Bordeaux aims at U.S

Wines & Vines, Sept, 2003

The Bordeaux Wine Council has launched an extensive marketing campaign in the United States and has also hired a noted humanitarian activist to counter the informal boycott of French wine in the wake of the Iraq war, which was opposed by the French government.

Dr. Bernard Kouchner has been brought in to talk to the media about how the U.S. and France can establish a lasting peace in Iraq. He is a popular politician in France. Over the course of his 20-year political career, he has held several government posts, most recently serving as France's Minister of Health. He is also the founder of Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) and Medecins Du Monde (Doctors of the World), two world-renowned humanitarian aid organizations.

The Bordeaux campaign is aimed at regular wine drinkers between the ages of 25 and 49, both male and female, with a household income of $80,000-plus. The major thrust will be a print ad campaign to break this month (September) in upscale national magazines including Conde Nast Traveler, Saveur, Yachting, Atlantic Monthly, Golf and the New Yorker. The campaign is designed to convey the pleasure and passion inspired by Bordeaux wines. The tagline is: "Bordeaux Fine Wines. Be Seduced."

There also will be sales promotions in supermarkets, wine retailers and key hotel and restaurant chains and a public relations campaign, "Slow Dating," the idea being that just as it takes time to make wine, love also cannot be rushed.

The Bordeaux campaign aside, the question remains: Just how much has the unsanctioned boycott hurt French wine sales? The Gomberg Fredrikson Report for May shows French bottled still wines down only 2% from the same time last year, although there was a 22% drop in the month of May. However, Spanish imports were down 10% in May and Spain was an ally in the war. Oddly enough, French sparkling wine sales were up 11% in May and 14% for the year.

At Vinexpo, Roland Feredj, head of the Bordeaux Interprofessional Wine Council, said, "Over the past two months we've seen a fall of practically 25%, and that's worrying."