top 10

VOLUME : 4.5 million metric tons

While the French wine industry has always been well respected , it also has some fierce competition – but this year , France is coming out on top . It ’ s clear that it has been a difficult year across the board for the global wine industry , with low harvests compounded by a frugality drive in China that has caused a 3.5 decrease in wine export volume this year compared to last year .

Despite this poor year , other countries have had it much worse in terms of harvests and total production . Wine production in France is actually expected to rise to 4.5 million metric tons this year , an increase over last year ’ s 4.2 million . That pushes France ahead of chief rival Italy and to the head of the class , placing it in the best position among an industry hoping for a better time in 2015 .

50 October 2014