The first thing that comes to mind when anyone mentions French drinks is wine, so of course, with France being the world’s second largest wine producer (Italy comes first), wine rightly deserves to be at the top of anyone’s list of boissons françaises. It should come as no surprise then, to learn that there’s a whole slew of myths surrounding this most beloved of beverages… here are just three of the most common.
Myth #1
The French drink wine with every meal.
The truth: In the 1980s, around half of the French population drank wine every day with meals (not breakfast, of course!), with a third having wine once or twice a week. These days, significantly fewer people are drinking every day – 17%, with 45% drinking wine a couple of times a week.
Myth #2
The French consume more wine than anyone else in the world.
The truth: According to wineinstitute.org, far from being the world’s leader in wine quaffing, France actually comes third, with a mere 44.19 liters per capita, per annum. In first place is Vatican City State, with 73.78L p/c, and second is Andorra, with 46.41L p/c.
However, although the amount of wine drunk per head in France is higher than in the United States, the US wine market is growing overall, while that of l’Hexagone is decreasing. In 2013 (the most recent data available), Americans consumed 2.9 billion liters of wine (up by .5% from 2012), while the French only consumed 2.8bn – that’s actually a drop of 7% from the previous year.
Myth #3
Champagne should always be served on ice, and in flutes.
The truth: The only reason that ice buckets were used to serve Champagne was because people didn’t have ‘fridges. Refrigerating Champagne is absolutely fine, there is no need to chill it further – in fact, when you do, the flavor is inhibited, and you don’t get to enjoy your expensive sparkling wine at its best.
Similarly, serving a cuvée in a flute can also limit its flavor and aroma – a far better choice is a regular white wine glass, which will allow the taste to develop.
À votre santé!
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