Mombrier July 8

We are looking forward to a warmer day today. The forecast was 87F but has dropped to 85F. Either would be quite welcome. It was nice sitting in the sun having coffee this morning. For lunch Stuart made hash browns and I fixed the eggs. 

In the early afternoon we drove back into Bourg. This time sans GPS and we made it. That may sound funny but these roads we drive on are narrow, no center line, and only the small towns are marked with a vague suggestion of direction to go. All these little roads have names and numbers, but we see only the numbers (251, 253, etc). Anyway, we made it too and from town with no GPS and feeling pretty accomplished.

At Carrefour we decided to start at the back and walk up and down every single aisle to be sure we saw everything the store had. Sadly, the wine I liked is gone, I will try something new. We splurged and got some Rośe Prosecco to have with a small salad, cheese, and crackers. It was perfect, peaceful and lovely outside tonight. 

We sat outside well after 10p. It stays light very late. As the life around us continues there was a small tractor dusting the vines. There are several nice vineyards near us and also 2-3 that have been abandoned. 

We haven't seen much of Paul and Fanny, which is fine. I think they live pretty busy lives. If we needed something we can contact them. We saw Fanny briefly this morning when she had another large delivery. She is an interior designer or decorator, I can't recall the exact phrase she used. Something Paul told us the other day keep running through my mind. He said many vineyard are being abandoned, people are filing bankruptcy. He has never seen this in his lifetime. Nothing like this was ever mentioned when we visited wineries and other places along the cruise. I'm not exactly sure of all the reasons for this Paul gave, but he said tastes are changing and people are not liking the wines like they used to. 

I did find a few statements online about this:

1) A combination of high inflation rates and reduced spending power, post-pandemic lifestyle changes, global unrest and a lack of consumer confidence has led to a decrease in demand for wine. The resulting surplus has caused prices to fall, putting growers in a precarious economic position and sparking angry protests.

2) Bordeaux bloodbath! France pays winemakers to dig up vines. Red wine consumption in France has declined substantially in recent decades, in favor of beer and other beverages. Winemakers in the prestigious Bordeaux region are set to uproot thousands of hectares of vineyards as altered consumer habits and global warming hit one of the crown jewels of the French agricultural industry. 

3) Given Bordeaux's flagship status in the public's mind, this might seem surprising. Yet a mix of factors — including a decline in red wine consumption, falling demand from China and difficulties in producing wine in an increasingly warm environment — is strikingly transforming wine production in France.