According to figures that date from 2011, the average French person still consumes nearly 1.2 bottles a week, about six times more than the average American. Nevertheless the downward trend in consumption through recent years is fairly dramatic in Europe's wine-drinking heartlands.

"In countries such as France, Italy and Spain, people used to drink a lot of wine, but consumption habits are changing," OIV Director General Jean-Marie Aurand said on the sidelines of a news conference in Paris.

"We drink less wine by volume, more quality wine. And there is also competition from other drinks such as beer."

"In the U.S., it is different and they are starting from a lower level per capita, so they have a tendency to consume more and more, notably quality wine," he said.

France, the world's third largest wine producer, behind Italy and Spain, but the top exporter in value at 7.8 billion euros ($10.7 billion), saw its consumption average fall more than 20 percent between 2002 and 2011 to 46.4 liters each year, he said.

Over the same period U.S. consumers raised their consumption by nearly 17 percent to 9.1 liters per person per year.

The OIV said the sharp fall on the French wine market last year was exaggerated by an adjustment in its statistical data.

The Paris-based organisation estimated last year's wine consumption in China down 3.8 percent to 16.8 million hectolitres after a rapid growth over the past 10 years, but Aurand played down the fall, saying this was likely due to large stocks built up in the previous years.

Without official Chinese data, OIV calculates consumption by adding estimated output and imports minus small exports.

Overall, world wine consumption last year fell by 1 percent to 239 million hectoliters after four years of near stability.

"The long-awaited recovery that will mark the end of the financial crisis, which began in 2008, is still to take place," Aurand said.

World wine production last year rose 9.4 percent to 279 million hectoliters helped by record output in Spain, Chile, South Africa and New Zealand, the OIV said.

International trade in wine fell 2.2 percent by volume to 98 million hectoliters but higher average prices in 2013 led to a 1.5 percent rise in sales to 25.7 billion euros ($35.4 billion).

French exports shed 3 percent by volume, mainly due to low 2012 output, keeping the country behind Italy and Spain in the ranking of world wine exporters, but it remained the world's top wine exporter in value at 7.8 billion euros ahead of its two main competitors.

"Things should move a different way in 2014 when you look at 2013 output, especially for Spain which has a record harvest," Aurand said.

For 2014, the OIV warned of a likely sharp fall in output in the southern hemisphere due to adverse weather conditions.

Initial estimates pointed to a fall of 20 percent in output in Argentina compared to 2013 and a drop of 10 to 20 percent in Chile after last year's hefty production. Australian production could also fall slightly, the OIV said.

Overall output in the main countries of the southern hemisphere, also including South Africa, Brazil, New Zealand and Uruguay, could fall to between 49 to 53 million hectolitres this year, down 10 percent on 2013, the OIV said.