the bit a bout northern europe proves screach has already found out about it...

THURSDAY JUNE 07 2001 May I recommend the pill de Roussillon, sir FROM ADAM SAGE IN PARIS FRENCH vineyards have come up with an answer for health-conscious but sober customers who want the benefits of wine without the hangover: wine pills. About 20,000 producers from the Rhône Valley and the Roussillon regions of southern France intend to sell powdered wine to the pharmaceutical industry. A year-long trial has shown that there was a market for the red wine extract.

The producers plan to sell tons of powdered wine, mainly to northern European and north American pharmaceutical companies, which will transform it into pills.

The intiative comes after surveys that seemed to show that a couple of glasses of wine a day may stave off a range of illnesses from heart attacks to Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers say that this could be due to polyphenols, which are found in red wine and are said to increase the resistance of blood vessels.

Four years ago a co- operative owned by the 20,000 producers, the Société Française de Distilleries, based in the Ardèche region, began to extract polyphenols from wine for research. With consumption of their cheap vin de pays in sharp decline, however, they decided to sell the powder last year.

“We have only tried this out in a small way so far,” David Ageron, the co-operative’s research and development manager, said. “And we have only sold about Fr 1 million (£92,000) worth so far. But there is a real interest in it, particularly in northern Europe, and we are very optimistic.

“The idea is that the day when the commercial position of the vineyards becomes difficult, this will provide a fall-back and make sure of a minimum price for their wines.” Although there are other companies marketing polyphenol creams and pills, M Ageron said that his cooperative was the only French commercial organisation extracting the molecule from wine.

The Société Française de Distilleries buys barrels from the vineyards and hands profits from the sale of powdered wine back to the producers. M Ageron said: “We do not use les grands vins for this, but then neither do we want plonk. The wine has to be rich in tannins for us to extract the polyphenols.”

The trial disclosed a limited demand in France, where the company, Arkopharma, has begun to sell a red wine extract pill called French Paradox, but a far greater demand in the United States. In Britain Boots bought the polyphenol for a pill called Red Wine Extract, but it was taken off the market because of poor sales.

M Ageron said: “The French already drink quite a lot of wine, so there is not much need for them to take pills. In Britain, too, consumption of wine is increasing. But in places like Finland or America, there could be a real future for this product.”

Some vineyard owners fear that the wine powder could leave drinkers with a hangover and that the project could damage the happy, relaxed image that is their trademark.

Financial logic is, however, overcoming their concerns. Over the past 40 years, average annual wine consumption has fallen in France from 135 litres (237 pints) a person to 74 litres.

While sales of fine wines have remained stable over that period, the market for cheap wine has collapsed.

More than 40 per cent of the vin de pays and vin de table produced in Roussillon in 1999 has yet to find a buyer. Vineyards hope that pharmaceutical firms will step in where off-licences have failed them.

-- Anonymous, June 07, 2001

Answers

Ashbulootlay Plashterd

-- Anonymous, June 07, 2001

I could use the pill instead of concentrated juice on my vodka...

-- Anonymous, June 07, 2001

Hic!

-- Anonymous, June 07, 2001

pfash ver vine

-- Anonymous, June 07, 2001

Does this mean that wine bellies will be a thing of the past ?

If so, roll on the beer pill.

-- Anonymous, June 07, 2001

...one pint of pills for me...

-- Anonymous, June 07, 2001

Where do I sign up to be a tester?! %-)

-- Anonymous, June 07, 2001

Sorry Ciara, if you have to ask that, you're not sufficiently qualified ;-)

-- Anonymous, June 07, 2001