Years ago I had occasion to visit France, specifically Lyon and Paris.
During that time I cannot remember, nor can my wife, ever having
a glass, carafe, or bottle of wine that was less than excellent.
I had to come back to America to taste a bad French wine.
I joked at the time, “sure, the French have a bad season,- weather,
what have you, so what, bottle it and ship it to America, they’ll
drink anything”, and I’m being polite by not using the word “shit”.
What you encounter in France, and I’m sure it holds for most
of Europe, is pride in the product, whatever it may be.
Not so much in this country, if there is any pride in exchange
among Americans it’s pride in the bottom line.
Islander.
PS. What inspired the above was my consumption of a truly
rotten American beer. Ugh!