(TheGlobalist) - How do the three countries compare on consumption and exports of wine?

1. It may come as a surprise to many that France is not the world’s leading consumer of wine by absolute volume, given wine’s cultural association with France.

2. France was in the global lead on wine consumption until 2012, but now ranks in second place.

3. People in France consumed 27 million hectoliters (hl) of wine in 2016, second only to the United States’s 31.8 million hl.

4. Although that represents a sizable volume – the equivalent of 1,080 Olympic-size, 50-meter long swimming pools at a two-meter depth – wine consumption in France has been declining for several years.

5. That is particularly evident with regard to per capita French wine consumption.

6. While second-ranked in the world, at 51.8 liters in 2015, that is down close to 30% from the 71.9 liter level consumed in 2000.

7. Italy, with a total wine consumption of 22.5 million hl in 2016, was the global runner-up behind France until 2009/10. It now ranks in third place.9