VOA慢速英语--法国香槟制造商面临“大萧条以来最严重的危机”

As the world faced months of restrictions¹ on social gatherings² and celebrations, the demand for champagne³ hit historic lows.

French producers of the pricey specialty⁴ wine estimate they have already lost $2 billion in sales this year.

Champagne is named for the eastern area of France where it comes from. The drink is traditionally served at celebratory events or enjoyed at parties or while eating out.

Thibaut Le Mailloux is a member of the Champagne Committee, a group representing about 16,000 champagne producers. "We are experiencing a crisis that we evaluate to be even worse than the Great Depression" of 1929, he told The Associated Press.

The group said it expects about 100 million bottles of champagne to be left unsold by the end of the year.

In an effort to reduce the surplus, the committee has launched emergency production limits. Like oil-producing nations, the committee sets rules for the size of each year's harvest. This aims to prevent too much production and large price drops.

The committee is expected to set a strict limit at a meeting scheduled for August 18. The limit will likely lead to record supplies of grapes being destroyed or sold off at greatly reduced prices. The expected limit could especially be difficult for smaller producers to deal with.

"We are to destroy (the grapes) and we pay for them to be destroyed," said Anselme Selosse, of Jacques Selosse Champagnes.

Selosse told The Associated Press he also sees it as "an insult to nature" that the area's famous grapes might even be used to produce alcohol for hand sanitizer. Such production happened in other wine-producing areas after demand for sanitizer has risen during the virus crisis.

Paul-Francois Vranken, founder⁵ of producer Vranken-Pommery Monopole, called the current situation "a catastrophe⁶." He noted⁷ that the champagne business had "lived through every single war." But with past crises, "there was a way out." Now, Vranken sees no way out "unless we find a vaccine⁸."

Major producers such as Vranken-Pommery predict the crisis could last for years.

Vranken says he thinks there needs to be a change in how companies market champagne to succeed in the new normal. A drop in celebrations and group events moving forward will lead to continued reductions in champagne sales.

Vranken said marketing⁹ campaigns should center more on champagne's quality as a naturally, often organically produced drink from a historic area of France. "Even if the bars and the nightclubs are closed for five years, we don't plan on missing out on customers," he added.

Selosse, who produces many "natural" champagnes with no added sugar, also hopes the coronavirus crisis will lead to changes in marketing. He is also calling for more cooperative efforts in production, such as "communal¹⁰ wine presses" to help smaller producers share costs.

I'm Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

evaluate – v. to consider or study something carefully

sanitizer – n. a liquid that kills germs

organic – adj. grown from the earth and not using artificial chemicals

customer – n. a buyer of goods or services

1 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

2 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

3 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

4 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

5 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

6 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

9 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

10 communal   

adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的

参考例句：

• There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
• The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。