A huge amount of wine is produced in France throughout the year. Almost 7-8 billion bottles of wine are produced annually in this country. Along with the French wine industry, there are many other well-known industries in America, Spain, and Italy. The making process of wine in France has a history back to Roman times. Some of the people belonging to France have started making wines and then this work extends all over the world. There are various types of wines produced in France. The modern and expensive wine is produced in France and exported all over the World. The low-quality wine is also produced in France but it is mostly used within the country and not exported out of the premises of the nation. Margit wine is well-known in France from the time after World war. In the wine world, the French wine industry is at the number one for many years, while only 30% is exported.
Production and consumption of French wine
In the middle of the 1870s, the area of wine growers was reached its peak with 2.465 million ha. After a few years due to the Phylloxera crisis, the area of winegrowers started to reduce in speed. The decline was slow at the beginning and attained speed after World War II. From 1950 to 1990, wine production increases due to the firm increases in wine growers. It was the time after 1990 when wine production started to decrease at a considerable amount. The France wine growers had lost its 13% area from 2000-2011. In the 2000s, due to the catastrophe in the winegrowers sector, a large part of the yard was uprooted. Recent data revealed that the total area of France wine growers was 785 000 ha which makes it in 2nd position after Spain. It contributes 10% of the total vines in the world.
Historically, France is considered the head of wine production around the world. According to OIV, in 2017 the wine production greatly reduces to such an extent that 2017 is considered as a historically low year. At this time France’s wine production was greatly reduced by 19%.
It was observed after 2014 that this entire crisis affect positively the world wine consumption. On the other hand, the United States has stabilized its position since 2011 as the world’s largest consuming country. Consumption of French wine greatly increases in the United States, China, and Australia while, the constant decrease in wine consumption was in France, Italy, and Spain. Still, France is the main wine-consuming state by absorbing 14% of wine production worldwide, which is more than Italy, Spain, and Portugal. The last 30 years were heavy for the wine consumption as it greatly reduced in this duration. The record revealed that inhabitants consume 100 liters per year in 1975 and reduces to 42 liters per year. On the whole, France had faced a long period of decline in the production and consumption of wine.
After a long period of declination, France had faced many challenges in the international market. During this time, France’s wine production reduced which allow New World wines to enter the international market. Due to the past crisis, France’s wine industry as well as all other actors of France challenged by unmatchable competition as a danger or threat. Some of them take it as an opportunity and used their grape production to make wine and maintain their market practices. On the other hand, some were discouraged with paralleled questions about the process of their wine production. Many cases demanded to take part in global competition and get benefited. There are three main challenges such as the difficulty of industrial organization, duration of the supply chain constitutes, and the production segmentation; as an overcome for the French wine industry.
Types of wine produced in wine
Types of French wine are categorized into four major types:
- Rose wines such as sweet White Zinfandels and Provencal rose.
- Red wines: There are many varieties of grapes found in France. Some of these varieties include Syrah, Sauvignon blanc, Pinot noir, chardonnay, and cabernet sauvignon. These different kinds of wines were first cultivated in France and now these are transported to all the countries around the world.
- White wines such as Riesling, Moscato, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc.
- Sparkling wines including Vouvray and Champagne.
It was calculated for the 2005 vintage, that the total French production was 43.9 million. From which 28.3% was the production of white while, 71.7% was the production of red and rose wine.
Quality of French wine
It was important to control the quality of French wine, for this purpose laws were passed in 1935. A new system was established by the oversight board named “Appellation origin controlee”. This system was firstly originated in France, but this trend was also used by many countries specifically in European Union, and greatly expanded. According to this law, French wine is divided into four major categories: Two table wines under EU and two under Quality Wines Produced in Specified Regions (QWPSR).
Top French wine regions
Here are top 11 French wine regions:
- Bordeaux
- Burgundy
- Alsace
- Champagne
- Rhone Valley
- Provence
- Corsica
- Beaujolais
- Languedoc-Roussillon
- Loire Valley
Bordeaux
Bordeaux region is located in southwest France. There are more than 60 growing appellations for the production of Merlot, red Cabernet, and Cabernet France wines. The climate of this region is temperate and Mediterranean.
Burgundy
This French region contains more than 100 appellations specific for the production of Pinot Noir reds, Beaujolais Gamay wines, and white Chardonnays. In Burgundy, four areas are specific for the wine growths that are:
- Cote de Nuits
- Cote Chalonnaise
- Maconnais
- Chablis along with chalky terrain
- Cote de Beaune near Beaune
Alsace
The most famous wines of these regions are Pinot Gris, Riesling, and Gewurztraminer wines. The name of the wines of this region is named after the type of grapes instead of the region of its production.
Champagne
This region is located on the north side of France, east of Paris. This region is famous for the production of
- Blanc de Noirs
- Blanc de Blancs
Rhone Valley
Rhone River divided Rhone valley into Southern Rhone and Northern Rhone valley by flowing between them. This region is most famous for its Syrah and Grenache Syrah Mourvedre blended wines.
Provence
Provence is a coastal region located on the south-eastern side of France. This region is known for the production of famous red wines from Cinsault, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Corsica
This region is also called French island in the Mediterranean. Famous wines of this region are Pinot Noir, Barbarossa vineyards, and Tempranillo.
Beaujolais
This region lies in the south area of the Burgundy region. The famous thing about the wine of this region is that the wines are fruity, red, and vibrant Beaujolais Gamay. The taste of these wines is due to the fertile land made by the Nizerand River.
Languedoc and Roussillon
This is also a coastal side region located in the southern side of France and extends further from the Provence region to the Pyrenees Mountains also to the Spain border. The famous wines of Languedoc region are Syrah, Carignan, Cinsault, Mourvedre, and Grenache.
Loire Valley
This region is located in the northwest of France. The most famous wines of this region are Loire Vouray, Loire Pouilly-Fume, Chinon, Marsanne, and Muscadet.
