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Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Americans, Canadians buck worldwide trend, boost wine consumption
Check out the hot-off-the-presses Associated Press story headlined “World wine consumption falls for 1st time in years”.
The numbers paint a picture of declining consumption in the traditional wine countries such as France and Italy while New World countries such as the U.S., Australia and Canada are discovering the magic of the grape in ever-increasing numbers.
Here’s an excerpt from the AP story:
After years of non-stop growth, global wine consumption started to retreat last year, along with the rest of the world economy, The International Organization of Vine and Wine said Tuesday.
The overall drop isn’t too dramatic: The group says its initial estimates for 2008 show consumption down 0.8 percent, at 243 million hectoliters (6.4 billion gallons) compared to 2007’s 245 million hectoliters.
But the latest figures on wine making and drinking around the world reveal a few key shifts. For the first time, the United States surpassed Italy in terms of total wine consumption, with 27.3 million hectoliters compared to 26 million for Italy, the group said.
… Consumption fell in all of Europe’s major wine-producing and consuming countries, including France, Italy and Germany, Europe’s biggest wine-drinking nations. The United States, Canada and Australia saved the day by raising more and more glasses, partially offsetting the European drop.
Nice to be on the positive side of this trend. But these numbers beg the question: What will 2009 bring?
We’ll ponder that over a nice glass of Riesling …
Thanks to Denise for spotting this story and forwarding it to Uncorked …
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