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Alcohol is of enormous importance in French culture. It is produced almost everywhere in the country, and has become a part of French gastronomy. Nowadays, French alcohol is well known in the whole world, and every region has its speciality.
In 2016, France ranked 12th in the world for average alcohol consumption per capita.
Some historians[ who? ] link high alcohol consumption to the Middle Ages. At that time, alcoholic drinks formed a large part of he average worker's diet. It was drunk from the morning, up to 3 litres per person per day. [1] Some scholars[ who? ] argue that alcohol played a role in the French Revolution, acting as "a catalyst and a lubricant" for the events of July 1789. [2]
7% of the deaths in France of people aged 15 years and over are attributable to alcohol. It kills 41,000 people each year. [3] Around 580,000 hospitalizations due to alcohol take place in France each year. The estimated cost of these hospitalizations is 2.64 billion euros. In 2022, 22% of adults had alcohol consumption above recommendations. Risks of alcoholism are higher for men (33.5%) than for women (14.9%). [4]
Alcohol can cause diseases directly, such as cirrhosis, or become a risk factor for other diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, or cognitive and psychological disorders like anxiety, depression and behavioral disorders, which may be irreversible. [5] To explain with figures: 30,000 men and 11,000 women died because of alcohol in 2015: 16,000 deaths from cancer, 9,900 from cardiovascular diseases, 6,800 from digestive diseases, 3,000 from other diseases ( diabetes, mental illness, epilepsy, etc.) and 5,400 by accident or suicide. This represents 11% of male mortality and 4% of female mortality, with an overall average of 7%. 90% of these deaths are linked to consumption of more than 5 glasses per day. 10% of drinkers are responsible for 58% of alcohol consumption.
Due to all the consequences, social cost of alcohol is estimated at 120 billion euros per year. Public finances represent 5% of this cost. [6]
In France, alcohol consumption during pregnancy is considered as the leading cause of mental disability of non-genetic origin in children [7]
To help people in difficulties, associations of former drinkers (Alcool Assistance, Alcoholics Anonymous, Blue Cross, Vie Libre, etc.) participate in the treatment of alcoholic illness and enable patients to recover sustainably.
Advertising alcohol on TV or cinema is illegal in France. However, online advertising is not restricted. Alcohol advertisers may use humor, seduction, or feelings of empowerment to promote their products. [8]
South of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is another significant alcohol production hub. Its mountain range allows for the production of unique beverages, especially Génépi and Chartreuse [9] . Also available are: [10]
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté is perhaps the most renowned wine region in France. It produces globally known wines like Romanée-Conti, the most expensive wine in the world, [11] as well as Anis de Pontarlier, Marc de Bourgogne, and Fine de Bourgogne.
Brittany is one of the regions that consumes the most alcohol in France. [12] Its specialities are cider, chouchen, beer, and lambig.
A dominant wine region in France, Centre-Val de Loire is the origin of 3 notable wines: Vins de la Loire, Vouvray, and Sauvignon de Touraine.
Examples of alcohol produced in Corsica include:
The Grand Est region has many different types of alcoholic drinks: [13]
Located on the north of France, this region mostly produces beers instead of wines. Hauts-de-France also produces Picon, which is often drunk with beer.
Île-de-France is the most urbanised region in France, making it unsuitable for vineyards. As the main and most populous region in France, however, it has an essential role of point of distribution and consumption across the country.
Located in southwest France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine produces a great variety of alcoholic drinks, including the very famous Vin de Bordeaux, [14] a red wine. Others include: [15]
Many alcoholic drinks produced in Normandy are apple-based, like cider, Calvados (apple brandy), Pommeau, Poiré, and Bénédictine. [16]
Adjacent to Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitania also has many local alcoholic drinks. The most popular are Vins de Languedoc-Roussillon, which are a mix of white, red and rose wine. [17] Others include:
This region has a celebrated drink, Cointreau, produced in downtown Angers. [18] Other types of alcohol are Muscadet, Vins d'Anjou, and Saumur.
Situated in southeastern France, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur is well known for its rosé wines, but mostly for its anise-derived beverages, such as pastis and Ricard.
A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies and soft drinks. Traditionally warm beverages include coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. Caffeinated drinks that contain the stimulant caffeine have a long history.
Crème de cassis is a sweet, dark red liqueur made from blackcurrants.
Drinking culture is the set of traditions and social behaviors that surround the consumption of alcoholic beverages as a recreational drug and social lubricant. Although alcoholic beverages and social attitudes toward drinking vary around the world, nearly every civilization has independently discovered the processes of brewing beer, fermenting wine and distilling spirits.
