Champagne's complex commerce 3:31

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French regulators are considering drastic steps to meet increasing worldwide demand for the region's bubbly beverage.

It's said that children of this country are baptized Christian with water and French with a drop of champagne. But only in this part of east central France can you legally produce sparkling wine and bottle-light champagne. This land, just 83,000 acres in all, is a precious asset. For decades, the size and location of vineyards which can be used to produce champagne has been strictly controlled. But demand is increasing worldwide especially from Russia and China. So for the first time ever, the region's wine regulators have decided to reexamine exactly which fields can carry the appellation, the name "champagne".

There is here a plot, a piece of land, which is not planted. And for a reason that I don't know, the owners haven't been allowed to plant. He has not the appellation. So the experts will go and visit this area and will probably decide to give the appellation to that plot.

It's a classically French exercise. After all, the Pomerol, (柏美洛(Pomerol)该区产地约只占波尔多的百分之三左右，真是『物以稀为贵』。如果说『红酒巨钻』是罗曼尼．康帝，至于抢占第二宝座荣耀的应当属于法国波尔多的柏美洛(Pomerol)地区的代表作『彼德绿堡』(Chateau Petrus)。)the area where a certain vine is grown, still provokes local rivalry, and the decision to reclassify ordinary farmland here can be like striking gold.

If a parcel of land meets 33 different physical and historical criteria, and that seize a law reasonable at believing that if you can grow champagne grapes here, you can't grow champagne grapes there.

If a parcel of land like this one does meet all the criteria that need the increase in value could be phenomenal. According to some estimates, a piece of property like this might sell for 200 times its present worth.

But this is a tale of two vintages. In the south of France they wish they had champagne dilemma. Here the problem for some winemakers is lots of wine and not such good quality, too much international competition and increasingly less wine consumption by their countrymen. So while a national governing board will not touch the grand cru, the top wines, it is recommending changes that may force thousands of acres of poor quality vineyards out of production. Someone could get hurt.

I think that will happen but again, er, it’s better to have in the business, maybe less people that are very motivated, very concerned by the job, instead of having people that you must help until their retirement.

In the village of Montesson near Bordeaux, everyone from the mayor on down is concerned about what they call here "the crisis". In the past few years, some winemakers have taken government payments to uproot their vines, and the mayor worries his community will change. His maps show how urban it is already. And more empty land is a temptation to developers. He doesn't want his rural community to go the same way as others nearby. One of his concerns is the Chateau Peron Simon. The Simons have six acres of vineyards which have produced wine for three generations, but now the couple is getting close to retirement with only the hope their 14-year-old grandson might run the vineyard one day, but nothing is sure.

If things were going well in the vineyards, it would probably be different.

Of course, and there would be more people in the family wanting to take over.

And so while some in champagne country may soon be toasting a good fortune elsewhere just finding a way to continue making wine in some of the lesser known vineyards is not easy.

Jim Bittermann, CNN, Montesson, France.

文本参考中文翻译

法国调控者正在考虑措施来增加世界范围对该地区香槟饮料的需求。

据说这个国家的孩子以水来洗礼，而法国人还要加一滴香槟。但是只有在法国的中东部地区才可以合法生产瓶装香槟。这个小岛总占地面积只有83，000英亩，是非常宝贵的资产。几十年来，用来生产香槟的葡萄园的面积和位置都受到严格控制。但是，世界范围尤其是俄罗斯和中国的需求急剧增加。所以，有史以来第一次，该地区的酒类调控者决定开始重新审查那些土地可以担此重任，生产香槟。

这里有一个点，一块土地，没有种植任何作物。可能有着不为人知的原因，该土地的所有者不允许被种植任何东西。他没有许可证。所以，专家们讲去参观这个地方，可能会决定为这块地命名。

这是古典的法国式的做法。这个种植特定的葡萄的地方仍然会引起当地的竞争，而对普通农田进行重新分类就像淘金一样。

如果这样一块土地可以满足33项不同的物理和历史标准，这里有一个法律规定，你可以在这里种植用于制造香槟的葡萄，而不可以在那里种植。如果像这样一块土地满足所有的条件，那么这块土地的增值是惊人的。根据一些评估，像这样的一块土地的售价可能增长到目前价格的200倍。

但是这是个关于两种酒的故事。在法国南部，他们希望他们陷入香槟困境。这里的问题是，有些香槟制造商制造大量的酒类，而质量却不怎么高，国际竞争非常激烈，而且本国对酒水的消费下降。所以国家政府部门一般不会碰这种高级的酒水，他们在考虑让数千英亩的低质量的葡萄园停止生产。有些人的利益可能会受到损害。

我认为会有这种情况发生，但是，最好还是能让他们继续经营，因为这里的人不是那么有动力，如果停止生产，他们会为工作担忧。所以不要等到他们退休之后再想办法去帮他们。

在波尔多葡萄酒附近的Montesson村，自市长而下的每一个人都为他们所谓的“危机”感到担忧。在过去的几年里，有一些酒类制造商已经拿到政府的补贴，将自己的葡萄连根拔起。市长担心他的社区会发生变化。地图显示，他的领地已经非常城市化。更多的空地对开发商也是一个诱惑。他不希望郊区也像附近的一些地区一样被城市化。他担心的其中一件事情就是Chateau Peron Simon。Simon拥有六英亩葡萄地，已经生产力三代葡萄酒。但是现在这对夫妇即将退休，他们唯一的希望是他们14岁的孙子将来可以经营葡萄园，但是什么都说不定。

如果葡萄园情况良好，可能会有所不同。

当然，家庭中会有更多的人希望接管葡萄园。

当一些制造香槟的国家为了财路而寻找新的途径制造香槟时，有些人知道，经营葡萄园并不是那么容易的事情。