Why France is switching from red to white wine

Some French wine regions are prioritising plantings of white varieties over red in a bid to follow evolving consumer tastes. Louis Thomas reports. "Difficulty attracts a man of character, for it is by embracing it that he fulfils himself,” Charles de Gaulle, French General and statesman, once claimed. When De Gaulle wrote that line he was referring to military matters, but it would be fair to say that it is a mantra applicable to many areas of life. Today the French wine industry is – metaphorically, at least – at war, contending with shifting consumer habits and a changing climate. The latest data from the SOWINE/Dynata Wine & Drinks Barometer shows that, when it comes to the French grapes that UK consumers are actively seeking out, it’s a white variety, Sauvignon Blanc, that leads the way with 31% of the 1,000 UK adults surveyed citing it as a variety they look for. In second place was Merlot, with 29%, and Chardonnay came third, with 26%. What should perhaps be of more concern to producers specialising in red wine is that 89% of those consumers who participated in the study said they drink white wine, as opposed to 81% who said they drink red (81% also said they drink rosé). It’s a small gap, and the UK is just one of many key markets for the French wine industry, but the well-documented global decline in red wine consumption could have serious ramifications for vineyards from eastern France all the way down to the Pyrenees within the next few years or so.

Beaujolais

Among the red wine regions shifting towards an increase in white wine production is Beaujolais. “Previously I was in charge of the Jura wine board,” remarks Olivier Badoureaux, new director general of Inter Beaujolais. “It’s a change for me, because Jura is 80% white, whereas Beaujolais is 94% red, so I changed colours.” However, Badoureaux is a man intent on altering the production profile of Beaujolais, with plans to treble its white wine production within the decade, increasing it from 4% of the region’s total annual output to 12%. According to 2023 figures from Inter Beaujolais, a little more than 3,000 hectares of Beaujolais vineyards are planted with Gamay, producing around 19.8 million bottles. For whites, by contrast, which are largely composed of Chardonnay, that figure is only 363ha, producing 2.3m bottles. Rosé from the 2023 harvest was only 1.2m bottles – a figure which Inter Beaujolais has no plans to significantly increase, despite the category’s huge commercial success. Shifting the dial towards white wine production is a move partly motivated by a desire to produce wines which suit current taste trends.

One of a kind: Beaujolais’ terroir makes its Chardonnays ‘unique’“Our ambition is to grow from 4% white to 12% in five to six years,” declares Badoureaux. “People want to drink light, fresh, crisp white wine, but we didn’t decide to start making white wine for those reasons – we have always made white wine in Beaujolais. If you look at the AOC specifications in 1936, white wine was already included, but we kept it for ourselves and we focused on red. But now we have some terrific white wines. Yes, Chardonnay is grown all over the world, but because of the diversity of our soils, our Chardonnays have something especially unique.” An increase in white wine production will also be advantageous in terms of gaining momentum in the UK market, the second-biggest export destination for the region after the US, importing 3m bottles of all styles of Beaujolais in 2023, as opposed to the US, which took around 5.3m bottles. “The UK is an interesting market – it’s difficult, just like France is,” Badoureaux says. “One issue winemakers around the globe are facing is the drop in red consumption – wine in general, but red in particular – which puts Beaujolais in a difficult situation, and this is particularly true in the UK. All the key French players have dropped in exports, apart from Bourgogne. However, Beaujolais has some very naturally crisp, fresh and fruity wines, which align with the need of the market, and especially the needs we perceive from British consumers.” The key asset for the production of quality white wines, according to Badoureaux, is the region’s terroir. “In the early 2000s, Beaujolais started an ambitious programme to understand its soil composition – it dug 16,000 holes in vineyards, to really understand what was under the grass and the earth,” he explains. “The region recognised 300 different soils in Beaujolais, which can be synthesised into 15 big groups – granites, clays, limestone, etc. “One key thing we have which is different to the ‘other guys’ up north is that, during the Ice Age, glaciation stopped at Beaujolais. When glaciers melted, the water eroded away all the soil and rocks, but this did not happen in Beaujolais because we had no glaciers – hence why we have so many soils, which each provide something to the wines.” The stronghold of Beaujolais Blanc is in the south – Pierres Dorées, which means ‘golden rocks’ in English. “In this area, the soil is a mixture of clay and limestone, a combination which Chardonnay loves,” Badoureaux explains. The 7m bottle question is how Beaujolais can achieve such a dramatic increase in production in so brief a time. Badoureaux reveals that a significant proportion of this can be achieved by reallocating where Chardonnay wines made from vines already planted in Beaujolais end up. “We were historically part of Bourgogne wine production, so we had Chardonnay already, but it was shipped to Bourgogne, because in some of our areas of production you can decide to make Beaujolais or Bourgogne at a regional level,” he explains. “Some of the grapes which are born and raised in Beaujolais are bottled as Bourgogne Blanc or crémant. People from Bourgogne don’t like to hear about that, but it is a reality. “I’m not speaking about 5,000ha – it’s less than 1,000ha, but we have some grapes already planted. Of course, it would also imply removing some Gamay and replacing it with Chardonnay. Now that we have a good understanding of what’s beneath our feet, we can make better decisions. We have big ambitions for white wine.”

