Beer continues to gain ground compared with wine in France

p until now, France has been the home of wine enthusiasts who have always outnumbered beer lovers. Every year, the French drink an average 40 litres of wine, compared with 32 litres of beer. But the trend could be reversed.

According to the latest report by the French Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT), 10.56 litres of pure alcohol were sold in France in 2021 per capita (aged 15 and above), a sharp decline compared with the 26 litres recorded in 1961. The fall is mainly due to the continuous dwindling of wine purchases, which have fallen from 20 to 5.74 litres in 60 years, while beer and spirits consumption remains stable overall, at 2.4 and 2.3 litres respectively.

Of the 6 million hectolitres of pure alcohol marketed in 2021, wine accounts for 54% of the total, beers 23%, spirits 21% and other alcoholic beverages 2% (ciders, port, etc.). According to Kantar panels, the significance of wine in purchases by the French across-the-board fell in favour of beer between 2014 and 2021. The shift is made all the more significant due to the fact that consumers are younger. Among the under-35s, still wines fell from 31% to 23% of beverage alcohol purchases, while beers rose from 24% to 39%. For 35-49 year olds, still wines dropped from 40% to 32%, beers jumped from 17% to 28%. For 50-65 year olds, still wine purchases fell from 50% to 42%, while beer rose from 13% to 18%, and for the over 65s, still wines fell from 55% to 50%, while beer consolidated its position by moving up from 9% to 12%.