I didn't think the French had given the Polish the right to work.

There is a wonderful French concept called "concurrance déloyale" Disloyal Competition.

Basically you are not allowed to compete with existing businesses, by cutting prices, working harder etc.

Re French wine production,

I was speaking to an importer who handles about 6 small wineries in Southern France, and he told me that one of the contributors to the problem is that the State guarantees a minimum price for grapes, even if there isn't a chance that they could be sold in a competitive market.

This allows a not negligible number of French farmers to grow really bad grapes, but make a profit doing it.

That the French have gone into the high-end vodka business shows that they are not completely insensitive to world markets.

>Basically you are not allowed to compete with existing businesses, by cutting prices, working harder etc.<

That's not a concept limited to the French, particularly when it comes to alcohol.

About Grey Goose, there is a story about Sidney Frank, who started the brand, and how he strategized the marketing campaign. The main point was that he decided to price the product a few dollars higher than Absolut with the idea that sales would be better if people perceived that he was offering premium product. Sidney Frank was a genius. He died recently.
One of the great old time liquor guys here in New York:

http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/bizfin...eatures/10816/

This is why I just drink wine out of a box--it is convenient and cheap. Even the Queen prefers Mateus Rose to Calon Segur.

Which queen?

> with the idea that sales would be better if people perceived that he was offering premium product.<

"No one ever lost money underestimating the intelligence of the American public", or words to that effect, by someone or other.

Realize that "Bordeaux" and "Burgundy" are not the premium appellations in those regions. Quite the opposite; AOC Bordeaux is the lowest level of distinction, indicating all the parts of the greater Bordeaux area that are not part of the elite AOCs in the Medoc, Graves, etc. on down. There are 57 appellations in Bordeaux, and "AOC Bordeaux" is the lowest. The same holds true for Burgundy, Cotes du Rhone, etc. etc.

Not that they are all bad wines; you can find excellent value for money from some of the less famous areas. But few of the "tears brought to the eyes" will be shed over vines of any age or quality.

Overproduction at the low end of the scale is not exclusive to the French, but the French are handicapped in that market by their high costs. The massive industrialized production of places like Australia, and the new marketing influence of businesses like Trader Joe's and "Two Buck Chuck" are guaranteed to produce more upheavals in the years to come.