Young France Isn't Drinking Wine
The "French Paradox" is becoming a thing of the past
French citizens remain some of the world's leading consumers of wine, drinking about 55 liters annually, according to a recent study carried out by the University of Montpellier. That's almost six cases a person. But that number has declined more than 50 percent since 1980, when the French drank an average of 120 liters. Why is the nation most associated with wine drinking less of it?
The drop is chiefly due to changes at the dining room table. The French tradition of drinking wine on a daily basis at mealtimes is practically broken. Perhaps more important for the future, the next generation of French wine drinkers is not learning to consume wine at the dining room table. That's leading to a big change. Roughly 50 percent of young people in France never drink wine, according to the Montpellier report, and less than 10 percent are regular consumers. The rest limit their consumption to two to three times a month.
"This trend is in complete opposition with the United States, where the major group responsible for increasing wine consumption is the Millennials [people who reached adulthood around the year 2000]," said Liz Thach, professor of management and wine business at Sonoma State University. Americans aged 21 to 29 are the fastest growing segment of the wine market, according to a 2005 study by the Wine Market Council, a trade organization of winemakers, importers, retailers and others. Thach has just completed a study on young French and their wine habits. "For a country that prides itself on producing some of the best wine in the world, the fact that their young generation is embracing other alcohol beverages instead is a concern, especially if played out over the next 10 to 20 years."
Despite this trend, French wine drinkers between 25 and 34 years old still consume more than 56 liters of wine annually, on average. Those between 16 and 24 years old drink 31.9 liters. That's well ahead of most countries, including the United States, where the average per capita consumption is 9 liters, according to the 2007 edition of The Global Drinks Market: Impact Databank Review and Forecast.
The French evolution is alarming, however, as it reflects changing habits that aren't necessarily good for health. Over the past decade in France, fast food has gained in popularity and obesity is rapidly on the increase. The French Paradox may be on the way out. "In just 10 years, the number of family meals and business lunches has decreased by almost 50 percent," said Galatée Faivre, a marketing consultant based in the Languedoc who consults for several wineries. "This means there are now less occasions to share wine where young people can learn more about it."
Professor François d'Hauteville, from Montpellier's school of agronomics, believes that the benefits derived from drinking wine on a regular basis will soon be lost. "Not drinking wine during the week and binging on the weekend is unhealthy behavior, normally associated with countries where wine isn't a traditional beverage," he said. "If we were drinking two glasses of wine a day, in line with wine and health recommendations, our consumption per capita would be around 90 liters."
With nobody to guide them, French twentysomethings have to work wine out for themselves. "The young people I interviewed recognized that wine was part of France's national culture and identity," said Thach. "But they knew very little about it and many didn't even like the taste."
According to the Montpellier study, one of the reasons young French people are put off by wine is the marketing focus on premium brands largely out of their reach. The respondents to Thach's survey echoed that and pointed out the great divide between expensive wines and table wine. "France has a lot of cheap wine," said one interviewee. "The good wine is just too expensive, especially in restaurants. In nightclubs and bars you often don't see wine, just beer and cocktails. If they do have wine, it is cheap and bad."
Moreover, the strong anti-alcohol movement in France since 1991 has scared a lot of potential wine drinkers away and prohibited alcohol advertising via television or radio. Another interviewee said, "Beer has lower alcohol than wine, so I usually buy beer in a nightclub."
Despite the downward spiral, there is a bright side. Young French consumers frequently drink wine outside of mealtime, something unheard of 20 years ago. Faivre reckons this is a good sign. "At the moment we're kind of in limbo, but emerging drinking habits indicate that the market will take off again within the next five years with French Millennials emulating their U.S. counterparts," she said.
