In 2010, the U.S.A. became the world’s top wine consuming country by volume, drinking more wine than the French for the first time in history. According to the latest figures, 2011 saw this thirst increasing further still.
Americans drank 3.96 billion bottles of wine in 2010, compared to 3.85 billion bottles of wine consumed by the French, according to wine industry consulting firm Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates. In 2011, U.S. table wine consumption increased by 4.7%, a rate not seen since 2000 (figures from the Wine Market Council).
Table wine consumption in the U.S.A. has grown every year since its uninterrupted climb began in 1994. In 1996 it surpassed the 1982 level reaching 176 million cases. The 200 million case mark was surpassed in 2000 (205 million cases) and increased to 291 million cases in 2011. This upward trend has allowed the American wine industry to weather the current economic storm, and recent gains have been driven by the adoption of wine in early adulthood, the availability of quality wine at all price levels, and the acceptance of moderate wine consumption as part of a healthy lifestyle.
The U.S.A. is also the number one market for wine sales (measured in dollars), and is the fourth largest wine producing country.