From grain to grape: Britons switch to 'old-fashioned' wine

The figures published yesterday show that overall alcohol sales in Britain rose by 15 per cent between 1999 and 2004, while wine sales rose by 23 per cent.

They confirm another survey released earlier this week which showed that Britons were drinking more wine than beer at home for the first time.

Over the same period in France, although overall volumes remain much higher, domestic consumption dropped by 4 per cent over the same period and overall consumption of alcohol fell by 6 per cent.

According to the market analyst Mintel, French spending on alcohol rose by 7 per cent during the same period, suggesting that more expensive drinks were being preferred.

The Mintel survey, Drinking Habits in Europe, showed that 88 per cent of Britons had an alcoholic drink in the past year, ahead of the French at 86 per cent and the Germans at 70 per cent.

Sixty-seven per cent of people in France had drunk wine over the past year, compared with 63.9 per cent in Britain and 34.2 per cent in Germany.

Overall wine consumption in France remained far greater than in Briton, with 3.35 billion litres consumed last year, compared with 1.19 billion litres in the United Kingdom.

Beer consumption, having risen in recent years in France at the expense of wine because it was seen as more fashionable by young people, has now seen sales fall by 10 per cent. Surprisingly, beer sales have also fallen in Germany, a nation once known for its beer cellars.

In Britain, according to Mintel, the sales of beer have remained static over the same period. However, a survey released earlier this week by Marketing magazine said that beer off-sales had fallen over the past year by 0.7 per cent to £1.79bn - possibly a reflection of the fact that there have been no major sporting events, such as a World or European Cup, to boost sales.

The same survey also showed that beer had taken second place to wine in overall sales figures for British home consumption - reaching £1.97bn. Sales in pubs have also fallen by around 4 per cent over the past 12 months, while sales of spirits, apart from vodka, have remained steady.

The reasons for Britain's increasing love affair with wine have been well-documented - greater affluence, European holidays, sponsorship and aggressive marketing by supermarkets have all played their part.

But in France, the wine industry has been criticised for being insular and old-fashioned, and modern New World wines, which have fuelled the rise in Britain, have found it much harder to get a foothold in French supermarkets and restaurants.

Many younger people view wine as the drink of their parents, while health concerns may also have played a part.

Hanna Kivimaki, a senior consumer analyst at Mintel, said the French wine industry had lost its way.

"While wine remains the largest alcoholic drinks sector in France, it is losing its traditional and central role as a meal accompaniment, and for many water has become a more common drink at meal times," she said.

John Corbet-Milward, of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, said: "The rise of wine is part of a whole lifestyle change for Britons, who are becoming more sophisticated and well-travelled, while in France it is still seen by many as the drink of older people.''