The U.S. Now Drinks More Wine Than France - by Dan Kedmey

Hold onto your berets, folks. For the first time ever, France is now the world’s second largest consumer of wine, ceding the heavyweight title to the U.S.

According to a market assessment by the International Organization of Vine and Wine, U.S. drinkers tipped back 29.1 million hectolitres of wine in 2013, edging out France by roughly 1 million hectolitres.

The study’s conclusion marks a turning point in the growing appetite for wine in the U.S., where the market is growing at a 0.5% rate year-over-year. But perhaps more surprising is the decline of French drinkers, who cut back on consumption by 7%.

Read more: The U.S. Now Drinks More Wine Than France | TIME.com

The Netherlands now has 100 vineyards

The Netherlands now has 100 vineyards and the amount of land devoted to grapes has doubled over the past five years to 170 hectares, according to new figures from the national statistics office CBS.However, this year's harvest is expected to be of poor quality and very small because of the wet summer, the Telegraaf reports.

For the seventh year in a row, the share of French wines in total Dutch wine consumption is down, the CBS reported.

In total, the Netherlands imported 415 million litres of wine last year, up 4% on 2009. French wine still accounts for almost half total imports, with German wines in second place on 18%.

Note EU-Digest For more information about Dutch wineries go to: Vineyards in Holland and Belgium.


For more: DutchNews.nl - The Netherlands now has 100 vineyards