France still reigns

French vineyards are shrinking and growers are retiring without successors. Producers such as Spain are in the overtaking lane, writes columnist Andrew J. Linn

Andrew J. Linn

Malaga

Thursday, 17 April 2025, 15:15

France once reigned supreme in the world of wine. Though the country still produces some of the globe's most prestigious bottles - think Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne - things are changing. Vineyards are shrinking and growers are retiring without successors. Producers such as Spain are in the overtaking lane.

At the Vancouver Wine Festival, British critic Andrew Jefford made a passionate case for France's continued dominance. France, he maintains, has unrivalled natural advantages: a unique range of latitudes, soils rich in chalk and limestone, and a geography teeming with slopes and terraces ideal for vine-growing. But the edge doesn't stop at terroir. France's cultural traits - a relentless tendency to critique and improve, a reverence for place, and refined palates - have resulted in wines of great character and complexity. Jefford refers to this legacy as "divine dissatisfaction" - a centuries-long drive that produced icons like Musigny and Yquem.

American writer Jon Bonné, meanwhile, explores a different angle in The New French Wine. After years of research, Bonné paints a picture of a nation in transition. For the first time since the devastation of phylloxera, France is defining its wine culture on its own terms. He views shrinking vineyard acreage as a positive shift towards quality - priority over quantity. Though critical of past complacency, Bonné acknowledges France still sets the global benchmark.

While Italy may one day challenge France, both writers agree: France still offers the most complete expression of what great wine can be. Imperfect, evolving - but undeniably inspirational.

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