You’ve probably heard about it in the last few days: the figures for the 2020 wine harvest are in, and the least we can say is that they’re not very good for France… At least at first sight!

France is the world’s third largest wine producer…

For several years now, France has been the world’s second-largest wine producer by volume, behind Italy. However, the latest data from the International Wine Organization (OIV) show that the year 2020 was not very kind to the French wine world and its harvests. France’s production of 34.2 million hectolitres in 2020 places it as the world’s third-largest producer, just behind Spain (35 million hectolitres), and Italy far ahead with its well-established leadership (44.5 million hectolitres in 2020).

This particularly poor performance in France is due in particular to unfavorable weather conditions (frost, mildew, drought, etc. caused a 20% drop in wine production in 2020).

Furthermore, the first data for 2021 forecast by the OIV once again confirms France’s third-place ranking, due to even more difficult weather conditions this year (2021 will see a 30% drop in wine harvests compared to 2020). Italy and Spain will also be severely affected by 2021, with the top 3 producers recording a loss of 22 million hectolitres compared to 2020.

But France is still the leading producer by value

Despite this, France remains the world’s leading wine producer by value in 2020, and looks set to remain so in 2021.

The OIV has not yet provided figures for 2021 and 2020, but the 2019 figures show that France is the world’s leading producer by value, with nearly 33 billion euros worth of wine and eau-de-vie produced, including 13 billion euros worth of wine and eau-de-vie exports, far ahead of Italy (it should also be noted that 60% of these alcohols produced in France are consumed locally).

Finally, the French are the world’s second-largest wine consumers, with 3.5 billion bottles consumed, just behind the United States and ahead of Italy.