Wine with Leslie: Beer overtakes wine in France, but French wine is not going anywhere 

The Languedoc-Roussillon was once the source of oceans of Vin de Table, feeding the French habit of 120 litres of wine per person per year and a notable contributor to the EU wine lake.

Though French beer consumption has overtaken that of wine, the good stuff will still get made Picture: iStock

In case you missed the headlines last week, the French now drink more beer than wine. Cue Gallic wringing of hands but don’t despair, the good stuff will still get made, the vines due to be grubbed up will not be from Grand Cru vineyards, far from it.

Yes, growers in the south west (Bordeaux, Gers) and south east (Hérault, Aude) are applying for compensation to remove vines, but to be honest these grapes won’t be missed. The Languedoc-Roussillon was once the source of oceans of vin de table, feeding the French habit of 120l of wine per person per year and the EU wine lake. It then pivoted and became a major exporter of varietal wine, allowing France to compete with New World merlot, chardonnay, and even viognier.