A Great Year?

When French Agriculture Minister Edgard Pisani walked into a Cabinet meeting at the Elysee last week, he had some very special news for his colleagues. Said Pisani: "Buy a couple of barrels of the 1964 vintage to lay down. It will be as great as 1921." Since 1921 was one of the great vintage years of the century for French wine (along with '29, '47, '53), that news was just too good to keep. Pisani's tip-off to the Cabinet quickly got out, raising both hopes and controversy.

Pisani knows something about wine; he grows grapes on eight acres of Chateau de Target in the Loire district and produces a tender, perfumed Champigny that some connoisseurs call "the Beaujolais of the Loire." But many wine experts felt that his prediction was premature, might artificially drive up prices. After all, August could turn out to be rainy or too hot, neither of which would be good for the grapes.

Nonetheless, with a little luck Pisani's prediction will come true. One of the results of France's warm summer, blessed by just enough sunshine so far, is that the grapes have matured nicely and should be ready for harvest in September, considerably earlier than usual. Now the vintners have only to pray for another five weeks of good weather.

In any case, volume will be high this year--1.5 billion gallons, worth about $660 million--and that fact alone should prevent prices from rising excessively. A good crop would be welcome news for the government, which has had trouble with the vintners after a superb but slim harvest in 1961 and a nondescript yield last year. "It would be wonderful to have a great even year," said one grower, mindful of the curious fact that only in odd years since World War I has France produced superb vintages.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.