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International News

Allow yourself to get lost in exploration as you trav- were deemed poorly operable due to insufficient
el to northern Africa for the splendor of Moroccan production and management.
wine.
The turning point for Morocco’s wine industry
Slow Growing Vvines in the Desert began in the 1990s under the rule of the second
king of Morocco, Hassan II of Morocco, a graduate
Like South Africa, Moroccan winemakers benefit of the University of Bordeaux in France. He was
from the favorable weather and terrain. Their prox- known as the peacemaker for foreign relations in
imity to the Atlantic Ocean and high mountains, northwestern Africa, and, as a result, he parlayed
coupled with cooling trade winds, allow low-lying the return of French investments and prowess in
vineyards to flourish in the foothills of the coastal winemaking to Morocco. French inves-tors were
Atlas Mountains. offered long-term lease agreements for vineyards
owned by the state agricultural com-pany. This
Although Morocco has been making wine for over offer was also extended to other foreign investors
4,000 years and is the second-largest producer of who could improve the Moroccan economy with
table wines in Africa, it does not have a robust wine industrious ventures. Tailan, William Pitters and
industry or a history comparable to South Africa. Groupe Castel, well-known Bor-deaux-based wine
The beginning of viticulture in Morocco originates companies, seized this opportunity and rejuvenated
with the Phoenician settlers who ush-ered in trad- Morocco’s wine industry. It has proven beneficial
ing colonies. Still, it was not until the arrival of on the world stage since Morocco’s Boulaouane a
French colonialists in 1912 who brought with them Castel is now a best-selling wine in France. Hassan
winemaking that the wine industry began to take II of Morocco’s efforts have been attributed to the
form. Although this was the start of large-scale revival of Mo-rocco’s wine industry and becoming
wine production, it was not a fortuitous upward the second-largest producer of wine in the Middle
venture. The Moroccan inde-pendence in 1956 East. This accomplishment is worth mentioning
saw a slump in wine production. When the French given that Morocco is a predominantly Islamist gov-
left, they took their wine-making expertise, leaving erning country that prohibits the consumption of
approximately 55,000 hectares of wine unattended. alcohol and sale of alcohol locally. Wine is sold at
Morocco’s wine industry underwent a significant ho-tels and restaurants and contributes to keeping
decline. up with tourism demands.

Another roadblock for Morocco’s wines was in What We Plant Grows
1967 with the introduction of European Econom-
ic Community quotas. Now, wines with the label The international wine export industry has helped
made in France, for example, could not contain Morocco gain recognition. France is the top con-
grapes from other countries. In turn, this exponen- sumer of Moroccan-made wine exports, followed
tially reduced the exportation of wine to EEC coun- by Belgium and England. There are five wine
tries. During this time, Moroccan vineyards were regions in Morocco, with fourteen AOGs and three
unable to thrive, with limited entry to time-hon- AOCs. The difference between AOC, appellation
ored markets. In addition, surplus production from d’origine contrôlée, and AOG, appellation d’origine
Mediterranean wine-producing countries made it garantie, is the grape quality control measures uti-
hard to measure up. lized. Popular and familiar tourist wine regions are
Casablanca, Boulaouane, and Meknes. Since 75%
Further, the infrastructure and the resources of wine production is red wine, wine lovers will
needed to scale production like its competitors find an array of red grape Rhône varietals. Vin Gris
proved uneconomically feasible for Moroccan vine- makes up the remaining percentage of wines along
yards. This led to vineyards planting and har-vest- with white wine and the beloved Moroccan Rosé.
ing different crops. In the early 1970s to the mid- Vineyards grow Syrah, Merlot, Grenache, Cabernet-
1980s, vineyards were taken over by the state, and Sauvignon and the traditional Carignan grapes
new protocols further diminished wine production. which once dominated. Other grape varieties
Additionally, vineyards could not compete due to in-clude Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Chenin
fixed grape prices that were not determinant on Blanc. Vin Gris is a greyish-pink-hued wine blended
the quality of the grape yielded. Most vineyards with rosé and white wine.

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