Grubbing-up of vines questioned

On 1 August, the EU reform of the winemaking sector comes into force. It contains, notably, a financial incentive to grub-up vines. Some 175,000 hectares are affected in Europe. In France 80% of the grubbing-up will be done in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. Under the pretext of addressing European overproduction Europe wants to use these measures – unpopular in the wine-growing regions – to make the sector concentrate on wines of quality so as to be able to compete with New World wines. What is not mentioned is that European wines are currently suffering the effects of a strong euro. The repercussions are considerable for those small-scale producers battling to gain decent prices.