Gone are the days when the French were so sure of their supremacy they merely laughed at Australian wines. Today, most of the wine sold here is produced in Australia, and exports are growing. In liquor shops, French wines are confined to a small corner at the back along with other foreign bottles. But the other week there was a promotion on this one. I was startled to read the label: The Arrogant Frog. Well, how's that for self-depreciating humour? These French know how to speak to foreigners. What do you think of it?
9 comments:
N,
We have this wine on our shelves too. I bought a bottle just for the label. My family live in Lexington, KY, USA. We drink French wine exclusively. We buy the big bottles of the various types made by "Fortant". Recently they have jazzed up their bottles with a lovely painted on illustration and it is so decorative we display it permanently.
We've migrated to Australian and Canadian wines. They are now as good as the old world wines. I know that is sacreligious, but it's true. I will have to try this one.
There's an Australian Wine named Roaring Meg that's sitting in our 'sellar' now. Last year a Nelson winery, Kahurangi Estate, tried to market their wine named Kiwi Gold in Europe, and was told that over there, someone else has the rights to use the word 'Kiwi' so Kahurangi couldn't; their loss, Kahurangi had a sale here, (which we MISSED!!!)
I love Bandrock Station. Will have to find this one in my local supermarket.
I've no sympathy in relation to "Kiwi" being copyrighted by a non-N.Z. group. Not satisfied with takinging the Chinese Gooseberry and trying to block others from using the name "Kiwi Fruit", they've now stolen the Australian Waratah, and are passing it off as the Kiwi Rose.
It's been suggested that this is solely because they have difficulty with words containing more than four letters; but even if this were shown to be true, it's still not an adequate excuse. Although it might hrlp to explain why the our Australian Four X Beer (XXXX) has done so well in the shaky isles?
Lorsque je suis à l'étranger, je suis frappée de voir que les vins français ont bien souvent disparu des rayons des magasins et des cartes des restaurants au profit des vins australiens, américains, chiliens et argentins, pour ne citer qu'eux...Peut-être les producteurs français ont-ils été trop longtemps les seuls et se sont-ils imaginé que personne ne pourrait jamais les détrôner? Cela semble arriver souvent à l'export malheureusement, il nous faudrait sans doûte en tirer des leçons d'humilité?
i love your photos, sidney must be pretty.
That's pretty funny - haven't seen that label before!
I just wouldn't know what French wine to buy. When living in England we used to enjoy Chateauneuf du Pape.
I must plead ignorance of French wines. We lived in the Northern California wine region for so long, I only paid attention to local offerings. There were plenty of knowledgable wine merchants in the area who could have advised on lovely French wines (our neighborhood was known as "the goumet ghetto") but I never exposed myself. Now that we've moved to Washington state, there is a whole other regional winescape here. I notice that Australian wines are quite popular here with those in the know, and I've purchased a couple types that we've enjoyed. Now, can any of your French visitors recommend a reasonably priced exported favorite red wine to try with a meal? I should take the plunge!
-Kim
PS- N., Thanks so much for your comments at SDP. Your critques are always highly prized when you are able to visit. I love your specificity and suggestions and opinons. You really look at other's work and offer valuable feedback. Thank you for that! -K.
-Kim
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