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Government initiative -

In September 2024, the French government announced its plan to uproot 30,000 hectares of grape vines across the country.

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Part of a bigger plan -

This seemingly drastic measure is the government’s response to a shrinking wine sector, and forms part of a wider plan to uproot up to a total of 100,000 hectares of vineyard.

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Money talks -

The 30,000-hectare plan, which was devised by the French government, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, and the Bordeaux Wine Interprofessional Counsel, is set to cost €120 million (about US$131 million).

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Incentive -

Indeed, the grape growers who allow the government to uproot their vines will receive a payment of up to €4,000 (US$4,380) per hectare.

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Ban on replanting -

Once they have accepted the offer, these vineyard owners will be prohibited from replanting vines on the same land until at least 2029.

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The rationale -

The main reason for uprooting all these vineyards is the steep decline in demand. Indeed, wine consumption in France has been on a downward trend for decades.

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Looking at the numbers -

According to the French Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction, the average French citizen drank 120 liters of wine per year in the 1960s.

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Steep decline -

Nowadays, the average yearly consumption of a single French person is only 40 liters. That's a 70% reduction in consumption.

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Changing relationships -

Studies show that young French people in particular have a very different relationship with wine. In the past, wine was the go-to drink.

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Changing attitudes -

Nowadays, however, young people are opting for beer over wine, and in many cases they are rejecting alcohol entirely as a concept.

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Sales figures -

According to the government agency FranceAgriMer, wine sales in French supermarkets between January 1 and August 11 were down 5% in 2024 over 2023.

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International demand -

Moreover, it is not only the domestic demand for French wine that is down. For some time now, the industry has also been affected by a reduced international demand.

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Numbers -

In 2023, wine export figures were 10% lower than in 2022. However, that does not mean to say that France is not still a major international player in the wine game.

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Competition -

Indeed, delivering an impressive 48 million hectoliters in 2023, France was the largest exporter of wine in the world. But Italy is expected to take the title in 2024.

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Major client - One of the main reasons that export figures are down in France is that China, previously an important importer of French wines, has reduced its demand.

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Chinese wine -

Increasingly, China is producing its own wine, and the Chinese currently seem to prefer Spanish and Italian grapes over the French.

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Other factors to consider -

Another factor that could negatively impact the French wine industry in the long term is climate change.

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Climate change -

Indeed, as the climate changes and the planet heats up, the grape-growing environment of the French vineyards changes alongside.

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Until now... -

Until now, climate change has actually done the industry a favor. Studies of Bordeaux vineyards between 1950 and 2020 showed that crops benefitted from warmer summers and wetter winters.

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Going forward -

However, if temperatures continue to rise, the same vineyards that have benefitted from global warming could start to face drought.

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Grapes and drought -

Draughts in these vineyards will be incredibly detrimental, if not disastrous, for the crops.

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Increased competition -

At the same time, the French wine industry may experience a rise in competition as climate change is now making wine production possible in countries whose climates previously didn’t allow it.

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UK vineyards -

In the UK, for example, increasingly warmer summers are leading investors to believe that the country could become a major wine producer over the course of the 21st century.

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Fast-growing -

Indeed, with 4,000 new hectares of vineyards planted in the past five years, Britain is currently the fastest-growing wine region in the world.

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Less frost -

In the south of England, frost, which is devastating to wine crops and previously would have made it impossible to grow the grapes, now rarely occurs.

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Countrywide development -

But it is not only in the south that wine grapes are being planted. In fact, vineyards are popping up across the country, from the south of England all the way to Scotland.

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All in all -

In response to this combination of factors the government has announced the plan to uproot all these vineyards in France. Time will tell if this is an effective way to level out supply and demand. 

Sources: (Euronews) (Decanter)

See also: Why do we label wine?

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