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Presidential hopefuls reveal love of wine

Matthew Warren
Matthew Warren - [email protected]
Presidential hopefuls reveal love of wine
Megan Mallen

A respected wine magazine has asked France's presidential candidates their preferences when it comes to the country's most famous export.

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President Nicolas Sarkozy is already on record as saying he is not a wine drinker.

The president doesn't touch alcohol at all and asks to be served strawberry or cherry juice when he is visiting a vineyard.

"It's a matter of taste," he told La Revue du Vin de France magazine.

His Socialist rival, François Hollande, is unashamed of his love of wine and even tried to score a political point over the president.

"I am proud of my love of wine," he said. "The wine industry has been sacrificed by Nicolas Sarkozy."

Far-right Front National leader Marine Le Pen told the magazine she "prefers whites." 

Specifically, she is a fan of Pouilly-Fumé, Chablis and Menetou-Salon.

The centrist François Bayrou chose to tell a story about a wine faux-pas.

"When I was twenty and had just got married, we invited a priest to dinner. I served a bottle of Bordeaux, which I had probably bought at a supermarket."

"The man of cloth looked at me with an air of commiseration and said "dear boy, when you invite someone to your home, do not serve that!"

Perhaps the most well-educated politico, when it comes to wine, is former prime minister Dominique de Villepin.

When asked about his best wine memory, he is able to be very specific.

"A Chateau Margaux 1961, drunk when my son was born," he said. "A moment of elegance and finesse. The ruby colour of the wine was reflected in his eyes."

 

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