Liquor is an alcoholic drink produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit, distilled beverage, spirituous liquor or hard liquor. The distillation process concentrates the liquid to increase its alcohol by volume. As liquors contain significantly more alcohol (ethanol) than other alcoholic drinks, they are considered "harder." In North America, the term hard liquor is sometimes used to distinguish distilled alcoholic drinks from non-distilled ones, whereas the term spirits is more commonly used in the UK. Some examples of liquors include vodka, rum, gin, and tequila. Liquors are often aged in barrels, such as for the production of brandy and whiskey, or are infused with flavorings to form flavored liquors, such as absinthe.
The Société des alcools du Québec is a provincial Crown corporation and monopoly in Quebec responsible for the trade of alcoholic beverages within the province.
A regional council is the elected assembly of a region of France.
Purposeful production of alcoholic drinks is common and often reflects cultural and religious peculiarities as much as geographical and sociological conditions.
This article covers various topics involving alcoholic drinks in Canada. The Government of Canada defines an alcoholic drink as "a beverage containing 1.1% or more alcohol by volume."
Laudun-l'Ardoise is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitania region in Southern France. It is located on the departmental border with Vaucluse, which is also the regional border with Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.
Marsannay wine is produced in the communes of Marsannay-la-Côte, Couchey and Chenôve in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy. The Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) Marsannay may be used for red and rosé wine with Pinot noir, as well as white wine with Chardonnay as the main grape variety. Red wine accounts for the largest part of the production, around two-thirds. Marsannay is the only village-level appellation which may produce rosé wines, under the designation Marsannay rosé. All other Burgundy rosés are restricted to the regional appellation Bourgogne. There are no Grand Cru or Premier Cru vineyards in Marsannay. The Marsannay AOC was created in 1987, and is the most recent addition to the Côte de Nuits.
An alcoholic beverage is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The consumption of alcoholic drinks, often referred to as "drinking", plays an important social role in many cultures. Alcoholic drinks are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and spirits—and typically their alcohol content is between 3% and 50%.
Alcohol preferences in Europe vary from country to country between beer, wine or spirits. These preferences are traditionally associated with certain regions. Hence, the Central European pattern of alcohol consumption is associated with beer-drinking, the Mediterranean pattern with wine-drinking and the Eastern or Northern European pattern with spirit-drinking countries. However, traditional preferences do not necessarily correspond to current drinking habits, as beer has become the most popular alcoholic drink world-wide.
Quebec wine is wine made in the province of Quebec. The grape varieties grown in Quebec, both white and red, all have common qualities needed by the harshness of the winter season, including resistance to winter temperatures, resistance to spring freezes and being early ripening. Some 40 varieties are grown in Quebec, with the most commonly planted being Maréchal Foch, Frontenac, De Chaunac, Vidal and Seyval blanc.
Quebec cider is crafted in the apple-producing regions of Montérégie, Eastern Townships, Chaudière-Appalaches, the Laurentides, Charlevoix and Capitale-Nationale, in Canada. The revival of cider is a relatively new phenomenon, since Quebec's alcohol regulating body, the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux began issuing permits to produce craft cider only in 1988. In 2008, some 40 cider makers were producing more than 100 apple-based alcoholic beverages.
Lotoko, also known by the slang term "pétrole", is a home-distilled alcoholic drink or "moonshine" in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Alcohol laws are laws relating to manufacture, use, being under the influence of and sale of alcohol or alcoholic beverages. Common alcoholic beverages include beer, wine, (hard) cider, and distilled spirits. Definition of alcoholic beverage varies internationally, e.g., the United States defines an alcoholic beverage as "any beverage in liquid form which contains not less than one-half of one percent of alcohol by volume". Alcohol laws can restrict those who can produce alcohol, those who can buy it, when one can buy it, labelling and advertising, the types of alcoholic beverage that can be sold, where one can consume it, what activities are prohibited while intoxicated, and where one can buy it. In some cases, laws have even prohibited the use and sale of alcohol entirely.
Castel Group is a French beverage company. It was established in 1949 by Pierre Castel, who continues to run the company as a family-owned concern.
The history of New France as a colonial space is inextricably linked to the trade and commerce of alcohol. Whether it is the use of brandy as a commodity in the fur trade, the local consumption of spirits and beer by the colonists at home and in the cabarets, or the wine used in religious ceremonies, its presence was ubiquitous and was one of the staples of the economy. The King, Sovereign Council, and ecclesiastics were very concerned over the commerce of this substance and took several measures to regulate the trade over the course of the colonies' existence.
Educ'alcool is a Canada based not-for-profit organization established in 1989. It works primarily within Quebec to encourage moderate, enlightened drinking, and influence drinking contexts. It launched a series of actions and programs with communities locally and globally to create awareness, educate and prevent inform programs designed to help young people and adults about excessive drinking.
