine. According to UBIFrance, French export numbers to the U.S., not including Bordeaux and Provence, were down -12.5% in volume the first five months of 2008, compared to the first five months of 2007. However, value was up +1.8% compared to the same time period in 2007. Up until recently, competition was something that threatened French wine popularity stateside. French partisans looked at Australian wines in particular, thanks to their explosive growth in the U.S., as an unstoppable juggernaut capturing both highend media attention and low-end mass sales. Today, Australia is not causing much worry. “Our Australian sales have slowed, especially anything over $20, while our French sales are quite strong, even at the ridiculous Bordeaux futures prices,” says Mark Wessels of MacArthur Beverages in Washington, D.C. Terry Shiple, manager of French wine estates for The Country Vintner importer, agrees. “Australia has run its course,” he says. “Their wines aren’t the bargains they were five years ago.” This year’s sagging American economy does cause a newfound anxiety, though, as sales of French wines have staggered because of the high value of the euro. Yet, the worst may be over, especially for some of the stronger performers. “Bordeaux sales to the U.S. were up 12% in volume and 25% in value during the first five months of this year,” says Pascal Loridon, marketing “Bordeaux sales to the U.S. were up 12% in volume and 25% in value during the first five months of this year. This is the first time in two years that’s happened – in spite of the weak dollar. And that goes across all price categories.” -Pascal Loridon, marketing director of Le Conseil Interprofessionel du Vin de Bordeaux director of Le Conseil Interprofessionel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB). “This is the first time in two years that’s happened – in spite of the weak dollar. And that goes across all price categories.” Since the 21st century, the French wine business has been counted out numerous times, yet it keeps coming back stronger. How do these garçons do it? INDUSTRY REPORT (Far Left) A print ad promoting Rhône wines as the red wine for convivial and informal moments; (Left) Pommery introduced portable Champagne POPs to appeal to the U.S. market. Remaining Strongly Committed to the Market Both personally and professionally, the trade at all levels says that, even in bad times, the American consumer is worth fighting for. Laurent Drouhin, a principal in familyowned Joseph Drouhin, moved his family to New York in 2005 to look after their American business on the ground. “I wanted to be in touch with this market,” he says. “You have a different vision from here. And for Drouhin, the family message is important. That clicks here.” Anabelle Cruse-Bardinet, owner of Château Corbin in St.-Émilion, took classes to improve her English and hired a New York public relations consultant, Anne Riives, so she could meet American buyers and media on their own turf in their own language. “I have tried to increase Corbin’s presence in the United States because it is my leading market,” she says. The commitment has been professional as well. Stephanie Teuwen, who represents Loire Valley Wines in the U.S., says that even when the bottom dropped out during the French boycott resulting from the Iraqi war, the wines did not lose their appeal in the U.S. “We decided to just keep doing what we were doing. Three days after the Iraq war started, we had a media event in New York for Loire wines; it was full.” France’s commitment will continue to stretch into an uncertain future, the regional trade organizations say. In May of this year, the European Union voted to channel funds to member countries to promote French wines in other regions. Anticipating these funds, Arnaud Pignot, general manager of Inter-Rhône, says his group first considered targeting funds to France’s emerging Asian market, but decided instead to direct most of the budget toward the U.S. The CIVB’s Loridon, waiting for the actual distribution to occur, agrees: “I have two budgets for the U.S.; one is double the other.” Improving Quality France’s commitment will continue to stretch into an uncertain future, the regional trade organizations say. In May 2008, the European Union voted to channel funds to member countries to promote French wines in other regions. Anyone who has not visited French vineyards since the turn of the new century may be surprised at how widely improvements have been made. Such practices as dense planting, hedging, leaf plucking and green harvesting – once the province of the premier cru crowd – are now common practice at better lower-classified wineries and many family-run operations. Similar investments have been made in the wineries. Results of this broader quality initiative have been noticed in the wine shops. “I have a strong customer demand for petite châteaux under $40,” says Rick Ostrand, imported wine manager at State Line Liquors in Elkton, MD. “Burgundy sales have been off the charts with the 2005 vintage, and you can get very good values at $20 to $50.” Ted Armbrecht, co-owner of the Wine Shop at Capital Market in Charleston, WV adds, “Customers are seeing the quality and value in wines from the Languedoc, the Rhône Valley and the Loire.” He regularly features French wines with his Terrific Ten Wines for Under $10.99 