Macron as ‘Ambassador’ of Bacchus
The newly elected President of France Emmanuel Macron reportedly is a connoisseur of French wines, which is a splendid news for wine lovers in the 5th Republic, and around the world. Decanter, the UK reputable wine journal, claimed Macron appears to be not only a wine lover but a skilled enthusiast with serious blind-tasting skills.
Macron’s appreciaton of oenology is a crucial factor for the status of wines because previously French presidents were not overwhelmingly supportive of the viticultre. Nicholas Sarkozy was actively antagonistic to France’s world-leading wine industry, notorious for his abstinence, while another, Jacques Chirac, openly preferred Mexican beer ‘Corona’ to wines. The last president who actively supported French wine as an export industry was François Mitterrand in last millenium (!).
In the run-up to the election, French magazine Terre de Vins filmed a series of videos with Macron flaunting his blind tasting skills, concluding the show with a autoproclamation as a ‘wine is an ambassador’ for the country.
Macron correctly identified two of three unidentified samples: a Bordeaux Blanc and a Côteaux d’Aix en Provence rosé. His only miss came in identifying a Château Pape-Clément 2005 as being from Pauillac, not Pessac-Léognan.
Vineyards Magazine 