Roussillon

Situated in the far south of France, close to the Spanish border, the hot and arid zone of Roussillon is another historically red wine-producing part of the country which is in the process of boosting its cultivation of white varieties. At present, just over one-third (38%) of grape plantings in Roussillon are of white grapes, with the most common being Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains (2,135ha), Muscat d’Alexandrie (1,801ha) and, perhaps unsurprisingly, given the region’s proximity to Catalonia, Macabeo/Viura (1,490ha). Asked which white variety has the greatest potential within the region, Eric Aracil, co-director of exports at the Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins du Roussillon (CIVR), points to the fifth most-planted white grape, one with just over 1,000ha of the region’s total vineyard area: “Grenache Gris, for its potential to be vinified in different ways, its complexity and organoleptic characteristics, and its resistance and adaptation to different soils and terroirs – very important in the wider context of climate change.” Aracil disputes the idea that growing more white grapes is purely following the trend of where consumer tastes are at the moment. “In Roussillon, all our producers agree with the fact that there is a real potential for white wine in the future, and they are planting white varieties,” he explains. “White wine is perhaps a ‘trend’, but consumers are increasingly looking for fresh wines with low alcohol, which are easier to drink, bring great pleasure, while offering complexity, and good balance. “White wines are also easier to pair with the types of foods that are proving popular now, and fit better with modern eating habits or dietary choices – vegan, vegetarian, non-dairy, etc. Whites are also well-suited to more casual consumption patterns (after-work drinks and social gatherings), and their serving temperatures demand and insist on freshness and lightness.”

Bordeaux

However, not all traditional red wine-producing regions in France are looking to take a punt on whites. Indeed, in the case of one region, the opposite has been true. Bordeaux is synonymous with its claret, with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon the big-hitting varieties on both sides of the Gironde. That is not to say that the region does not have a history of white wine production – until the 1970s, Bordeaux mainly produced white wine, especially from Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle.

Photo Courtesy: CIVR-Saint.ephotographie. Taken as red: but more than one-third of Roussillon’svineyards are white varieties Today though, it’s a very different story, as a spokesperson for the Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB) explains. “In Bordeaux there is no strong collective ambition to plant more white grape varieties,” the spokesperson says. “Overall, the surface area under vine, including for dry white wines, has declined, with the total vineyard area down by about 14% over the past 10 years. Rather than a targeted increase in white grape planting, what we’re seeing is a nuanced movement toward greater balance and product diversity.” Key among these changing conditions has been a warming climate, with Bordeaux bearing the brunt of many a difficult vintage in recent years, including in 2024, when production fell to its lowest level since the early 1990s (although this is also partly a consequence of uprooting some areas of vineyard in Bordeaux).

Southern accent: Roussillon is bullish about the potential for Grenache Gris

To counteract the ravages of climate change, the CIVB has approved the planting of a number of additional white varieties, including Alvarinho/Albariño – but it seems that this is not due to it being a popular grape among consumers. “Bordeaux’s recent inclusion of Alvarinho and other grape varieties like Floréal, Liliorila, Sauvignac and Souvignier Gris is a strategic response to climate change,” the CIVB spokesperson explains. “These varieties are chosen for their resilience and adaptability, rather than their commercial appeal. Any future consideration would need to balance climate resistance, stylistic compatibility with Bordeaux’s identity and strict AOC regulations.” Indeed, the CIVB remains resolute that the solution for Bordeaux is not to uproot its Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon and replace it with Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. “There is no official target in Bordeaux to increase the proportion of white wine produced relative to red,” says the spokesperson. “The region’s current aim is to create better alignment between production potential and market demand, with a focus on diversification rather than simply increasing white output. Red grape vines are being uprooted more frequently, as seen in the 7,100ha reduction in red PDO vineyards in 2024, but this doesn’t directly translate into new white plantings. “The increased production of blanc de noirs for Crémant de Bordeaux – which is only authorised under the PDO Crémant de Bordeaux, and [which] has grown 7% year-on-year – contributes toa more balanced and varied production landscape, and is an example of emerging innovations in Bordeaux. A few producers are going further still, creating still blanc de noirs white wine – but outside the PDO classification.”

Sancerre

For French wine regions which are looking to shift the dial, even slightly, towards more white wine production, it makes sense to look to a region which has already built its modern reputation on white wine. Centre-Loire, which includes such famed zones for the production of Sauvignon Blanc as Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, was not always a white wine powerhouse. Centre-Loire was once a red wine region, with Gamay and Pinot Noir being the key grapes for centuries. However, the phylloxera crisis of the late 19th century turned the situation on its head, forcing the region to rebuild from the roots up. Pinot Noir did not graft easily onto American rootstocks in Centre-Loire’s chalky soils, whereas Sauvignon Blanc, which now constitutes 80% of the grapes in the region, was more promising, both viticulturally and commercially. Indeed, in 1936, Sancerre’s white wines were granted AOC status, more than two decades before its reds and rosés. Although this shift began more than a century ago, what it demonstrates is that the wine sector is a resilient one. It is an industry which has historically always adapted to survive crises. Hotter vintages and falling consumption are undeniably huge challenges for the industry, but the stereotype of French wine as stagnant and unbending could not be further from reality. The problems of the 21st century, both consumer- and climate-related, are not entirely without precedent. Perhaps in 50 years’ time, we will speak of Beaujolais primarily with regard to its Chardonnay, not its Gamay, and Roussillon won’t be most celebrated for Grenache Noir, but Grenache Gris. If it has happened before in Sancerre, it can happen again, and we may well be witnessing the early phases of another transformative epoch.