This page is one of the annex pages of www.understandfrance.org, the foremost site on Franco-American intercultural differences. It contains documents, facts and figures illustrating the content of some of its pages.

Wine and cheese : Facts & figures

This page contains Facts and Figures about France and the French. Some are significant, other less so....

 (credit)

Comparative data : annual consumption

 Country

 Cheese

kilos/year

2002

 Cheese

ranking

 Wine

liters/inhab.

2002

 Wine

ranking

 Beer

liters/inhab.

2002

 Beer

ranking

 Greece

 25,6

 1

 n/a
 

 n/a
 
 France

 24,6

 2

 53

 2

 29

 53
 Italy

 22,5

 3

 54

 1

 n/a
 
 Denmark

 21,4

 4

 33

 7

 95

 7
 Netherlands

 20,3

 5

 n/a
 

 n/a
 
 Germany

 20,2

 6

 25

 13

 115

 4
 Austria

 20,0

 7

 31

 10

 117

 3
 Switzerland

 19,6

 8

 43

 5

 n/a
 
 Sweden

 18,3

 9

 n/a
 

 n/a
 
 Israel

 16,9

 10

 n/a
 

 n/a
 
 Croatia

 n/a
 

 49

 3

 n/a
 
 Portugal

 n/a
 

 46

 4

 n/a
 
 Spain

 n/a
 

 37

 6

 n/a
 
 Argentina

 n/a
 

 32

 8

 n/a
 
 Hungary

 n/a
 

 31

 9

 n/a
 
 Ireland

 n/a
 

 n/a
 

 189

 1
 Czech Rep.

 n/a
 

 n/a
 

 157

 2
 Belgium

 n/a
 

 n/a
 

 100

 5
 Slovakia

 n/a
 

 n/a
 

 92

 8
 Australia

 n/a
 

 n/a
 

 88

 10
 USA

 15,2

 15

 8

 37

 89

 9
 UK

 10,0

 25

 17

 20

 97

 6

(source : Stephane BATIGNE, La France dans le monde, ViaMedias, 2006)

Back to pages on wine, on cheese

Time spent eating and drinking (Source: OECD reported in the Wall Street Journal, May 5, 2009)

Top six hours:minutes Bottom six hours:minutes
France 2:15 U.K. 1:25
New Zealand 2:10 Norway 1:22
Japan 1:57 Finland 1:21
Italy 1:54 USA 1:14
Belgium 1:49 Canada 1:09
Spain 1:46 Mexico 1:06

Wine : production, exportation, importation

 
 

Production 2014 (parenth. : consumption

(billion of bottles)

 Production 2005 (million of hectolitres) (parenth. : numbers 2007)

 Exports 2005 (million of hectolitres)

(parenth. : market share 2007)

 Export trend

2006/2005

 France 6,19 (3,56)

 50,5 (48,4)

 14,6 (17%)

 +0,5%
 Italy  

 50,5 (48)

 17 (21%)

 +0,5%
 Spain  

 35,3 (34,7)

 13,9 (17%)

 -0,5%
 U.S.A. 4,86 (4,08)

 33,1 (20)

 3,8 (5%)

 +0,3%
 Australia  

 15,6 (9,6)

 8,3 (10%)

 +1,3%
 Argentina  

 15,2 (15)

 (7%)
 
 Germany  

 10,5 (10,3)

 3,2 (4%)

 +0,2%
 Chile  

 7,9 (8,2)

 4,5 (4%)

 +0,3%
 South Africa  

 7,6 (9,8)

 (3%)
 
 Portugal  

 7,3 (5,8)

 (4%)
 
 China 1,44 (1,74)

 (12)
   
 Russia  

 (6) 
   

 Liters/inhab. 2014 :

  • France = 47,4
  • USA = 12,3
  • China = 1,1

 

   Imports 2005  % 2005/2001
 Germany

 12,6

 +15%
 U.K.

 11,9

 +25%
 U.S.A.

 6,2

 +47%
 Netherlands

 3,6

 +14%
 Belgium

 2,5

 +7%
 Canada

 2,0

 +29%
 Switzerland

 1,7

 -3%
 Denmark

 1,6

 =
 Sweden

 1,5

 +16%
 Japan

 1,3

 -8%
(Source : Vinexpo/Organistion Internationale du Vin - le Figaro 18/6/2007), Le Monde June 14, 2015
   
   

A (minimal) glossary to order in a French restaurant

In restaurants, Americans are often puzzled by the French words for fish. Sometimes, those fish do not exist in America.Here are a few translated names.

  • Alose : shad
  • Bar : bass
  • Barbue : brill
  • Brochet : pike
  • Chipiron : cuttlefish
  • Colin : hake
  • Daurade : sea bream
  • Ecrevisse : crayfish
  • Espadon : swordfish
  • Langouste : lobster (without claws)
  • Langoustine : Dublin Bay prawn
  • Lotte : monkfish
  • Rouget : red mullet
  • Saint-Pierre : John Dory fish
  • Sandre : pike-perch
  • Sole : plaice
  • Turbot : turbot

For more : read the best dictionnary of French words about food : Geneviève de Temmerman, The A-Z of French food, Paris, Scribo, 1998

Back to page on wine, to tips on food

To table of contents

To top of the page 

Back to home page

Harriet Welty Rochefort writes articles and books about France and the French. Order her books:

  • "Joie de Vivre", Secrets of Wining, Dining and Romancing like the French, St.Martin's Press, New York, 2012
  • "French Toast, An American in Paris Celebrates The Maddening Mysteries of the French", St.Martin's Press, New York, 1999
  • "French Fried, The Culinary Capers of An American in Paris", St.Martin's Press, New York, 2001

More on Harriet's books (excerpts, upcoming events, testimonials, etc..)

To email me

 If you like this site, please bookmark it or create a link!
ted