How well do you know wine, and especially how we drink it in the United States? The answers -- which will clear up quite a few misconceptions -- are after the jump.
1. What's the average price of a bottle of wine sold in the U.S.?
2. How many Americans drink wine?
3. Where does the U.S. rank in per capita consumption of wine?
4. What's the most popular wine in the U.S.?
5. How long does the average American keep a bottle of wine?
1. What's the average price of a bottle of wine sold in the U.S.? $5.66, according to Nielsen's annual alcohol snapshot. So much for the wine magazines. In fact, one out of every four bottles of wine sold costs less than $3.
2. How many Americans drink wine? Not many. About 40 percent of Americans say they don't drink, and 20 percent of Americans drink 90 percent of the wine sold in this country, according to the Wine Institute, a trade group for California producers.
3. Where does the U.S. rank in per capita consumption of wine? 60th. Vatican City is first with 62.02 liters per person. France, at 56 liters per person, is the leading major country. The U.S. is at 8.69 liters per person, according to the Wine Institute.
4. What's the most popular wine in the U.S. Chardonnay, by almost 2 to 1 over cabernet sauvignon, reports Nielsen. Nearly one out of every four dollars spent on wine is spent on chardonnay. White zinfandel is fifth, the only wine to decline in sales between 2005 and 2006.
5. How long does the average American keep a bottle of wine? Not very long at all. About 90 percent of the wine bought in the U.S. is drunk within 24 hours. Almost no one puts wine down -- another statistic says that 90 percent of the wine produced worldwide is made to be consumed within a year.
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