promotion. Targeting All Levels of Influence “We are approaching the American market in several ways,” says Christine Molines, export manager of Conseil Interprofessionel des Vins du Languedoc (CIVL), a relatively new player in the market. “We are conducting promotional programs in several large retail chains and working with wholesalers. We are also reaching out to press and key influencers.” A “Languedoc Ambassadors Tour,” for example, features 20 representative wines from the region. According to Loridon, the CIVB is now in its fourth year of a media/trade promotion called 100 Top Bordeaux for Under $30, but is also heavily concentrating on promotion programs with large liquor chains such as Spec’s, Liquor World, Benny’s and Costco. “We have conducted more than 200 training seminars for their employees,” he says, “not to teach them how to sell wines, but to educate them about Bordeaux.” Forty CIVB employees in the United States have been trained for this purpose. “We decided we needed to offer the consumer something,” says Julien Camus, president of The French Wine Society, a trade-funded organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., “to have a ‘pull’ rather than a ‘push’ marketing strategy.” Its branches in San Francisco, New York, caption Gérard Bertrand’s vineyards in the Languedoc, a region where many small importers are now flocking. Chicago and Miami regularly host consumer events, and now the organization is spreading its message to wine educators. In October, the group had a three-day wine educator training conference in Washington, with follow-up two-day “teach the teachers” programs in San Francisco, New York and Washington. Furthermore, Inter-Rhône’s U.S.-based ambassador, Daphné Payan, says she attends between 8 to 12 wine festivals a year to pour and promote Rhône wines to consumers. Profiting From Maturing American Tastes Trends reveal Americans are turning away from the New World’s fruit-forward wines, while the French have become more fruit conscious. “People are getting tired of the fruit bombs and are looking for balanced wines with less alcohol and less oak,” says Michaela Rodeno, CEO of Robert Skalli wines in the U.S. “French wines fit that profile perfectly.” She also believes that French wines still carry cachet. “There’s still something ‘oh-la-la’ about them,” she says. “The trend toward thinking about wine in terms of food is also in our favor,” Payan adds. Finally, vintages still count with French wines, and the trade responds to them. “We’ve had a string of very good vintages in Bordeaux, especially the 2005, and there have been great vintages in Burgundy and the Rhône that have pushed sales,” says Country Vintner’s Shiple. Adapting to American Marketing Preferences “We did a survey which showed Americans like to have the grape variety on the label, while we in France believe in terroir – where the grape is grown,” says Inter-Rhône’s Pignot. “So we say, we understand that you want the grape, now let us tell you about terroir. It’s an opportunity for us.” Robert Skalli wines provide a good example. Their labels prominently tell the consumer they’re buying Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir from the “South of France” while the back label carries what traditionally would have been prominent on the front: one is a Vin de Pays d’Oc and the other a Vin de Pays d’Ile de Beauté. Cork alternatives are popping up all across France, even in tradition-oriented Burgundy, where Drouhin uses screwcaps on entry-level wines. Pommery Champagne, meanwhile, introduced its smaller, trendy, portable portions called Pommery Pops a few years ago. Regional slogans and advertising campaigns try to differentiate appellations using American communication methods. Loire is now the place to go for “French Wines with an Attitude,” while Alsace dramatically uncouples itself from French cuisine –“Eat Asian? Drink Alsace!” Laurent Drouhin pretty well sums up the overall French approach: “We want to combine being traditional and being modern.” Developing “Emerging” Regions The South of France was once known as a great pool of “plonk” – undistinguished wine, often blended, sometimes illegally, with wine from higher-end regions. Now wine companies and investors are snapping up property there – it’s cheap and there are few varietal constraints that some traditional appellations require. The Bordelaise Cazes family of Château Lynch-Bages and Michel Lynch Wines from the Rhône Valley offer quality at value prices, making them ideal for “best buy” promotions. wines, for example, purchased 370 acres in the Minervois region of Languedoc in 2002 and are now producing an upscale, Syrahdominated blend called L’Ostal Cazes. “Provence is a real success story, especially with its rosés,” says Serge Lozach, director of the American arm of Sopexa, the French wine marketing group. “Its sales are up 40% this year.” Small importers, looking for a new wine that no one else has, are flocking to Languedoc and Provence the way they once did to Burgundy and Alsace. And the competition is getting intense, MacArthur’s Wessells says. “If a guy comes in to show me a new wine from the south of France, it better be good,” he notes, “because the guy behind him will probably have a good one.” Learning to Play With Others In most regions, winemakers are abandoning the traditional “every vintner for himself” marketing approach in favor of “a rising tide raises all ships” one. In the Loire, Teuwen points out, three different wine associations pooled their efforts and even allowed lesser-known appellations a place in the limelight. In a “Sancerre and friends” approach to selling Loire Sauvignon Blancs, promotions don’t just favor “Sancerre which Americans know and sells for $24-$25,” she says, “but we tell them about Quincy, which sells for about $16.” Bordeaux CIVB’s Top 100 affordable wines also features product from lesser-known regions. Courting the “Millennials” Unlike older American drinkers who grew up on French basics before personally discovering New World wines, the “Millennials” INDUSTRY REPORT Nicolas Boissenau, who reaches out to “Millenials” with his blog for Robert Skalli. – roughly, those born after 1980 – have no such history or biases. “The “Millenials” are not afraid of anything,” Skalli’s Rodeno proclaims, and her Skalli is out to capture them with what she calls “discovery wines.” As a result, Skalli has employed a different type of brand ambassador, 25-year-old Nicolas Boisseneau. Boisseneau comes from a Bordeaux winegrowing family, and Skalli has set him up to blog across America at www.nicolasdiscoversamerica.com, discussing his travels with people of a similar age while extolling the virtues of Skalli wines. Pamela Wittman’s Millissime Ltd. represents another Nicolas – Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne. “It’s a young brand itself, barely 30 years old,” she explains, “so we’ve always gone after a younger audience.” That includes events like sponsoring a party for a hip New York hair salon. Wittman also notes Champagne plays by different rules than most other French appellations. “It’s a category by itself,” she says. “Many consumers don’t consider it a French wine, plus Champagne has always spent a lot of money on brand promotion; it knows how to adapt to markets.” “The Millennial generation is looking for variety and authenticity,” says InterRhône’s Payan, “and they’re coming back to wine’s European roots.” Making Wine Personal It wasn’t that long ago that the attitude of most French producers was, “We won’t come to see you, and we certainly don’t want you to visit us.” Now, winemakers are constantly flying across the Atlantic to meet trade and consumers in major U.S. cities, and the theme that resonates with many American consumers. Olivier Portet, import director for Wilson Daniels, says that sales of biodynamic Alsace producer Marc Kreydenweiss, for example, have grown over 100% over last year. “The wines are particularly popular on the East Coast and in California,” he points out. All regions of France now have major biodynamic wineries. “The Millennial generation is looking for variety and authenticity, and they’re coming back to wine’s European roots.” -Daphné Payan, Inter-Rhône châteaux in Bordeaux are alive with dinner parties for Americans during the primeurs barrel tastings every April and at VinExpo every other year. Journalists, importers, distributors and major retailers are urged not to bother with hotels but to sleep over in châteaux. Additionally, wine tourism in all regions is rapidly growing in France, either via formal, Napa-style touring companies, or with old-fashioned introductions of consumers to wine producers via retailers. Catherine Lepartmentier-Dayot heads the Bordeaux office of Great Wine Capitals, a league of cities that are adjacent to the world’s great vineyards. “We promote wine awareness, and we share each region’s best practices in promoting wine tourism,” she says. For the past six years, Bordeaux has thrown a consumer wine festival that lasts four days and rivals any American-based event. Partly as a result of efforts by Loire-based winegrower Nicolas Joly, France has been the world leader in producing green wines, those that are biodynamic or organic – a The New Challenge Ahead But, as always, there are clouds on the French horizon, and one storm that goes beyond the high-flying euro is brewing over the Bordeaux futures prices. “Sante Fe is iconoclastic enough that wine sales actually went up during the French boycott,” says Susan Eagan, general manager of Susan’s Fine Wine & Spirits in that city. “But now I am personally appalled at the prices of Bordeaux. I don’t even look at selling my customers futures anymore.” Across the country in Maryland, State’s Line Ostrand echoes the sentiment. “Bordeaux classified growths no longer make economic sense for a store like ours,” he says. “We have to invest too much up front if we want to buy first tranche [offering].” Whether this trade pushback represents simply a market shift or a market threat is too early to tell. Importers are famous for lecturing châteaux owners during primeurs week on the dire consequences of price gouging. Earlier this year during one such conversation, led by two importers over dinner at a well-regarded, third-growth château, the owner held up his hand to slow the onslaught. “We hear you,” he smiled, “we hear you.” It might take a vintage or two, and perhaps some messy repercussions, for the message to really get through, but most likely he and his fellow vintners will eventually listen and learn – and another French wine crisis will have been overcome. n
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