The French like other Europeans are consuming less and less wine, so much so that the French government is purchasing millions of Euros worth of wine to financially support the industry. This excess wine is being converted into alcohol for products such as hand sanitiser.
The reduced consumption of wine has many causes. I believe that the message about not drinking too much is getting through especially to young people. Excessive drinking undoubtedly leads to health problems. Inflated prices are also contributing the to financial woes of the wine industry, reduced production will lead to further price increases. Automation of the wine making process may not be able to reduce the cost of a bottle.
All in all the wine industry faces trouble.
From a personal point of my wife and I hardly drink more than a bottle of wine per week, unless we have friends around.. We are increasingly reluctant to pay inflated prices for our wine and we rarely buy Burgundy in the UK.
Champagne and English sparkling wine prices are sky rocketing so consumers are changing to Prosecco and Cava. Luckily we travel to France often enough to buy reasonably priced Champagne.
Climate change is affecting Prosecco production so the outlook for sparkling wines is not good.
I hope that the wine industry does not suffer too badly from climate change and demographic effects to cause the demise of the industry. There is nothing I like more than a good bottle of wine with my food and friends, so cheers.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/25/france-fund-destroying-excess-wine-demand-falls
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