SPAIN TAKES NUMBER 2 SPOT

These are good days for Spanish wines. Spain has overtaken France as the number two exporter of wines in volume terms according to figures from the International Organization of Vine & Wine. The data shows that Italy still leads the export charts with 17.2 million liters sold abroad in 2OO8. Spain exported 16.9 million liters and France 13.6 million hectoliters – though the French still lead the world with the sales value of their wine exports. Wines from Spain said its exports had seen an 8% increase on the 2OO7 figure. According to the International Organization of Vine & Wine, global consumption of wine fell by 2 million hectoliters last year, with the US overtaking Italy in terms of wine consumed.