Consumption of wine in France continues to decline. From its peak at well over 100 litres per capita several generations ago, consumption now stands at less than half of that amount. Add to it the changing lifestyle, economic situation and the Loi Evin, a law passed in France in 1991 to restrict alcohol and tobacco advertising, and a generation of French in their 20s and 30s may opt for beer or no alcohol at all. Drink-driving laws are strict and widely enforced, so long meals over many bottles of wine are a thing of the past.
In Paris, where I have spent the past six weeks, alongside fast food and gourmet burgers - all the rage right now - are many new wine bars, which seem incongruous with the current trend. Many tiny wine bars, such as the popular Le Garde Robe in the first arrondissement, are so small that a group of 12 people would fill them.
Paris has always had excellent bars such as Willi's Wine Bar, established more than 30 years ago. However, a new breed of wine bars has recently emerged. Ambassade de Bourgogne, as the name implies, serves a good selection of wine from Burgundy at reasonable prices in the trendy sixth arrondissement. The selection of wines is focused and accompanied by a simple menu that includes charcuterie and cheese plates.
Modern bars offer different choices. While many seem to focus on specific criteria such as natural or organic wines, others offer a huge range of wines by the glass. Wine by One's list of 100 such wines is staggering and would have been unimaginable decades ago before the new technology of wine preservation (the enomatic system). Another popular wine bar is O Chateau, where the focus is on education. It offers wine classes and seminars daily in English or French and serves 40 wines by the glass.
Many natural wine bars have cropped up over the past decade, and the focus is on serving mostly organic, biodynamic and vins naturels, wine made without sulphur and from grapes grown without chemicals. Racines is a very popular natural wine bar that takes food equally seriously with options that range from seasonal specialities to cheese platters. It has two branches in Paris. Other such bars include Frenchies and Vivant.
Not everyone is convinced about the merits of natural wines. Enrico Bernardo, named the best sommelier in the world in 2004, opened his restaurant Il Vino in 2007. He says: 'Over the past two to three years, natural and bio wines have been popular. It is due to many reasons, including environmental awareness and a desire to be closer to producers of both food and wine. However, I have had many bad experiences where natural wines were oxidative and had ... unpleasant aromas. In a Michelin-star restaurant, I had five glasses of undrinkable vins naturels.'
Robert Vifian is the chef-owner of Tan Dinh, a Vietnamese restaurant with an amazing wine list. Having been in the restaurant business for more than 30 years and seeing trends come and go, Vifian agrees with Bernardo that natural wines are now on the wane. 'Vins naturels are not necessary good or even better than traditionally made wines. There is a lot of bottle variation.'