Why is French wine cheaper in France?

This is a question I have been asked MANY times : is french wine cheaper in France? Well, the answer is quite EASY on this one: of course, french wine is cheaper in France. But the more interesting question : why is french wine cheaper in France? For example, California produces a LOT of wine, they have variety such as in France. But the prices stay up. In France, on the other hand, you can have a decent bottle of wine for a few euros! SO why is that?

First let’s see what others have to say about that.

What does frenchentree.com and Frenchly say?

Frenchentree.com points out that France has near to ZERO taxes on wine, making it cheaper than most countries. Take England for instance, you would automatically be paying £2.18 on duty no matter how expensive the bottle is (imagine purchasing a bottle of £5!).

Frenchly goes deeper in the why : it is called the three-tier-system, due to its three mandatory steps. The producer sells to the importer who then sells to the distributor who then sells to the retailer. Add a few dollars at every sale and there you go.

In France, the selling part is more direct : you can even buy your bottles at the winerie AFTER having toured the winerie and tasted them! (That is where I get most of my wines). Last, Frenchly talks about the stigma effect : “Wine is not a luxury item in France, it is a beverage”. When I go to the supermarket, it is not rare to see bottles at a few euros. In the US, it is simply not done.

What are the factors ACTUALLY influencing the price of wine?

First, the production costs fall into two categories, VITICULTURE and WINEMAKING. Concerning the VINEYARD, the land itself is not cheap and the wine grower must then prepare the soil, buy the vines, plant them AND take care of them during the whole year. The tools for laboring (and harvesting) are also EXPENSIVE at the purchase and these machines must be maintained, which adds to the fees. Same goes for PACKAGING of course with the bottles, the labels, the caps or corks ; some wineries even have bottles of SPECIFIC shapes which increases the costs as well. The TRANSPORT, distribution and sale of wines is very complex and highly regulated. Indeed, the vast majority intend to sell on an international scale.

We must not forget either that certain appellation require for the wines to be aged or STORED before being delivered on the market. For winerie, that requires storage facilities and STOCKS, which can add up pretty quickly.

Of course, as mentioned in the first paragraph, tax is an important issue. The transport, distribution and sale of wines is a very COMPLEX aspect of the sector and is highly regulated and pretty much every government in the world taxes alcoholic beverages. Moreover, rates vary significantly from country to country.

Last but not least, the ULTIMATE price of a bottle of wine depends essentially on the amount of money the customer is willing to spend, to ensure that the product is economically VIABLE. However, when demand is high and supply is limited, the selling price has sometimes nothing to do with these production costs (ex Bordeaux)

How to buy wine at its cheapest price – By going to the wineries of course!

The BEST way to get a product at its cheapest price is to go directly to the producer. This works for wine also! Better yet, in most wineries, you actually get to TASTE the wine before buying it.

And if you really want to diminish the price even more but still get the BEST quality, you should head to Beaujolais. Indeed, one of the price factors is the PERCEIVED values. Unfortunately, Beaujolais has suffered from the reputation of Beaujolais Nouveau. So even the Crus (the best of the best) are not expensive and some are even very CHEAP for the quality of wines you get! Moreover, Beaujolais has no less than TEN Crus, with different styles, so you are bound to discover a wine tailored-made for YOU! Head to my article on the Beaujolais Crus to know more.

And if you are out of time (or can not really be bothered and prefer to go with the flow), check out my “tour reviews” menu, where I select the WINE TOURS I would (and have) choose (chosen). I am actually a BIG fan of organized tours when it comes to WINES (not so much on other subjects).

Why? Because, first and foremost, you don’t have to bother doing the research, comparing the wineries and having to call them one by one to set a date and time, find a restaurant, look for the itinerary and make sure everything matches…. (I organize some tours in Provence, so I know what it is like!). Second, you usually get to discover the small unknown family winerie which makes GREAT wines at a GREAT price and has a lot of local addresses! Last, you get to learn lots of CRISPY anecdotes, and who does not like a good story?

Alternative to wineries – Cooperative wineries and Oenothèques

What is a cooperative winerie? By definition, they are the COMMON property of their members, usually winegrowers. Indeed, in Europe mostly, vineyards are so small that it would not be profitable for them to produce and market their wines alone. It is better to regroup.

How does it work? The winegrowers deliver their grapes to the wine making facility owned by the cooperative winery and run by employees. The biggest drawback is that the winemakers, IE the employees, do not control the QUALITY of the fruit provided.

You can find these cooperative wineries a bit EVERYWHERE in France.

An alternative to wineries, if you do not have the time to plan or sign up for a tour are the “oenothèques“. Basically, they are these big wine STORES that have most of the wines of the area. They get the wines directly from the producer, which lives nearby, so you usually have non-expensive wines there (or at least wines at the lowest price possible). In Provence, I have TWO examples for you.

The oenothèque of BANDOL (in Bandol and also in the Castellet) is opened everyday (except on Sundays) from 10am-1pm and from 3pm-7pm. It has over 80 red wines, 64 rosés and 32 wines from the Bandol appellation (Bandol is red wine terroir, hence the difference). An animator is also present to offer commented tasting of SIX different wineries! Just like in the wineries, you can taste the wine before buying it! You can check their website here

The MAISON DES VINS COTES DE PROVENCE is located in the heart of the appellation, in Les Arcs sur Argens. Created in 1986, it has 400 bottles for sale. Experts are also there to offer 16 wines in free tasting every week, in several languages. You can also sign up for an oenology course! Check their website here.

To sum it up and answer the question : yes french wine is cheaper in France and the reasons for that are the low taxes, the great variety and the ability to buy as close as possible to the producer. So the best way to get cheap wine is to come to France, sign up for some tours (or visit the cooperative and oenothèques) and bring back some bottles!

Let me know in the comments when you plan on coming to our beautiful country, the wineries you visit and of course, YOUR thoughts on this topic!