Organic Wine Study–Number of French Wine Drinkers Who Regularly Buy Organic Wines Doubles

In just six years, the number of French wine drinkers has doubled, according to a new study from SudVinBio. 

The study was conducted in advance of the biggest organic wine fair, set to take place both online and in person in Montpellier. SudVinBio, the organizer, published the results of the study of organic wine drinkers along with an interview (in French) with Nicolas Richarme, SudVinBio's president. 

The conference will be conducted in two parts–an online conference will take place Jan. 24-25 while an in person fair was rescheduled from late January until Feb. 28-March 2. due to Covid. (I am publishing a separate post about the study's findings.) 

Here's the English translation of the Richarme interview. 

THE INTERVIEW

Question: Six years after the previous one, this new study confirms the increase in consumption of organic wine. Your reaction?

Nicolas Richarme, President of SudVinBio

Richarme: For me, the main information is that we have gone from a consumption of curiosity to an installed consumption, to a structural consumption. 

The gap has narrowed between consumers who report having had the opportunity to taste organic wine, if only once in their lifetime, and regular consumers. 

More than a third of French people buy organic wine frequently! 

Moreover, the dynamic is clearly on the organic side: in markets in which the consumption of wine has declined, the consumption of organic wine is increasing, whether occasional or regular. 

This means that organic is gaining in volume but also in strategic weight. Consumption is evolving and it is moving towards organic. Today, it is in a show like Millésime Bio that we find the future of wine.

French wine consumers who regularly buy organic more than doubled,
 increasing from 17 percent in 2015 to 36 percent in 2021.

Question: What shows the progress of organic wine consumption?

Richarme: Both volume and demand. Fortunately, today we are on our own two feet. The supply is ramping up and the markets follow suit. Production is progressing and will progress further.

See the study results here (in French): https://millesime-bio.com/presse/dossiers-de-presse

In France:

• 891 farms started their conversion in 2021

• 1,313 in 2019 

• 3,186 in 2020

For its part, consumption is increasing and increasing everywhere. And yet there are still some challenges to be removed, the study shows, such as information: the markets are not yet fully aware of organic, which suggests reserves of growth if we continue to educate.

This study is also the first to look at the consumption of organic beer.

Indeed, we are now witnessing an extension of the organic sector. Wine is historically one of the most at the forefront of organic. 

All sectors combined, an estimated 9.5% of the useful agricultural area converted to organic in France. For wine, it's 17%! And wine is a locomotive that drives other sectors, such as cider and beer. 

It is a (nice) surprise to the study to show that one in five European consumers buys organic beer more or less regularly. The demand is there and it will drive production.

Three thousand participants (aged 18 and over) provided responses in the online research. They included 1,000 in Germany, 1,000 in France and 1,000 in the United Kingdom. The respondents constituted a representative sample across sex, age, professions, region and urban areas in each country.