France: People drinking more beer and less wine in France

Sales of wine to consume at home in France continue to fall despite the New Year festivities and the traditional glass of Champagne enjoyed by many - however beer is growing in popularity, The Connexion reported on January 5.

Between December 21 and 28, 2024, sales of wine (including Champagne) fell by 6% on numbers from the previous year (according to data from market research company Circana), which was by no means a good year either.

Indeed, wine sales have been falling consistently for the past 60 years: In 1963, the average consumption was 120 litres per person per year, today it is below 40 litres - a drop of 66%.

“The trend in wine consumption occurs against a backdrop of falling overall alcohol consumption,” said an Ipsos survey for FranceAgrimer and the Comité National des Interprofessions des Vins (CNIV), in December 2023.

In particular, red wine has suffered from the trend, falling behind white and rosé as France’s favorite wines.

At its 50th annual congress in 2023, the national winemaker cooperative attributed the problem to a change in eating habits, which are less of a “ritual” than they used to be.

It also highlighted the growing popularity of beer among young people.

The rise of beer was confirmed in a study commissioned by French food and drink production watchdog FranceAgriMer in 2023, which found that while wine sales fell by 45% between 2007 and 2023, beer sales increased by 26%.

The study found that the trend is even more pronounced when age differences are taken into account:

Under 35s: +47%
Aged 35-49: +35%
Aged 50-64: +8%

The trend has also seen France become home to the largest number of independent craft brewers in the EU, with 2,500 producers around the country, according to data from the brewers’ union the Syndicat National des Brasseries Indépendantes.

Part of the generational decline of wine, which has a significantly higher alcohol content than beer, is due to increased awareness of the health risks of alcoholism.

Addiction specialists have long supported measures to combat alcoholism, only to find opposition from France’s powerful wine lobby.

President Macron, in particular, is an outspoken advocate of wine, claiming to drink two glasses a day.

In 2023, a petition from 40 addiction specialists requesting ministerial support for the Dry January campaign, which advocates a month of abstinence from alcohol, found no support from then-Health minister Aurélien Rousseau.

However, this year France’s new health minister Yannick Neuder adheres to the month - known as le défi de janvier - “on a personal level”, and claims to do so every year.

Nonetheless, he opposes any new taxes on beer or wine.

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