L ike many Bordeaux vintners, Bastien Mercier expanded his vineyard to meet what seemed to be an unquenchable thirst for his wine. He bought some land, rented some more and took on two employees to help with the workload. Now, however, both have been laid off as a slump in demand for red wines has taken hold, for Bordeaux in particular, that has precipitated the gravest crisis in the region since the 1970s.
“We are all in the merde ,” Mercier said as he explained how he planned to replace 25 hectares of his vines with Christmas trees, paulownias, cereal crops and solar panels. His words offered an insight into the harsh reality behind the façade of luxury and wealth in Bordeaux. More than 1,300 of.