Dismay as France overtaken by Italy as top wine producer

FranceFrance was gripped by anguish on Sunday over the loss of its place as the world’s largest wine producer and exporter, “dethroned” by Italy and Spain, reports The Telegraph.

“France falls from her pedestal,” lamented Le Parisien newspaper, which devoted its first three pages to the bitter revelation. “Some news is hard to swallow.”

It said the 2015 figures from the International Organisation of Vine and Wine showed France had been “dethroned by Italy, teased by Chile and Argentina, and tormented by South Africa and California.”

Only a year ago, when the figures for 2014 were released, France’s 140,000 winegrowers toasted their success in regaining the throne after a brief spell in second place.

Read more of this report from The Telegraph.