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Strong jet-to-let opportunities in French wine regions

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Although the UK will overtake France to become the biggest wine market in Europe within three years, according to a new report, new opportunities are opening up for vineyard owners, bringing tourists to hitherto rarely visited parts of the country.

France is set to remain Europe's biggest wine drinker as we see out the decade, but Brits are spending more on the fruit of the vine, a phenomenon that is contributing to the demise of the industry.

Historically, France has been the world's premiere wine producer but in the last five years it has faced competition from emerging wine producers such as South Africa, Australia and Chile.

According to research revealed at the wine and spirits fair Vinexpo, UK wine sales will reach £5.5 billion by 2010, overtaking our Gallic neighbours.

But the ailing French wine market has had an unexpected effect on many vineyards deep in the countryside, often near British-owned properties.

More wine producers are now opening their doors to tourists, which is bringing visitors away from the traditionally favoured resorts of the world's number one tourist destination – as revealed by the Economist – and to the more sparsely populated rural areas of the country, such as the Dordogne valley.

This trend could be of real benefit for British jet-to-let investors who wish to let out their property to holidaying families to supplement their income.

The Dordogne is a favourite destination for tourists and people seeking holiday homes alike for its peaceful, unspoilt countryside, which houses dense woodlands as well as spectacular caves and grottos.

The region's streams and rivers are a hot favourite for families with children as canoeing and other water sports are in abundance, while the vineyard tours, caves, museums and chateaux are more likely to strike a chord with the elder holidaymakers.

Buy-to-let properties in the Dordogne typically start from around £150,000, typically below the UK average of £173,746, according to the latest research from Nationwide. House price inflation in France is currently running at 8.9 per cent according to the Knight Frank global house price index, value gains that can be easily supplemented by rental yields.

Holidaymakers are often attracted to renting property in the region due because many of the province's homes have long drives, spacious rooms and a large plot of land around the home in which to park cars and partake in sporting activities.

For such a large area in the south-west, the Dordogne only has a population of 400,000, meaning that homes are few and far between, granting tourists and second home buyers alike plenty of space in which to relax.

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