French lose their taste for wine

THE AVERAGE French person drinks one glass of wine a day - compared to three glasses 50 years ago.

Average wine consumption in the 1950s was 120 litres per person per year, a figure that has dropped to 45 litres today according to FranceAgriMer - the statistics body of the Ministry for Agriculture.

Between 2007-8 this average dropped 4 litres.

Marketing director for FranceAgriMer André Barlier told Le Figaro newspaper that the state of the markets was worrying.

Wine consumption dropped 15% and 28% in value in the first quarter of the year.

A number of reasons have been put forward for the change including an ad campaign which ran through the 70s and 80s on the slogan 'un verre, cela va ; deux verres, bonjour les dégâts' - 'one glass you'll manage, two glasses, hello damage'.

Tastes are also changing with young people turning away from wine to different types of alcohol - usually stronger spirits.

Under 35s drinking three times less than the national average while those aged between 50-64 drink nearly twice as much according to FranceAgriMer.

Photo:Jetalone