(Just-Drinks) - China is now the world’s biggest consumer of red wine after a 136% jump in drinking levels in the last five years, according to latest figures.

Consumption  of red wine in mainland China and Hong Kong reached 1.865bn bottles, or 155m nine-litre cases, in 2013, according to research by the IWSR and trade exhibition group Vinexpo published today (28 January).

Trailing China was France, where red wine consumption hit 150m cases last year, while Italian consumption reached 141m cases.

Despite a 2% slowdown in China consumption last year, red wine drinking levels grew an average of 27% between 2007-2012, the figures showed.

Speaking exclusively to just-drinks today, Vinexpo chief executive Guillaume Deglise said: “Chinese consumers are getting increasingly into wine - it could be local or imported - and for most of the population they think of red. Also 99% of the wine the country produces is red varietals.” Red wine’s popularity is also partly attributed to the colour being a symbol of wealth, power and good luck in Chinese culture.

Around 80% of wine consumed in China is from domestic grapes, while the country’s is now the world’s fifth largest producer, the research showed.