The French are drinking less and less wine. The share of regular consumers decreased again in 2022 compared to 2015, part of "an overall trend of declining alcohol consumption," according to the ninth edition of the five-year survey on wine consumption in France. In 2022, regular consumers, consuming wine "every day or almost", represented 11% of the population, a share down 5 points compared to the previous study in 2015, according to this survey carried out by Ipsos Observer for FranceAgriMer and the CNIV (National Committee of Interprofessions for Wines with Designation of Origin and Geographical Indication). In 1980, during the first editions, they "represented half of the national population", it is recalled. "Wine is still very much present in consumption, but it is now done occasionally," according to the study. In 2022, this occasional consumption, which was "the majority", concerned "half of French people aged 18 and over", as in 2015.
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Generational Renewal
The cause of this change? The fact that "regular consumers of wine tend to disappear, as a result of generational renewal", explain the authors of the study, "with the younger generations consuming wine on an occasional basis most often". But this is also "part of a global trend of declining alcohol consumption", note FranceAgriMer and the Cniv, recalling that "between the years 1960 and 2022, the average individual wine consumption of the French has fallen by more than 60%".
In 2022, the proportion of people who do not consume wine "seems to have reached a plateau of around 37% of French people since 2010", including 8% of very exceptional consumers (weddings, end-of-year parties) whose share is stable over time, the study says. Beyond wine, 19% of French people say they do not consume any alcoholic beverages, a trend that has increased by 4 points compared to 2015. "In the world of alcoholic beverages, only beer is gaining new consumers," note FranceAgriMer and the Cniv.
This survey was conducted from May 27 to August 9, 2022 among 3,513 people representative of the French population aged 15 and over, according to the quota method. Carried out every five years since 1980, the ninth edition of this study concerns 2022, "the health crisis of 2020 having led to a delay in its realization".