French Canadians more open to domestic wine

(Drinksint) - French-speaking Canadians are becoming more open-minded about drinking their country’s domestic wines, according to Wine Intelligence research.

But they are also finding wine more expensive than their English-speaking counterparts, the study has found.

According to Wine Intelligence, there are many similarities between the ways the two communities drink wine but French speakers are typically more adventurous in their choices and more open to recommendations.

French speakers generally prefer French wines and show nothing like the enthusiasm that English speakers have for Canadian wines. But this may be slowly changing, according to the research.

In May 2012, Wine Intelligence found that just 19% of Quebecois wine drinkers had consumed Canadian wine over the past six months. In November 2013, that figure had risen to 30% while the proportion drinking French wine had slipped a little, from 69% to 65%.

The Canadian dollar is forecast to hit five-year lows this year, making exports more expensive and potentially benefiting domestic wines. 46% of French-speaking Canadians say wine is an expensive drink, though only 29% of English speakers agree with them.

The Wine Intelligence Landscape Report for Canada explores the drinking habits of 11.1 million English-speaking wine drinkers and 3.7 million Quebecois wine drinkers and predicts that the market’s growth will continue.

Wine Intelligence chief operating officer Richard Halstead said: “Canada is the world’s 11th largest economy and the 12th largest market for wine on the planet. It’s more fragmented than other Western markets due to its sheer scale, the existence of monopoly liquor boards, and of course the linguistic and cultural differences that exist.