Drink pink! France develops a taste for rosé wine as a year-round favourite as sales of red wine plummet

The French once dismissed it as a ‘pool drink’ that could only be enjoyed in the summer.

But it seems they have developed a taste for rosé wine, while red wine sales are plummeting.

According to winemakers, customers are increasingly opting for lighter wines with a lower alcohol content, which are especially popular among young people.

The lighter wine is now proving to be a year-round favorite across the country, just as red wine is falling out of favor.

Demand for bottles of Bordeaux still remains high globally, with red wine accounting for 40 percent of annual wine production, but domestic demand has halved since the 1990s.

READ MORE: FORGET RED! GO IN THE PINK WITH WINTER ROSE

Independent winemaker Thomas Montagne, who produces red, white and rosé wines at his Luberon vineyard in the south of France, said: ‘In the 1990s we had the ‘French paradox’, with studies showing that red wine was good for health. Now people, especially young people, are choosing rosé wines, which are easier to drink, contain fewer tannins and give a more festive feeling.’

A spokesperson for regional winemakers said vineyards in Burgundy now produce half as much red wine compared to 20 years ago, while white wine production has increased.

They said: ‘I was surprised when I found that (rose) got drunk in winter. The decline in the popularity of red wine is due to an erosion of the customer base – with people generally drinking less – and the disappearance of opportunities to do so.

‘The younger generations eat less meat and avoid red wines in favor of white or roses.’

Even former president Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni have jumped on the trend after launching their own rose called Roseblood.

No less than 830 million liters of wine are produced in France every year, of which 29 percent is white wine and 19 percent is rose.