Stardate 20040624.1825

(On Screen): Agence France-Press reports that French wine sales in the US are significantly down.

French wine producers need to radically rethink the way they package and market wines to US consumers if they hope to stem the decline in their share of the multi-billion dollar US wine market, a panel of industry experts said here.

Sales of French wine has been held back by confusion over the type of wine being sold, perceptions that the wine is over-priced, and an inability to distinguish between the hundreds of different brands on the market, said panelists during a seminar at Vinexpo Americas 2004, a wine trade fair being held in Chicago.

The article then proceeds to identify the reasons for the decline: the rise in the Euro relative to the dollar, and confusing labeling and branding.

The article doesn't contain any acknowledgement that some of the decline might be due to political backlash by ordinary Americans. It is apparently inconceivable that some American wine-drinkers might be consciously boycotting French wine because of France's foreign policy.