Hugh Johnson brands Mosel bridge plan ‘folly and desecration’
Sunday 13 September
You don’t expect to see graffiti daubed on a vineyard wall in the Mosel but in the historic vineyards of Urziger Wurzgarten, there it is for all the boat-tripping pensioners to see: ‘The Mosel is crying. Education not bridges!’
So why have the Mosel locals taken up graffiti art?
Work on a needless road bridge across the Mosel has begun, costing 270 million euros (that figure is according to the German government - opponents believe the final figure will be closer to 500m euros). The 160-metre-high bridge will run across the Mosel from the village of Urzig connecting to new four-lane motorway above some of the best Riesling vineyards in the world.
The road will run on a ridge above the famous vineyards of Zeltingen, Wehlen and Graach, mowing down the forest land. The deep trenches needed to build the road will cut off vital water to the surrounding vineyards, add to pollution and ruin a popular tourist area.
The vineyards below the bridge’s path will also be permanently affected by shadow.
The project was first on the table following World War II to build a link between northern and southern Europe – and to connect to Frankfurt Hahn airport – a former US army base and now a Ryanair destination. The project seemed to have been abandoned recently.
Eveline Lemke, head of the Green Party in the region told me, ‘Even private investors rejected the idea because there was not enough traffic to justify it. Then the economic crisis hit and the government created a 400 billion euro fund to put into an economic rejuventation programme. They said “Let’s do the projects we didn’t have the money to do before”’.
Hence we have this bridge and 4-lane motorway that will cut journey times from the north to the south of the country by a not-very-impressive 30 minutes.
Hugh Johnson has joined the protestors and hasn’t minced his words. ‘I never expected to see the German government make such an assault on such a precious and prestigious wine region. There is a great folly and desecration about to be committed.’
‘This will not bring prosperity to the region. People won’t stop, they will just drive through this amazing valley at 100 miles per hour,’ he added.
Local biodynamic producer Rudolf Trossen is a passionate opponent of the bridge. He said, ‘The politicians should take their dirty fingers away and leave us alone. It will ruin the region’s best asset. If there was a reason to build the road, we would be happy to talk about it but there simply isn’t enough traffic’.
This has been hastily pushed through with no surveys into the impact on the environment, local wine industry and tourism. The politicians have completely overlooked the reputation of the Mosel for a piece of tarmac. But there seems to be apathy in the region with protesters struggling to rouse locals into action. It needs critical mass. As a wine lover, I want to get the local population and shake some sense into them. They don’t know what they are on the verge of losing and need to get off their rear ends and help producers save their area from destruction.
British boozing figures at odds with ‘stealthy’ drinking claims
Wednesday 2 September
Following the media’s outcry on rising alcohol levels and drinking by ‘stealth’ last week, the British Beer and Pub Association has published new figures showing alcohol consumption is actually falling.
The BBPA Statistical Handbook’s timing is impeccable with figures that are at odds with the claims of ever rising growth in UK. The figures show that alcohol consumption fell in 2008, and has fallen 6.1% since 2004.
The statistics are related to beer rather than wine but it’s good to see concrete facts challenging the Mintel report and its ‘stealthy’ claims.
British consumption of booze per head remains in the mid range compared with our European neighbours. Britons drink less than the French, Germans, and Spanish, with the Czechs drinking the most per head, at 12.4 litres of alcohol, compared to the UK’s 8.1 litres.
BBPA acting chief executive, David Long, said, “Our new Statistical Handbook will confound many of the myths surrounding trends in the UK drinks industry. Year on year, we are not drinking more. Nor is British beer getting stronger, with two thirds of our beer at or below 4.2%strength, compared to the continental standard of 5%.”
Unfortunately, it’s not as rock and roll as Mintel’s report, so don’t expect it to make the tabloid headlines. The public are unlikely to hear about this.
Other interesting facts from the Handbook
- Total expenditure on alcohol in the on-trade was at its lowest level since 1972 (oh dear)
- 27% of on-trade wine sales were in the London area compared to only 16% of beer sales
Mintel drinks report leads to press outcry
Friday 28 August
Every UK newspaper was filled with scaremongering headlines yesterday about the British drinking too much ‘by stealth’. A new report published by Mintel has brought the topic of alcohol levels to the public eye but as a member of the drinks industry it’s like claiming the world is round is a new revelation- and newsworthy.
The Telegraph reported along the same lines as every other broadsheet and tabloid: ‘Middle-class Britons are drinking too much “by stealth” because they consume alcohol more frequently than other groups and the wine they enjoy is getting stronger’.
The papers were taking their information from Jonny Forsyth, senior drinks analyst at Mintel who, said in a press release, ‘In the 1970s a bottle of wine may have been around 11% in ABV and now the same bottle is more likely to be around 13%.’ What a revelation. I think I’ll take up writing reports and charging.
Forsyth added, ‘It may be that the majority of consumers are not aware of ABV and don’t even notice. So despite a greater societal concern with being healthy leading to a decline in drinking penetration, by stealth we are drinking more pure alcohol than ever.’
Now what’s all this about stealth? I appreciate they probably mean unknowingly but the dictionary describes stealth as cunning or underhand procedure and if you do a search in the thesaurus you’ll find its synonyms are slyness, sneakiness or furtiveness. But who’s being sneaky here? The drinks industry? If it is the industry he’s pointing the finger at for producing drinks higher in alcohol and not being open about it, then I have to take issue with him.
Admittedly alcohol levels in wine have risen, as he describes, thanks in part to better techniques in the vineyard, more efficient yeasts in the winery, possibly global warming and a fashion to leave grapes on the vine for longer to get phenolic ripeness (meaning seed and skin ripeness as well as sugar ripeness). But it’s not like we’ve hidden it – read the label!
Lower alcohol wines are still low on the list of priorities for consumers if you look at Wine Intelligence research. The wine industry is innovating to create lower alcohol wines with earlier picking and alcohol removal technologies amongst other things but demand is still low – perhaps from a lack of awareness of how many units we’re drinking. The industry is getting together to consider the potential of the low alcohol category in October. The public will be a long way behind.