Loire Wine Hits New Low

Filed in archive French Wines on February 13, 2007

News has it that France continues to struggle when it comes to get it's wine out into other markets. The latest issue his with Loire Valley wine, which has seen a slump in sales to the UK, one of its long time customers who can boast of drinking wine from this region since 1154 when Henry II, Duke of Anjou, became King of England.

From Loire Valley Wine Sales Decline in U.K., Biggest Export Market:

Wines from the Loire Valley, France's third-biggest winemaking region, lost ground in Britain, their main export market, as sales of reds and roses fell.

Shipments of wines from the area to the U.K. declined 3 percent by volume and 2 percent by value in the first 11 months of 2006, according to data released by export agency Ubifrance at this month's Loire wine fair in Angers.

The drop follows a broader decline in french wine exports to Britain, where consumers are buying more full-bodied varieties such as New World Chardonnay or Shiraz. Loire wines have been drunk in Britain since Henry II, Duke of Anjou, became King of England in 1154.

``Maybe we're moving a little away from the taste of the market,'' said Thierry Guertin, wine maker at Cellier de la Verrine in Vouvray. A specialist in still and sparkling whites, he sells only 5,000 to 8,000 bottles of his annual 200,000 production in Britain.

The French region stretches more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) along the Loire River from the vineyards of Sancerre and Pouilly, near northern Burgundy, to the Atlantic coast where Muscadet is grown. In between are the whites of the Touraine and Vouvray, the reds of Chinon, Bourgeuil and Saumur, the roses of Anjou and the sweet dessert wines of the Coteaux du Layon.

Sales to the U.K. of Loire reds and roses, grouped together in the Ubifrance data, fell 18 percent in the 11-month period. Saumur and Saumur-Champigny were particularly hard hit, falling 68 percent, while sales of Chinon reds and roses increased 46 percent by volume and Sancerres gained 40 percent.

Image from Loire River