After the grape harvest, a number of winegrowers in the famous French wine-growing region around Bordeaux have to deploy heavy equipment in the autumn: the vines are ripped up on an area of about 9,500 hectares with millions of government aid, because of overproduction and economic problems. Wine consumption in France has been declining for some time now. Young people in particular prefer to drink a beer instead of the traditional national drink or avoid alcohol altogether.
Changed habits are the reason. In addition to this trend, climate change is also a challenge for wine country France. Beer has now overtaken wine – albeit by a small margin – as the most popular drink in France, according to marketing company Sowine’s annual survey.
Young people are drinking less and less alcohol
The preference for beer is therefore greater among men than among women and, according to the study, there is more demand for white wine than for red wine. In the survey, 15 percent of people in France said they don’t drink alcohol. This is 23 percent among 18 to 25-year-olds, and only ten percent among 50 to 65-year-olds.
Wine consumption is dropping drastically
Wine consumption has been declining in France for some time, with young people in particular turning their backs on the national drink in recent years, the industry association Vin & Société announced around the turn of the year. Within 60 years, the wine consumption of the French has fallen by about 70 percent, from over 120 liters per year per capita in 1960 to less than 40 liters in 2020. Among 18 to 35-year-olds, wine lost nine percentage points of market share compared to 2014 to 2021. In 2021, beer accounted for 39 percent of alcoholic beverage purchases by those under the age of 35, and wine for 27 percent.
Will wine end up in museums?
The trade association sees changes in society as the cause. The traditional meals served with wine are becoming less and less important and the culture of wine drinking is no longer automatically passed on to families. There are also more single-person households, but wine is more often drunk in company. The association demands that the image of wine in France be polished.
It’s not about calling the French to excesses, said Samuel Montgermont, president of Vin & Société. “The question is very different: do we want to see wine on our tables or in our museums in the coming years?”
Vintner: “I decided to cultivate the land”
One of the winegrowers in the Bordeaux area who has submitted a grubbing application is André Faugère (65). On average, he produces 1800 hectoliters of red wine per year. “I’ve been working with wine merchants for 20 years to export my wines to Africa and England, but sales are falling,” Faugère recently told broadcaster France 3. Falling consumption is hitting red wine harder than white or rosé wine.
“I had no perspective on the short and medium term, so I opted for clearing. It was really a finding that eating habits have changed and people are drinking less red wine. And beer is gaining market share.”
The ministry wants to take countermeasures
Minister of Agriculture Marc Fesneau announced that the state, region and trade association want to pay up to 67 million euros for the restructuring of viticulture around Bordeaux. Abandoned cultivated areas must be reforested. There are currently about 110,000 hectares of farmland in the region in western France.
In addition to declining consumption, winegrowers in France are also dealing with increasing dry periods. In the long term, the French wine sector must adapt to the necessary adaptations to climate change, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. The government wants to help create a strategy. The French Vineyard Institute advised winegrowers to plant more climate-resistant vines and take steps to make viticulture as climate-neutral as possible.
The French are actually at the forefront when it comes to beer consumption
And will all this lead to a thriving beer market in France? According to data from the French brewery association “Brasseurs de France”, the French are at the rear of the EU with a per capita consumption of 33 liters per year, despite an increasing appetite for beer. 70 percent of the beer consumed in France is brewed in the country itself, with craft breweries and microbreweries on the rise.
And the gastronomic country of France can come up with regional specialties: the association lists rose and blueberry beers, but also chicory beers in the north, buckwheat beers in Brittany and chestnut beers in the Ardèche.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
