18 Great Wine Consumption Statistics

Wine is one of the most consumed alcoholic beverages in the world. With millions of hectares around the world dedicated to vineyards to produce this drink that dates back beyond Biblical times, it is more popular today than it has ever been before.

The average American will consume 2.82 gallons of wine every year.

Wine Consumption

This increase in wine consumption is having a direct reflection on the sales figures in the alcoholic beverages industry. US consumers spend more than $12 billion every year on wine that they will consume at home. Another $4 billion will be spent on wine served at bars and restaurants.

• 7,762. That’s the number of wineries that are just in the United States. Together they will produce 22 million hl of wine to be consumed in the next 12 months.
• The US will import only 100,000 bottles of fair trade wine in the coming year.
• The total retail value of wine that is sold in the United States is more than $36 billion annually. This has accounting for an annual sales growth above 8%.
• More than 856 million gallons of wine in total will be consumed in the United States over the next 12 months.
• 90% of the wine that is produced in the United States comes from California.
• 2013 World wine consumption stood at 238.7 mhl, a decrease of 2.5 mhl compared with 2012.
• The average French person will consume 1.2 bottles of wine per week, 6x more than the average American.
• More than half of the world’s wine is consumed by just 5 countries.

Although per capita consumption rates are higher in traditional production countries like France and Italy, the United States has taken an impressive lead when it comes to total wine consumption. Part of this is directly related to the size of the population, of course, but economic declines have dropped some markets in 2013 by more than 7% while US consumption rates rose at the same time. A trip to Europe also shows that habits are starting to change. Europeans are working longer hours like Americans, having shorter lunches, and eating on the go instead of sitting down for a meal at home.

How Fast Is The Wine Industry Growing?

• In 2015, more than 2 billion more bottles of wine will be consumed when compared to 2010 wine consumption statistics.
• Over 26 million metric tons of wine are produced every year. Italy produces the most wine at 4.58 million metric tons. France and Spain also produce more wine than the US, which comes in ranked #4.
• 112 of the world’s countries have wine consumption rates that are below 1 liter per person, per year.
• Europe by far has the highest total wine consumption among continents at 16.6 million metric tons, representing 66% of world consumption.
• From 1980 to 1999, wine consumption declined at an average of 1.19% per year. Starting in the year 2000, wine consumption began to grow at the same percentage again every year.

The wine industry is seeing a relatively stable market. Although small declines in consumption were seen for several years, the industry has almost regained everything that it lost. If trends continue to stay the same through 2020, the consumption levels will return to their peak levels in the late 1970s. What is interesting about the consumption and production patterns is that the Old World markets are continually seeing declines, but new markets in the US and even China are off-setting European issues.

Could There Be A Global Shortage?

• Global consumption of sparkling and still wine is expected to rise by 5% through the end of 2016.
• Consumption in China is expected to be 40% higher when compared to consumption figures from 2011.
• The sales value of still wine is expected to be 28% higher in 2016 than in 2007.
• Weather changes have accounted for a 2% overall reduction in the wine supply, but not enough to risk a shortage of wine to consume.

As a country increases in wealth, it also looks to increase the quality of the wine that it consumes. This trend may see wine consumption rates dramatically increase in the developing world as nations begin to rise towards a more Western or European status. Weather changes may continue to affect the supply, but unless there is a major disaster in the works, everyone will still have plenty of wine to consume.