Future wine sales prediction

Global wine consumption is set for a substantial increase through at least 2015 according to International Wine and Spirit Research, a UK-based consulting firm.

In 2011 the U.S. passed Italy and France to become the largest wine consumers by volume (but not per capita). Between 2010 and 2015 IWSR projects a two billion bottle increase in consumption worldwide. In 2010 it's estimated nearly 32 billions bottles were consumed.

The U.S. will grow by ten percent between 2010 and 2015. China's consumption grew by 33% in 2010 alone and is expected to grow another 55% by 2015.  Their per capita consumption is quite low, but, of course, there are lots of potential customers in China.

Pallets of wine heading out
Image from FedEx.com

The U.S. is growing both in consumption and production of wine. This is all good news for those in the biz. For the consumer it means there will be more of you drinking wine and more choices. States such as Michigan, New York, Texas and Virginia are seeing rapid growth in their wine industries. And the big boys keep adding, too. Washington state adds about 50 new wineries a year with California growing by at least a couple hundred a year, even during the recession. U.S. wine exports had its best year in 2011.

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