Which countries drink the most wine in the world?

gold, silver and bronze medal with wine bottles on them.

Have you ever wondered which countries enjoy wine the most? Let’s take a look at the official numbers from the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) and find out just who stands on the top step of the podium. We’ll also compare these figures to the rankings of the top consumers at iDealwine auctions.

Global wine consumption in 2023

In its publication on the global viticultural situation in 2023, which was published in April 2024, the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) addressed the current consumption of wine in each country around the world. It estimated that global consumption amounted to 221 million hectolitres, which is a slight decrease of 2.6 % compared to 2022.

And the leading consumer of wine in the world is…

The United States of America! With 33.3 hectolitres consumed in 2023, the country hasn’t conceded its top step of the podium for several years. Even last year when it recorded a slight drop of 3%, it remained unbeatable. It should be said that the USA is a huge country with 333.3 million inhabitants. This equals 0.1 hectolitres – or 10 litres of wine – per person per annum but, of course, this figure will be much higher as we didn’t only include people over the legal drinking age (as we should have).

Europe represents nearly half of the global wine consumption

In 2023, countries in Europe consumed 107 million hectolitres which is, in fact, a decrease of 1.8% when compared to 2022 and 5% less than the average for the last decade. Nevertheless the 2023 figure still amounts to 48% of the global consumption.

France is the second largest consumer of wine in the world

It will likely not come as too much of a shock to you to learn that France – the country that has fine wine as one of its symbols and where viticulture is so interwoven with its culture – ranks as the second largest consumer of wine in the world and the leading European country. In 2023, it consumed 24.4 hectolitres, although this is a 2.4% decrease when compared with 2022. With a population of 68 million inhabitants, the average works out at 0.36 hectolitres person or 36 litres of wine (again this figure will in fact be higher as the population below drinking age has not been removed from these calculations). After France comes Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain.

The highest consumers of wine in the world

United States of America (33.3 million hectolitres)

France (24.4 million hectolitres)

Italy (21.8 million hectolitres)

Germany (19.1 million hectolitres)

United Kingdom (12.8 million hectolitres)

Spain (9.8 million hectolitres)

Russia (8.6 million hectolitres)

Argentina (7.8 million hectolitres)

China (6.8 million hectolitres)

Portugal (5.5 million hectolitres)

Australia (5.4 million hectolitres)

Canada (4.8 million hectolitres)

South Africa (4.5 million hectolitres)

Brazil (4 million hectolitres)

Netherlands (3.4 million hectolitres)

But note that these rankings would change if these figures were scaled to the population size of each country.

At iDealwine, France remains far out in head as the biggest purchaser of wine at auction

Here are the rankings for the countries that bought the most at auction in 2023 (listed in terms of value purchased). France remains in the lead with a value nearly three times that of the country in second place, Hong Kong. But besides the preponderance of France, the other nations are fairly well balanced.