![France spending 5M to distill wine into ethanol as demand drops France spending 5M to distill wine into ethanol as demand drops](https://i0.wp.com/content.fortune.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-1272095050-e1693164681972.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1)
Wine producers don’t need to spend months getting their wines ready for industrial use. But it will still happen this year in France due to lower demand for wine from French drinkers, weak sales in China and increased competition in export markets.
With EU help, French government plans to spend about $215m on ‘distillation aid’ Financial Times report Most of the aid will go to the Bordeaux and Languedoc regions on Sunday. The process involves distilling excess wine into ethanol, which is then used in a variety of industrial uses, including perfumes, cleaning products and hydroalcoholic gels in hand sanitizers.
On Friday, Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau said during a tour of wineries that the government aimed to raise wine prices and help winemakers “find new sources of revenue”, according to the Financial Times. Farmers must “adapt to changes in consumption and adjust production to meet future demand,” he added.
In another scheme, farmers were compensated for destroying vineyards, converting land to woods and leaving it fallow. In Bordeaux, around 1,000 farmers were involved, leading to the felling of around 8% of the region’s vines, according to British newspapers.Other public funds to help grape growers change Other products, including olives.
as the bbc report Wine consumption fell across Europe in the year to June this weekend, with Italy down 7%, Spain 10%, France 15% and Germany 22%, according to the European Commission. , Portugal fell by 34%. Meanwhile, wine production across the region rose by 4%.
A cost-of-living crisis linked to soaring energy prices and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also hit the sector, prompting many European shoppers to become more frugal and spend less on non-essential items. At the same time, competition from craft beer and other beverages is growing.
But demand for higher-end wines is better than for more affordable varieties, so some producers in France are opting to move upmarket rather than convert their land to other uses. In February, Moët-Hennessy, the wine and spirits division of LVMH, Add to Portfolio of luxury wine brands from Provence rosé producer Château Minuty.
as a guardian ReportIn fact, this is not the first time that Europe has encountered a “wine lake”. In the mid-2000s, excess wine production fueled by subsidies prompted the European Union to reform its agricultural policy.
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