KEY POINTS:
There is a declining wine market in France, according to Jean-Claude Mas, the 2006 International Entrepreneur of the Year for southern France.
"We shoot ourselves in the foot. The politics of wine is frustrating and stupid, we are too apathetic and arrogant... I blame 20 years of a
35-hour week and serious socialism - it's madness."
The soft-spoken Frenchman looks like an earnest adult student or young professor majoring in existentialism and post-modern European art at the Sorbonne.
He is neither. He represents the new breed of French wine producer from what has long been regarded as the most
obscure, backward and inconsequential wine region in France, the Languedoc Roussillon. Probably the site of France's first vineyards, its reputation was largely based on quantity not quality.
In the modern era, its penchant for cheap table wines has seen it become a major casualty of fashion. Worse, in France bad reputations die slowly.
All this is changing. As wine prices elsewhere in France lurch into the stratosphere, and as the new breed of winemakers seek to sweep clean the Languedoc's hangdog look, suddenly they're becoming fashionable and affordable.
As Mas observes, "The potential in Languedoc is huge. Too much planting wasn't very good, we can do better."
His current mantra - "proud to be French, but daring to be different" - has seen the release in New Zealand of a cleverly marketed series of wines, the Arrogant Frog. It's a fun wine with modern, appealing packaging and tongue stuck firmly in cheek. Not the finest French wine you'll ever taste, but well made and extremely well priced, and likely to be the talk of the table. Already 250,000 cases have been made.
"The wine is called Arrogant Frog because we have been arrogant and we do eat frogs' legs, but the wines demonstrate the consumer is our friend no matter what the arrogant frog thinks," says Mas. "It's old world wine with new world attitude."
It is already a runaway success in the US and Australia and is available at Glengarry's and specialist wine stores here. He does not mention the Rugby World Cup. I do not mention the Rainbow Warrior.
RECOMMENDED
2007 Arrogant Frog Ribet Red
A blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot with a deep, rich colour. Earthy, mushroomy, woody nose which is soft and easy on the palate.
Price: $17-20
2007 Arrogant Frog Ribet White
Mainly chardonnay with 25 per cent viognier, this is an interesting blend; dry and slightly austere with lemon aftertaste. Strong oak influence. Refreshing.
Price: $17-20