Betty's Wine Musings

I was introduced to FirstLeaf from one of the company’s PR people. She shared her company’s wine statistics and asked me if I’d be interested in sharing them in an upcoming blog. I love statistics, so I said yes.

About FirstLeaf

This company claims to offer the most personalized wine club in the world. They say that they “analyze hundreds of wines and billions of data points for every individual profile.” Wow. That’s impressive. As a wine consultant for WineShop At Home, I’m always selling WineShop At Home’s wine club. But hey, if I weren’t so dedicated to our wine club, I might be tempted to try FirstLeaf’s.

So What Are FirstLeaf’s Wine Statistics All About?

The subheading of their article is “The latest data on worldwide and US wine production, wine sales, wine consumption, wineries, and the wine industry during the coronavirus pandemic.” But it looks like all of their data is from 2019, so I’m not sure why they talk about the pandemic.

I did find a lot of good wine statistics in their article. I will highlight what I consider to be some of the most interesting below.

Wine Production

FirstLeaf uses 2019 data from International Organisation of Vine and Wine for their report. According to their article, the top wine-producing countries in the world are Italy (1.255 million gallons), France (1.112 million gallons), and Spain (886 million gallons). The United States is in fourth place, producing about half as much wine (642 million gallons) as first place Italy. The United States is followed by Argentina, Australia, Chile, South Africa, Germany and China.

Top Producing Countries (from FirstLeaf article)
Top Producing Countries (from FirstLeaf article)

Wine Consumption

Here, the United States leads the pack. Go USA!

Top Drinking Countries (from FirstLeaf)
Top Drinking Countries (from FirstLeaf article)

Top Wine Drinking Countries Per Capita

When you factor in population, the United States falls to the 21st spot on the list. Portugal is in the lead. Way to go, Portugal!

Per-capita Consumption Tells a Different Story (from FirstLeaf article)
Per-capita Consumption Tells a Different Story (from FirstLeaf article)

Drilling Down into the United States Numbers

These numbers are really interesting to look at.

 Production (cases of wine)Consumption (gallons of wine)Per-person consumption (gallons of wine)
California287 million (1)155,591 (1).616 (6)
Washington15.4 million (2)  
New York12 million (3)65,759 (3) 
Oregon4.6 million (4) .578 (10)
Texas1.8 million (5)  
Michigan1.3 million (6)25,903 (10) 
Illinois1 million (7)36,981 (4) 
North Carolina1 million (8)30,159 (6) 
Pennsylvania.95 million (9)27,721 (8) 
Virginia.95 million (10)26,950 (9) 
Florida 72,669 (2) 
New Jersey 33,015 (5) 
Massachusetts 28,859 (7).635 (5)
Idaho  1,209 (1)
New Hampshire  .841 (2)
Vermont  .777 (3)
Delaware  .717 (4)
Nevada  .605 (7)
Connecticut  .595 (8)
Hawaii  .587 (9)
A Drill Down on the U.S. Numbers

My Summary of the U.S Wine Statistics

  • Getting the best of it statewide: Florida, New Jersey and Massachusetts are big drinkers statewide who don’t seem to contribute much to the cause.
  • Getting the best of it individually: Idaho, New Hamsphire, Vermont, Delaware, Nevada, Connecticut and Hawaii are big drinkers individually who don’t contribute much to the cause.
  • Getting the worst of it: Washington and Texas are big contributors who don’t consume enough statewide to warrant their contributions. Oregon likewise doesn’t consume enough statewide but sneaks in on the individual consumption front.

But I’m sure with enough wine is passed around in enough states to make everybody happy. 😍

Cheers!

As an independent wine consultant with WineShop At Home, I absolutely enjoy bringing a taste of the Napa wine country home to you one sip at a time. Whether you simply love to drink wine, seek a special personalized wine gift, or are in search of a new wine jobs opportunity as a wine consultant, feel free to contact me for a truly unique wine tasting experience!

Cheers, Betty Kaufman
WineShop At Home

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