2023-09-03 18:10:00
After the grape harvest, a number of winegrowers in France’s well-known wine-growing region around Bordeaux have to use heavy equipment in autumn this year: the vines on an area of around 9500 hectares are being torn out with millions in state aid, because there is overproduction and economic problems.
Wine consumption in France has been declining for a long time. Younger people in particular prefer to have a beer instead of the traditional national drink or avoid alcohol altogether.
In addition to this trend, climate change also poses a challenge for wine country France. Wine consumption has been falling in France for a long time, with younger people in particular turning their backs on the national drink in recent years, as the industry association Vin & Société announced at the turn of the year.
Within 60 years, the wine consumption of the French fell by around 70 percent from over 120 liters per year and inhabitant in 1960 to less than 40 liters in 2020. Among 18 to 35 year olds, wine lost nine percentage points of market share from 2014 to 2021. In 2021, beer accounted for 39 percent of alcoholic beverage purchases by under-35s, and wine accounted for 27 percent.
Wine only in the museum?
The industry association sees changes in society as the cause. The traditional meals at which wine is served are becoming less important, and the culture of drinking wine is no longer automatically passed on in families. There are also more single households, wine is more likely to be drunk in company.
The association demands that the image of wine in France needs to be polished up. It’s not regarding calling the French to excess, said Vin & Société President Samuel Montgermont. “The question is quite different: Do we want to see wine on our tables or in our museums in the coming years?”
The President of the National Committee of Wine Professions, Bernard Farges, warns of the consequences of the downward trend. “Many wine professionals are feeling the effects of market shrinkage, driven by falling consumption, combined with tough international competition and recent climatic uncertainties.” Producers are giving up the profession and he fears that there will be no successor for a number of winegrowing companies.
forest instead of vines
One of the winegrowers in the Bordeaux area who have submitted a grubbing-up application is André Faugère (65). On average, he produces 1800 hectoliters of red wine per year. “I’ve been working with wine merchants to export my wines to Africa and England for twenty years, but sales are falling,” Faugère recently told France 3.
The falling consumption affects red wine more than white or rosé wine. “I didn’t have any prospects, so I opted for clearing. It was really realizing that eating habits have changed and people are drinking less red wine.”
Minister of Agriculture Marc Fesneau announced that the state, region and industry association want to pay up to 67 million euros for restructuring winegrowing around Bordeaux. Abandoned cultivated areas are to be reforested. There are currently around 110,000 hectares of cultivated land in the region in western France.
In addition to falling consumption, winegrowers in France are also having to deal with increasing dry periods. In the long term, France’s wine sector must adapt to the necessary adjustments to climate change, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. The government wants to help create a strategy. The French Viticulture Institute advised winegrowers to plant more climate-resistant vines and to take steps to make viticulture as climate-neutral as possible.
This summer, the harvest is also likely to be affected by downy mildew. The Gironde Chamber of Agriculture reports that 90 percent of the vineyards in Bordeaux are affected. The foliage is attacked, the berries dry up.
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