The International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) recently published the wine statistics for 2023. Although the United States, France, and Italy were the top three countries in total wine consumption, the findings reveal an intriguing detail about American drinking habits.
Despite leading global wine consumption with a staggering 33.3 million hl last year—significantly more than France’s 24.44 mhl and Italy’s 21.88 mhl —the U.S. did not rank as highly on a per capita basis.
According to the OIV, among the 15 major countries surveyed in 2023, the U.S. ranked 13th, with an average consumption of only 12.1 liters per person, just slightly less than Canada. This discrepancy highlights that while the U.S. consumes the most wine overall, Americans individually are not the heaviest drinkers.
This means that in 2023, each American only drank 16.5 bottles of 750 ml wine.
Among the top 10 wine-consuming countries, nine are European, underscoring the deep-rooted wine culture of the Old World. France, a leading wine nation, ranked second in per capita consumption with 45.8 liters, while Portugal topped the list with 61.7 liters per person, followed by Italy with 42.1 liters.
Contrastingly, New World countries display less enthusiasm for wine. Neither the U.S. nor Canada ranked in the top ten, with only Australia appearing at seventh with a per capita consumption of 25.5 liters. New Zealand, despite being a significant wine exporter—over 90% of its production goes overseas—did not feature in the per capita statistics, highlighting a lower domestic interest in wine.
China, although a major global wine market, shows a strikingly low per capita consumption of just 0.6 liters, placing it last among the 15 surveyed countries. This reflects a persistent challenge: high overall consumption with few genuine wine enthusiasts.
Industry professionals remain hopeful about China’s wine market due to its untapped potential. However, OIV data reveals a discouraging trend, with per capita consumption falling from 0.63 liters in 2022 to 0.6 liters, a significant drop from 1.34 liters in 2016.
The reduction in China’s wine consumption is partly attributed to a decline in business-related consumption, which has not been compensated by growth in general consumer demand. Zhou Yuan, manager for Ranina in China, commented, “There is plenty of promotional content for wine, yet it largely misses the ordinary consumer. The number of Chinese genuinely interested in understanding wine remains small. Thus, the market needs substantial investment and branding to propel industry growth.”
