France back on top but there's too much wine
France is on course to overtake Italy as the largest wine producing nation, according to new figures from the International Organisation of Vine & Wine (OIV). France is expected to produce 46m hectolitres of wine from the 2014 harvest - equivalent to 6 billion bottles and about 10% more than in 2013. By comparison, France's nearest rival, Italy, is 15% down on last year at around 44.4m hectolitres, after rains hampered the growing season in the north of the country.
Globally, OIV figures suggest there more pressure on global wine supplies versus 12 months ago with worldwide production outstripping demand. 2014 is projected to be 271 million hectolitres but consumption is forecast to remain below that figure, at around 243m hectolitres or 32.3bn bottles.
