"James Silverton" wrote ..........
>
> Does the lifetime quoted betray a lack of confidence given
> the ages of many available French wines?
>

Jim, I mulled this over for a day or two while I considering your comment,
then a response.

A shall make a couple of points:

Having now clocked up nearly 45 years as a wine drinker, and having
traversed the scale from teen totter, to enthusiastic amateur to
professional (marketer) within the industry to educated enthusiast, it is my
considered opinion that nothing has done as much to inform and educate the
novice buyer/consumer than the advent of the back label on bottles.

And while the educated buyer has no need, this has now become, IMESHO, the
most powerful influencer in respect to the buying / drinking decision.

I have spent thousands of hours in hundreds of wine retail outlets around
the world, and while I shall restrict this comment to English speaking
countries, I have never been in one shop where a customer did not pick up a
bottle and read the back label, before either putting the bottle back on the
shelf, or into the shopping basket.

I know from experience, when the winery started putting descriptive back
labels on our wines, sales tripled !!!

And I for one, applaud wine producers, large or small, who have the wisdom
and foresight to communicate with the end user.

And consider this, it is an accepted fact that upwards of 90% of all wine
sold, is consumed within 24 hours.

So, why not inform the buyer that the wine is ready to "drink now" or "will
reach optimum drinking in 5/10/20 years"?

And I would have thought that this is particularly relevant in the USA where
the number of wine drinkers is still in the low single figure %.

"Demystify the product - and double the sales" would sound like a pretty
good marketing strategy to me.

I shall pick you up on another point you made.

I live in New Zealand. How do you know the age and availability of any
French Wines here - or in any other market?

(In the case of NZ and Australia, it is negligible)

Even within the USA? How conversant are you with the stocking situation in
Omaha, Nebraska or Bakersfield, Ca?

What about Butte, Montana or Springfield, Illinois?

My point is that *you* as an educated consumer and enthusiast in Potomac,
may not need such information, but your neighbour, venturing forth into this
world-of-wine which so captivates you and I, just may appreciate all the
guidance and direction he can get, from whatever source.

With the greatest of respect (and I mean it, James) I find your comment
rather "elitist".

Regards from springtime downunder.

st.helier