The Week in Alcohol

First they supported the Hutu in Rwanda and now this The government of France is now advising its citizens not to drink wine. "The Ministry of Health has published guidelines which advise, 'The consumption of alcohol, and especially wine, is discouraged.' " In other news, the majority opinion of the civilization that gave us the Maginot Line is that wine poses a risk to health


For a start, they're both better taken in drunk "Terre d'Asti, a promotional body representing the Asti region in northern Italy, has launched Wine & Passion, an international literature competition to promote Grignolino d'Asti wine. The Italian trade body is looking for writers to come up with the most original literary work on the affinities between the Grignolino grape and football..."


So they must be just ecstatic about their government's latest health guidelines Champagne sales dropped nearly 5% in 2008, drawing a sour-grapes reaction from industry representatives. "Ghislain de Montgolfier, co-president of Champagne trade body the CIVC, said continuous growth and a record year in 2008 were 'too much' for the region. 'The fall is a good thing: our purpose was to decrease sales by 2% at the start of 2008. ' "


The "Domaine de Bernard Madoff" label should have been a giveaway Millions of bottles of wine from France falsely labeled as Pinot Noir were sold in the US over the last several years. "According to southern French newspaper La Depeche, the fraudulent wine was sold by winemakers and cooperatives to the negociant which in turn sold the wine to Sieur d'Arques for export to the US. It is not clear at which stage the fraud occurred. Citing an informant, the newspaper said the profit margins for those concerned were 'huge'. Pinot Noir fetches double the standard price for red wine from the region."


The rain of frogs at harvest didn't help the 2008 vintage either Gloom and Doom about Bordeaux is pouring in from all directions: Sales dropped more than 30% in the last 5 months of 2008; The Vintage Wine Investment Fund dropped 30% of its 100m Euro value; Chateau Latour is being dumped by its owner, the Luxury goods group PPR; Publicly traded funds like the International Wine Investment fund are off by as much as 85%; and the worldwide recession is destroying the market for the high-priced luxury cuvees as bankers spit into the outstretched hands of former billionaire hedge-fund managers everywhere