Let it be said, on the record, that when it comes to economics I am a free-market advocate with several caveats, some of those being:
1) Producers must be paid a wage that allows them to feed and house their family well, and provide them further economic opportunities. 2) Regulation of the product if said product has a low to moderate probability of harming consumers if it were to go unregulated. I mention the above, as I'm about to discuss globalization and the wine industry, and it's best to understand my perspective so you know where my biases are. There is a wonderful article from the German Magazin Der Speigel, entitled In Vino Vilitas with the by line "European Wine Fighting for Survival". The article shows the state of the European Winemaking community from several perspectives, many of which make it difficult to choose whom one should cheer for or against. I say the above words with difficulty, because part of me likes the tradition of wine, often more than the wine itself. I like to sit in front of a fireplace with a glass of wine and play online casino. Therefore when you have the French wineries upset because there are non-French wineries that deliver a consistent product using non-traditional methods(read American methods), it's difficult to feel sorry for them. It's even more difficult to feel sorry for them when their own population is turning away from their wine tradition. And yet, I can't cheer for the new companies either, who have no problem with developing a postmodern French wine mythology in order to take advantage of the non-European consumer's ignorance of what French Wine has meant in the past. In reading the following paragraph from Der Spiegel, I couldn't help but feel as if these companies love to patronize to their audience. Not only do I find the above patronizing, but also offensive to those who know a fair amount of French history, or at least a bit of the book by Dumas. From my own perspective there are several points which every company needs to understand, specifically in the global economy.
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