French wine's new wave

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WASHINGTON, Mar 10 (Reuters) The new wine comes in a bottle that positively screams Old Mexico: fake bulletholes on the label, a story that links it to Pancho Villa and the swashbuckling name Los 3 Bandidos.

Strangely enough, it's French.

Los 3 Bandidos is one of dozens of French wines looking to move into the lower-end U.S. wine market. Many on offer at this week's French Wine Road Show are aimed at younger consumers who may not know the difference between a grenache and a merlot -- they just want something to drink with barbecue ribs.

How does it taste? ''Like the first thirst-quenching drink after two days in the Sonora desert,'' according to promotional copy describing the Bandidos Syrah Rose, which ''jumps out of the glass, all raspberry and spunk.'' Spunky or not, it is made in southern France, and while its heritage includes one Jesus Navarro -- reputedly the right-hand man of 20th century Mexican revolutionaries Villa, Emiliano Zapata and Venustiano Carranza -- it is being marketed by Gabriel Meffre, a winemaker based in the village of Gigondas since 1936.

''These young people do not like traditional concepts'' in wine, said Andree Ferrandiz, who manages the wine-trading firm Somacvins DF Service. ''They prefer to be caught by something special, a new concept of what the consumer wants to find.'' They also may be pleased with the price. Most of the wines displayed expect to retail between 8 dollar and 10 dollar.

At the wine tour stop at the French Embassy in Washington on Wednesday, Ferrandiz offered her own concepts for 20- or 30-something customers: Ch3, a white wine that combines Chenin, Chasan and Chardonnay grapes; Ca3, a red wine blending Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan and Caladoc; and So Fruity, which is, well, fruity.

Others are also moving away from wines named for the grapes that go into them, or the chateau where they are grown, and toward something catchy, young and different. Like XL Wines' Jet Lag.

GLOBE TROTTERS' WINE Jet Lag white and red come in bottles that may remind US consumers of shampoo or cologne, with a screw top and a small size -- 8.8 ounces (250 ml) -- meant to fit in a carry-on bag and complement an airline meal, a ''French Mediterranean wine for globe trotters.'' XL also offers standard-sized red and white wines, all in the same functional packaging, with no labels but simply times and a clock face on the bottle. Their 11:30 a.m. could be the first glass of the day, with 12:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. for later. But XL's Laurent Dumenil acknowledged they can all be drunk at any time.

Playful packaging and naming is also a key for CAPECO International's Tasty wine range, said CAPECO's Sebastian Petiteaux.

Sealed with brightly colored plastic corks, the labels say what the wine is supposed to taste like: Crispy, Toasty, Velvety, Spicy and Body.

Meant to be served with food, Petiteaux said Tasty wines could work with sushi, curry or vegetarian fare.

The name's the thing for Xavier-Luc Linglin of Les Vignerons de Puisserguier. Linglin, who often goes by XL himself, knows his firm's name is tough for English-speakers to pronounce. The new range of wines is called simply Baguette and has pictures of the traditional French bread on the label.

''I wanted something easy to pronounce, looking French and not boring, not a chateau,'' Linglin said.

Champagne Moutardier featured a classic oval label for its wines, but the design is comparatively new, said the firm's president, Jonathan Saxby.

''This presentation is only 18 months old,'' Saxby said. ''When you sell champagne you have to be traditional. I would love to have done a new world champagne -- but no.''