New figures have shown Ideal Wine
Company that UK consumers are central to the world wine trade, suggesting that
we Brits really love a good glass of wine or two!
Huge wine importer
The
Drinks Business writes that new data released by The Wine and Spirit Trade
Association (WSTA) shows just how pivotal the UK is to the global wine market. Speaking
on the first day of the recently-held World Wine Fair in London, WTSA CEO Miles
Beale said that we’ve become a big wine importer.
We import more wine, in terms of
value, than anyone except the Americans. As far as volume goes, we import more
wine than anyone except the Germans. We Brits now import more wine per head
than any other top wine market on the planet. Wine is the most popular drink in
this country, being consumed by an equivalent of 30 million people – or more
than one person per household.
Explaining wine trends
WSTA shed more light on the
complexity of the UK’s place in the global wine sector in its recently released
inaugural Wine Report. According to WSTA, ever-expanding
dominance in the import-export trade is serving as the key driver of UK wine
sector growth. They attributed this both to the UK’s position as the preferred
point of international entry into the EU’s single market and rising investment
in the country’s bottling plants.
Commenting on the release of
WSTA’s first Wine Report, Beale said:
“Britain
has become a global giant in the wine industry, something which is evident from
the complex importing and exporting networks highlighted in the WSTA’s first
ever annual Wine Report. The UK is
the sixth largest, and probably the most diverse, wine market in the world.
“We employ 170,000 people
directly and a further 100,000 people in the supply chain including
agricultural, technical and seasonal jobs. Britain now has a huge capacity to
import and package wine on home soil, making us a key hub for distribution
domestically, but also to the EU and globally. The UK is the international wine
industry’s destination of choice for onward distribution to the EU and other
Northern hemisphere markets.”
Love French wine
WSTA’S Wine Report also revealed
the UK’s top ten wine trading destinations. Several emerging wine makers such
as Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Macao and Moldova all made it onto the
list. However, the rankings were led by France and the US, which have both
built up steady reputations for producing some of the finest wines the world
has ever seen.
If you want to see why fellow
Brits love French wine so much, why don’t you try a bottle which was made in
Bordeaux? One of France’s premier wine-making regions, Bordeaux wineries are
known for producing excellent reds from grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon,
Merlot and Malbec, which are destined to blow your taste buds away. Here at the Ideal Wine Company we supply a selection of Bordeaux
wines; peruse our product list now to find a delicious French red wine
you’re sure to love!
