Britons turn noses up at French wine
FRENCH wine suffered a blow yesterday when latest figures revealed British sales of bottles from United States vineyards had overtaken those from France for the first time.
US wine sales, driven by Californian vineyards, grew 5 per cent to £781 million in the year to November, while French sales slumped 3 per cent to £780 million.
With wines from Australia proving the most popular in the UK, it means France has dADVERTISEMENTropped to third place.
The volume of US wine has also overtaken France's, growing 3 per cent to 140 million litres, while France's has slipped by 7 per cent to 130 million litres.
Stewart Blunt, of market analysts Nielsen, which produced the figures, said France had been a victim of the credit crunch and a sudden drop in sales of cheap wine. He said: "France has traditionally had a lot in the under-£3 sector, with vin de pays and cheap Bordeaux. That chunk of the market has lost quite heavily over the past six months.
"While American wine is making progress, France has been sliding back, making the overtaking a bit easier."
Crucial to the success of US wines is Californian rosé, which has become a big hit with women drinkers in Britain.
Sales soared by 17 per cent in the year to October, said Nielsen, while French rosé has done particularly badly, slipping by 9 per cent in volume and 5 per cent in value in 2008.
Rose Murray Brown, The Scotsman's wine writer, said heavy marketing had also played its part and France had suffered as a result. "Californians were not interested in our market because they had a huge domestic market," she said.
"They didn't make the same effort as the Australians or the South Africans. But the US has started to focus more on the UK market. A lot of this is price- driven in the supermarkets.
"The New World are very strong with brands and they have the volume they can push through the supermarkets."
According to the magazine Off Licence News, the US has only just overtaken France, and the two countries' share of the market remains virtually the same at about 16 per cent each. Wines from Australia are most popular with UK drinkers, and they dominate with a 23 per cent share.
South Africa, less affected by the weak pound than most other wine-producing countries, is the fastest growing, with a market share increase of 25 per cent this year. Demand for New Zealand wine is up by 15 per cent, Italy is up 11 per cent, while Argentine wine is down 2 per cent.
Retail experts said French wine producers were still trying to push up prices at a time when customers were looking for greater value.
Christine Boggis, of Off Licence News, said: "The credit crunch has finally brought about a moment in French wine's history that has looked inevitable for some time.
"People who bought French wine for under £3 a bottle have not migrated up to the £3 to £4 price bracket, but have simply dropped off the map."
John McLaren, UK director of the California Wine Institute, said his "consumer-friendly and market-driven approach" had helped it overtake its arch-rival.
"The Californians do very well what the French don't do very well, which is to find out what the customer wants," he said. "That is what everybody should do. In these competitive times, we shouldn't be making the same old wine."