How does Irish wine consumption compare to other countries?

The US is the largest overall consumer of wine in the world, drinking 33 million hectolitres in 2024 – this was down 5.8 per cent over 2023 but still seems a lot of wine.

The US is also the largest importer of wine by value, buying large amounts of premium wines from France and Italy in particular.

This is why both countries get very agitated when the question of tariffs is raised.

Germany is the largest importer of wine by volume. The UK is another important buyer of wine.

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However, France is the second largest consumer of wine, with Italy in third place.

These two countries drink significantly more per head than the US, both enjoying just over 50 bottles of wine per person each year.

Worldwide, Portugal drinks the most per head of population, with 52 litres (69 bottles) per person per year.

This may sound like a lot, but worldwide consumers are buying fewer bottles of wine than before.

Consumption fell by 3.3 per cent in 2024 and is now at its lowest level since 1961, according to figures from the OIV, the International Organisation for Vine and Wine.

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In the Republic, our consumption of wine grew from the 1990s onwards and has now plateaued at around 18 litres of wine each year. Photograph: Getty Images

Overall consumption in France has been dropping for years from a heady 170 litres per capita annually in the mid 1950s to somewhere between 30-40 litres per head now.

This drop is largely down to drink-driving laws and changed attitudes; in the 1930s the French government ran campaigns promoting wine consumption.

Many French people drank wine every night with dinner. Wine was even served to school children until the 1950s.

French police were traditionally provided with a glass of wine with their lunch, a practice that was banned in 2011.

Now, 38 per cent of French people never drink wine at all.

Italy and Spain show similar trends.

In the Republic, our consumption of wine grew from the 1990s onwards and has now plateaued at around 18 litres of wine each year, still far less than most of our fellow EU members, but then we drink beer and spirits instead.

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