Tariff threats and Gen Z sobriety have put winemakers in Bordeaux on red alert | Fortune

"In the tasting room of a Bordeaux winery, a photo on the wall shows a pastoral tableau: three generations of the Dubois family, sipping wine on the patio of their Les Bertrands château, with their Australian shepherd, Namek, perched at their feet. Out the window, chestnut trees sway in the breeze, with sunlit vines stretching for acres beyond. It's this mesmerizing serenity that draws millions of tourists to southwest France every year"

"Last year, the region produced 484 million bottles, about 14% of France's output; according to the Bordeaux Wine Council, every 15 seconds, somewhere in the world, someone buys a bottle of Bordeaux. But the idyllic calm is deceptive. Amid the old stone villages and winding gravel roads, winemakers are reeling from a multitude of problems that feel largely out of their control-from geopolitics and trade tensions to the changing tastes of younger consumers."

"Until recently, Dubois believed his business had faced every imaginable challenge. He is the ninth generation to run Château Les Bertrands, which his ancestor François founded in 1692, in the village of Reignac; his family tree is displayed prominently on one wall, and his son Amaury, 31, has just joined the business as the 10th generation. The family has cultivated vines here through the French Revolution, the Great Depression, and occupation by the Nazis, who moored U‑boats on the nearby coast, commandeered wineries,"

A Bordeaux tasting room presents a pastoral family scene and sunlit vines, underscoring the region's tourist appeal. The region produced 484 million bottles last year, about 14% of France's output, and Bordeaux retains global recognition. Winemakers are confronting a severe crisis driven by geopolitics, trade tensions, and changing tastes among younger consumers. Longstanding family estates with multi-century histories report unprecedented strain despite surviving wars, revolutions, and economic depressions. Local producers and heirs are sensing existential threats to traditional operations and worry that conventional seasonal sales patterns alone cannot reverse current declines.

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