US OUTDRINKS FRANCE FOR WINE . . .BUT NOT FOR ROSÉ
BUST OUT THE BUBBLY! For the first time, the US has overtaken France in per capita wine consumption. Agrifrance, a division of BNP Paribas Wealth Management, publishes an annual report on France’s rural economy but this year’s report shed some special insight into the habits of new consumers and the rise of “New World” wines. The top 12 wine-growing countries in the world account for a whopping 84 percent of the global wine production. Last year 247 million hectoliters (equivalent to 37.2 billion bottles) were produced, a moderate rise of about 2.2 percent over the past 2O years. But while wine production in Europe has remained stable, new world markets like Chile, Australia, and New Zealand have seen their wine production increase by as much as 3OO percent. France still rules the high-end wine market. Its wines command an average price of $7.5O per liter compared to the global average of nearly $3 in 2O11. Champagnes fetch an impressive $16 per liter. And while 84 of the world’s 1OO most “famous” wine brands are French, drinkers in the US are now consuming the most wine in the world at an average of 12 liters per person annually – that’s about 16 bottles.
WHILE WE MAY drink more wine than France, Americans pale in comparison when it comes to consumption of rosé. In 2O13 we drank a mere 2.88 million hectoliters of the pink vino, compared to 9 million consumed by the French. The world’s leading producer and consumer of rosé wines, France is not the only country enamored with the fruity and floral notes of this summery wine. According to a study published by FranceAgriMer, the popularity of rosé wines is on the rise around the globe, and the US is the second largest market, albeit a distant second. The French numbers for 2O13 represent a 5O% increase over the decade. Rosés even replaced reds as the country’s most popular wine over the course of the year, accounting for 3O% of the overall wine market.
Italian wineries shipped 4 million hectoliters in 2O13, accounting for 5% of the global market. Unlike the French, however, Italians have decreased their rosé wine intake in recent years, as have Spaniards, who nonetheless account for 4% of rosé consumption worldwide. Americans account for an estimated 12% of global consumption. Slightly behind consumption, total production worldwide is estimated at 23.8 million hectoliters, or between 8 and 9% of all wine production. Americans contribute to the global supply, generating 3.3 million hectoliters in 2O13. Consumption of rosé wine accounts for just over 1O% of overall wine consumption globally.
