Nov 17 (Reuters) - British wine warehouse chain Majestic Wine Plc posted a 10.5 percent fall in first-half profit, hurt by higher investment costs and weaker demand for the Bordeaux 2013 vintage.

The United States became the world's biggest market for wine last year, beating France into second place for the first time as consumption slides in the country long seen as its natural home and Americans develop a greater taste for it.

France regained its seat as the world's top wine producer in 2014, trumping main competitor Italy where producers had suffered a poor harvest, the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) announced on Thursday. France, which was overtaken in production by Italy two years ago, produced 46.2 million hectolitres of wine this year, a rise of 10 percent on last year, the OIV said.