Why France Is Spending $216 Million to Destroy 80 Million Gallons of Wine
Well, this is a bummer.
Some literary historians have traced the origin of the phrase “don’t cry over spilled milk” back to an obscure 17th-century book of proverbs written by an equally obscure Welsh writer. Although “don’t cry over spilled wine” may not be commonly used, wasted wine is definitely more painful – and increasingly relevant this summer.
In June, the European Union gave France €160M ($173M) to destroy almost 80 gallons of wine, and the French government has since added another €40M ($43M) to that total. According to the Washington Post, over 80 million gallons of wine will be destroyed, and the alcohol left behind will be used in other products, like cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, or perfumes.
Government officials in France believe that it’s necessary to eliminate a significant percentage of its wine crop — about 7% of last year’s total — because there’s a wine surplus caused by a combination of factors, including the lingering effects of the pandemic, the ongoing war in Ukraine, consumer inflation, and a change in drinking habits throughout the country.
Earlier this summer, France’s agriculture ministry also set aside €57M ($62M) to fund the clearing (or technically the “pulling up”) of over 23,000 acres’ worth of vines in the Bordeaux-growing region, and there are also funds available for grape farmers who want to use their land for olives or other crops.
Agence France-Presse explains that the sharp decline in demand for wine means that prices have also fallen, leading to financial challenges for winemakers in the Bordeaux and Languedoc regions.“We’re producing too much, and the sale price is below the production price, so we’re losing money,” Jean-Philippe Granier, from the Languedoc Wine Producers’ Association, told the AFP.
The AFP also reports that, according to the European Commission, wine consumption has fallen by 22% in France, 22% in Germany, 7% in Italy, 34% in Portugal, and 10% in Spain. In France specifically, wine drinking has dropped from 885 million gallons in 2005 to 665 million gallons in 2021.
“We have an underlying issue of, ‘How do we better engage with the consumer and make wine more relevant, make wine a relevant choice for consumers that have a lot of options?’” Stephen Rannekleiv, a global sector strategist for beverages at Dutch financial services company Rabobank, told the Post.
Anything that leads to fewer gallons of spilled — or full-on destroyed — wine works for us.
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