»Log In»Customer Care»Subscribe
Wine Ratings  Site   
Wine Ratings|Editors' Picks|Articles|Collecting|Blogs|Video|Learn Wine|Dining & Travel|Forums|Shop|For the Trade|Help
News & Features|Tasting Reports|Wine & Health|In the Newest Issue|Magazine Archives

Home > Articles > News > Wine Bottle Shortage Hits French Producers

Wine Bottle Shortage Hits French Producers

Europe’s two major glass manufacturers are drawing wine-industry criticism—and claims of collusion

Diana Macle
Posted: Monday, July 16, 2007

A growing number of French wine producers say they're facing a bottle shortage, which would cause hiccups in their typically well-planned operations. The two major glass manufacturers in Europe—BSN-Glasspack and Saint Gobain—say the current inability to produce enough wine bottles to meet demand is a passing phase that will be resolved by September at the latest. But wine producers remain concerned—and skeptical.

"At first we had problems ordering transparent bottles for our rosés, then there was a green bottle shortage, followed by a stock outage of light-weight varieties," said a spokesperson for Languedoc merchant house Bessière. "As a result, we've had to bear the cost of marketing low-end brands in expensive packaging to deliver our products."

The manufacturers claim the shortfall has been brought about by the breakdown of two furnaces, strikes early this year at Saint Gobain and unexpected springtime sales of rosé, leading to unprecedented increases in orders for clear bottles. But they say they will be caught up again soon.

"Our factories will continue running during the month of August to reconstitute our stocks, when many bottling lines stop for the holidays," said a Saint Gobain spokesperson who did not want their name used. "At present, we're filling 95 percent of our orders. Only a few items aren't available, requiring our clients to postpone their bottling schedule by a couple of days."

Some members of the wine industry, however, believe the shortage is merely a taste of things to come. "Glass manufacturers have decided to keep their stock down to a strict minimum and are reducing their range of bottles," said Alain Sichel, President of the Union des Maisons de Bordeaux. "They will only produce special items when they have a big order from several customers, making it complicated for marketers to use original colors or screw caps, for example," he explained.

But glass manufacturers feel that wineries have only themselves to blame, as they are largely responsible for the consolidation of the market in the first place. "When there were many suppliers, they were at the mercy of their clients, which ultimately led to the smaller players going out of business," said Didier Rica, marketing manager for Saverglass, a medium-size glass packaging manufacturer.

The wine industry isn't accepting the explanation or the blame, especially one of France's top producers, Michel Chapoutier, who is also president of the Union des Maisons du Rhône. "BSN-Glasspack and Saint Gobain used to systematically offer us better deals than their competitors," he said. "Today they are trying to frighten us so we'll accept price increases." Chapoutier has suggested that French merchants join forces to invest in their own furnace to break free from what he described as an "illicit cartel."

In the meantime, the only immediate alternative for wine producers ready to bottle (but lacking the glass to do so), is to order bottles from suppliers outside of the European Union. Some wineries said they are considering importing bottles from as far away as Moldavia, east of Romania.

The shortage arrives at a bad time for French wine merchants, many of which are quickly bottling their 2005 and 2006 offerings due to poor weather conditions that are leaving producers uncertain about the quality of the 2007 crop to be harvested this fall.

Back to top

Currently on Wine Spectator Online:


   
   
   
   
     

Advertisement