NY Times takes an unflattering look at Spain's wine industry

[Robin Garr]

Spain’s Wine Industry Is Hiccuping From Its Excesses
The country developed a talent for producing wine in bulk, but overproduction is sinking both prices and the reputation of Spanish vintners. ...

While Spain’s producers churned out vast quantities of wine, some began to reconsider whether sheer volume was the best strategy, as overproduction sank both prices and the country’s wine reputation.

Full story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/29/world ... il0=y&_r=0

That's a very interesting article which completes my understanding of the recent upsurge of anger in French wine circles about cheap Spanish imports. Commandos of vignerons in Languedoc are taking the law into their own hands by stopping Spanish registered tankers on the motorways and emptying their contents onto the tarmac if they don't like them. The excuse used is that the "Spanish" wine concerned may actually come from South America but in the light of this article that sounds implausible. IMO nothing excuses such breeches on the spirit and letter of EU law but there is a long tradition of extralegal protest in France which the authorities tolerate most of the time when it is aimed at foreigners .

Up to now there has been no clarity about precisely where all this cheap Spanish plonk is going but soon it is likely to be tracked. Expect then a new scandal, with legal weight behind it, about Spanish plonk masquerading as Vin de France, Vin de Pays and even AOP wine.