(Policymic) - "A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine," proclaimed the famed French gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. Indeed, wine was once considered an integral part of any meal among the French. In recent years, however, the percentage of people drinking wine in France has plummeted, while consumption in the United States has skyrocketed.

In 1980, 51% of the French people drank wine daily or nearly every day. Another 30% admitted to drinking wine once or twice a week. Thirty years later, though, only 17% drink it regularly and 45% drink it occasionally. Meanwhile, 38% of French people say they never drink wine at all! Wine has been replaced at the dinner table with water, juice, and soda as the French abandon what was once considered an integral part of their culture.

Perico Lagasse, a French gastronome and journalist, laments that wine has started to be viewed as an elitist drink, straying from its popular roots.