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French red wine is facing “existential” decline if it doesn’t adapt, according to people working in the industry, as younger generations increasingly opt for different drinks or avoid alcohol altogether.
Consumption of red wine in France has fallen by about 90 percent since the 1970s, according to the Conseil Interprofessionnel du vin de Bordeaux (CIVB), an industry association.
Total wine consumption, which includes reds, whites and rosés, has fallen by more than 80 percent in France since 1945, according to survey data from Nielsen, and the decline is accelerating, with Generation Z buying half of volume purchased by older millennials.
“Issues with wine – especially red wine – are becoming existential now and have been problems for more than a decade,” said Spiros Malandrakis, drinks analyst at Euromonitor International.
The industry was suffering from a “lack of connection with younger generations” and had previously fallen into “a sense of complacency” due to wine’s popularity with baby boomers, he added.
The shift in French consumption exacerbates global trends hurting the sector, such as people drinking less and changes in taste. Red wines in particular are falling out of fashion among young people in favor of rosé, beer, spirits and non-alcoholic options.
“With every generation in France we see the change. If the grandfather drank 300 liters of red wine a year, the father drinks 180 liters and the son 30 liters,” said CIVB board member Jean-Pierre Durand.
The industry is also facing a sharp drop in demand from China, one of its main export markets, and the impact of climate change.
The challenges have not affected all wine categories equally. “High-volume, multi-tannic reds are in sharp decline, and it’s accelerating with the generational change,” said wine buyer Thomas Castet.
Some industry leaders expect producers to respond by focusing on higher-quality wines or expanding their offerings from red to other products, such as white or low-alcohol wines — though the latter requires investment. in vines and new equipment.
Durand, who also heads winemaker AdVini in southwestern Bordeaux, predicted there will be little future demand for low-end wines as younger generations prioritize quality over quantity. Some wines sell for as little as €2.50 a bottle in France.
But Durand said overproduction and the presence of too many low-end wines had damaged Bordeaux’s image, although the region is also known for the Saint-Émilion area, which produces high-quality and expensive wines.
Business is also challenging for some high-end wineries. The 2024 harvest at Château Mauvinon, a small family business in Saint-Émilion, was affected by high heat and mold – problems encountered across the region as the climate changes.
Brigitte Tribaudeau, who owns and runs the winery, said high-quality reds were still the core of Château Mauvinon’s production, but that she had noticed changes in young drinkers’ habits years ago and began to adapt. .
It began producing a white wine in 2018, as well as an orange wine, popular among young drinkers. She is now experimenting with low-alcohol wine, which will be ready for sale this year.
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Even the winery has been certified organic since 2017, which appeals to younger consumers.
“I realized very early on that drinking patterns were changing — seeing that women and especially young women around me were drinking less and much less red,” said Tribaudeau.
Some wineries are reluctant to innovate, either because of cost or due to respect for tradition. The change from red to white wine production requires large investments in both new vines and different equipment, and not all growing areas are suitable for different grapes.
Most winemakers had been resistant to producing products such as wine mixers and canned wine, which could be used to recruit new drinkers, Malandrakis said. Many have also been slow to embrace wine tourism and personalized marketing, which can appeal to younger consumers who want an experience and a story when they shop.
The pressures have led the Bordeaux region to begin uprooting up to 9,500 hectares of vines to curb production and prevent the spread of disease through unmaintained vineyards. The two-year plan, starting in 2023, offers €6,000 per hectare to be eradicated, out of a total budget of €57 million financed mainly by the government and the CIVB.
“We can’t keep making wines that don’t drink,” Durand said. “When the pattern breaks, we adapt.”
