The most prestigious winemaking regions in France are slashing prices amid a slump in exports and signs that Gallic consumers are following President Sarkozy’s teetotal example.

Champagne and Bordeaux are leading the drive to win back custom after a study showed that wine exports had fallen 29 per cent in the first quarter against with the same period last year.

Bordeaux’s finest châteaux have cut the price of their 2008 vintage to about €150 (£130) a bottle, compared with more than €300 for their 2007 wines, according to merchants. Lafite-Rothschild, Latour, Margaux, Mouton Rothschild, Angélus and Yquem are among the hallowed names to have accepted a cut of 50 per cent in an attempt to stimulate a fine wine market worth €500 million a year.

The 2008 vintage is described by connoisseurs as “average” and “unremarkable”. But Hubert de Boüard, the owner of Château Angélus, said that the cuts were generating interest among British and American buyers deterred by steep rises in recent years: “Individuals say they are happy to be able to buy fine wines once again.”

The price cuts in Bordeaux followed research by FranceAgriMer, the French state agricultural statistics office, which suggested that the world’s consumers are turning to vin ordinaire in the recession. FranceAgriMer said that though wine exports had lost almost a third in value, they had fallen only 15 per cent in volume.

However, the price cuts are proving controversial. “It’s suicide,” said Dominique Pierre, managing director of Nicolas Feuillatte champagne. “A lot of these bottles are being sold at a loss.”

The gloom deepened this week as FranceAgriMer revealed that the French had drunk 43 litres of wine per head in 2008 – down from 47 litres in 2007 and 120 litres in the 1950s.

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