2024-08-02 03:45:03
On February 5, 2024, the grape vines were uprooted in Saint-Sulpice de Valeran (Gironde).
Will French cars soon run on red wine? This question is not as absurd as it first seems. In fact, the French Federation of Wine Cooperatives is working on the idea of converting wine into bioethanol. Even if no one knows whether it will succeed, nevertheless it illustrates the French wine industry’s departure from the path faced with a crisis of overproduction and seeking to eliminate it.
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“Structurally, we have a surplus of 4 million to 5 million hectolitres, mainly in the largest red wine regions, from Bordeaux through the Rhône Valley to the Languedoc.”Jérôme Despey, a grape grower in Saint-Géniès-des-Mourgues in the Hérault department and first vice-president of the National Federation of Farmers’ Unions, emphasized.
To explain this barrel overflow, some cite the decline in French wine consumption. This phenomenon is not new. Since the early 1970s, French consumption of fermented juice has almost halved, from 46 million liters to 24 million liters, according to the National Interprofessional Council. .
The rate of decline even accelerated after 2010, with an average annual decline of 1.8%. The decline on supermarket shelves is even faster, at 3% a year. Red wine was particularly affected by this decline, with sales of two bottles. Between 2017 and 2023, its sales increased from 5.1 million liters to 3.5 million liters, although sales of rosé wine fell slightly to 3 million liters and white wine sales remained at 1.8 million liters.
Mojito and Sprite
Indeed, French eating habits have undergone profound changes. This country characterized by gourmet food is also the country with the largest variety of fast food brands. Bistros serving traditional steaks, fries, salads and a quarter of wine are giving way to pizza joints, burger joints, kebab or fried chicken chains. The French are increasingly eating in an unstructured way, with traditional family meals (often equivalent to opening a bottle of wine) becoming less and less common.
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« The coronavirus pandemic has created a rift. The watchword is relocation. Three or four years have passed and everyone has forgotten. We don’t see what’s happening to us. Wine is considered a symbol of French cuisine, but you still have to take the time to sit down. However, there is a general excitement that you have to hurry up and grab your sandwich and your can », explains Joël Boueilh, President of the French Vignerons coopacteurs.
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