Thousands of French Winegrowers Seek Aid to Uproot Vines

Nearly 6,000 French winegrowers have applied for state aid to uproot vines as the country moves ahead with a plan to remove about 28,000 hectares of vineyards in response to weaker demand and mounting pressure on the sector from climate change.

The program, run by FranceAgriMer, is backed by €130 million in public funding and offers growers €4,000 for each hectare removed. The work must be completed by Dec. 31, 2026. Officials say the goal is to bring vineyard supply closer to current market demand after years of falling consumption, especially for red wine.

Jérôme Despey, who heads the wine committee at FranceAgriMer, said most of the applications come from southwestern wine regions, including Gironde, Aude, Gard, Hérault, Pyrénées-Orientales and Gers. Those areas have been hit hard by weak sales and by weather extremes that have made farming more difficult and less predictable.

The applications are largely for red grape varieties, which have lost ground in the market. Of the land covered by the requests, about 37% will be fully cleared, meaning those growers will leave wine production altogether. The remaining 63% involves partial removal of older vines, mostly more than 10 years old, so estates can reduce output and rework their plantings.

The measure follows earlier government support for vineyard removal. In 2024, France set aside €110 million for a similar effort. The new plan comes after the European Parliament approved a broader package that also gives growers more flexibility in vineyard management and support for alcohol-free wine production.

French officials have been under pressure to respond to a long decline in wine consumption. FranceAgriMer data show that per-person wine consumption has fallen from about 120 liters a year decades ago to around 40 liters today. Red wine sales alone have dropped 15% in the past three years.

For some growers, uprooting vines is a way out of a business that no longer works financially. Others may switch to crops such as olives or pistachios, while some older farmers may choose retirement instead of replanting. The changes are likely to reshape production patterns across France and could affect prices, margins and planting decisions well beyond the country’s borders.