(Wine-Searcher) - The United States not China is – and will continue to be – the world's most important consumer of wine.

The United States, as the world's most important wine market in terms of volume, value and growth, will be a "Special Guest" at Vinexpo 2015.

At a London press conference to launch the 2015 edition of the biannual Bordeaux wine trade fair, chief executive Guillaume Deglise said the U.S. would be "under the spotlight" at Vinexpo.

The fair, which hosts 2400 exhibitors from 44 countries and attracts some 28,000 visitors, takes place in Bordeaux in June this year.

"For several years many exporters have focused on the Asia market but the main market is on the other side of the Atlantic," Deglise said.

The U.S. is the world's biggest consumer of still and sparkling wine by both volume and value – and it is set to grow within the next five years, research organisation International Wine and Spirit Research (IWSR) said during the presentation.

In 2014 the U.S. consumed 339.6 million cases of wine, a figure which will increase by 11.3 percent to 377.9m by 2018, IWSR predicted.

The next biggest consumers are France (296.4 million cases), Italy, Germany and China – although France and Italy's consumption has declined since 2009. Consumption in the U.K. and Germany is increasing slightly, while China has increased by nearly 25 percent to 144.8m cases.

Overall, China is showing a similar trajectory to the U.S. In 2014 China (including Hong Kong) consumed 144m cases of wine, an increase of 69 percent since 2009.

IWSR predicts that by 2018 that figure will have increased to 180m cases, a rise of 25 percent. China is also the world's eighth-largest producer of wine, though IWSR said it was unable to say how much of this wine is produced from domestically-grown grapes and how much from bulk imports.

In terms of sparkling wine sales, Germany remains the most enthusiastic consumer, ahead of France, Russia, the U.S. and the U.K.

In overall value terms, the U.S. also leads the world, consuming $29.5 billion of wine, up 23 percent on 2009, and set to increase to $33.2bn by 2018.

When it comes to per capita consumption, the U.S. lags far behind Europe, consuming around 10 liters per head, compared with 48l in Italy, 47l in France and 24l in the United Kingdom. Again, consumption of wine per head is declining in most European countries whereas it is increasing in the United States.

In almost all wine consumption statistics, the U.S. is on the rise. IWSR also highlighted the difference in red and white wine consumption between the top importing countries. While the U.S. consumes the most still and sparkling wine in the world, it is slightly behind France in red wine consumption, and second to Italy in white wine consumption.

According to IWSR predictions, this too is set to change: by 2018 the US will be the number one consumer of red and white wines.

"America is leading the growth market. There is huge potential there," Deglise said.

Deglise also told Wine Searcher the number of exhibitors at Vinexpo from the U.S should increase. There will be a greater presence from U.S. wine companies and producer groups, including Constellation and the Napa Valley Vintners Association. There will also be good representation from Oregon and Washington State. There will be a conference, he said, on the theme of "mastering business in the United States".