(TheGlobeandMail) - Do you find French wine labels confusing? Hard to pronounce? Many ailing producers are sensitive to your plight, convinced that tradition, the rock on which the glorious French industry is based, has become a bit of a millstone. Hence we’re seeing helpful words like “merlot” and “sauvignon blanc” crop up on bargain bottles of Bordeaux where grapes previously dared not speak their name. Some companies are creating fresh brands using English words. One of wine’s greatest salesmen, Georges Duboeuf, who gave the world Beaujolais nouveau, recently scored a hit with a line called Hob Nob, complete with heavy social-media support.