With all the places in the world today producing wine, and good wine at that, Europe still is way out front with 75% of world wine production. As an interesting aside: there is a worldwide wine glut. Again with Europe’s production leading, and their major partner in crime, Australia. It’s so extreme that producers are requesting to be allowed to dump, or distill into industrial alcohol, millions of liters of wine backlog.
Now who says governments always act rational and in the nations best interest? Reasonably enough, in 1999 the EU instigated limits on the amount of grapes that could be planted. That is of course unless there’s money to be made. Is seems, and I’m not making this up, English sparkling wines have become popular, so of course starting immediately the vineyards in Wales and England can plant as much as they want.
Also, Sweden and Poland just petitioned the EU to also be allowed to start new vineyards, and just for good measure, Europe* is investing quite heavily in joint ventures in China.
Not enough to come to the rescue, but with 3.6 billion bottles of wine sold in 2007, it marks the 15th consecutive year with increases in wine consumption in the US, and what is more astonishing, puts the US ahead of Italy in per capita consumption. No shit, I couldn’t believe it either. The only downbeat note is that the number one preferred variatel is that overly oak-perfumed slut in a bottle: Chardonnay.
*The USA is involved in joint ventures in China as well.
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