Survey shows UK consumers prefer wine

11th May 2009, 3:29pm

A survey published to coincide with next week's London International Wine Fair shows that wine is the preferred alcoholic drink in the UK with white wine emerging as the number one drink of choice.

One in three (34%) Britons who drink alcohol say they prefer wine, compared to just over one in four (27%) who express a preference for beer and one in five (20%) who prefer spirits.

Asked to name what they drink, over half (54%) of all UK adults say they drink white wine, with 48% saying beer and 47% saying red wine.

Rosé wine is next in the league table with over a third (35%) saying they drink it.

When alcohol drinkers were asked to specify why they like certain drinks, they put wine top in terms of taste (77%), as a relaxing drink without food (75%) and good with food (89%). Beer comes top as the drink for outdoor occasions (75%) just ahead of wine(69%).

Brian Howard of Wine Intelligence, the company behind the survey, said: "This survey provides the most up-to-date and possibly the most comprehensive picture of who drinks what across alcohol categories in the UK. One thing is clear: wine is a strong and stable fixture in UK adult social life."

Jeremy Beadles, chief executive of the WSTA, added: "This confirms the strength of the British love affair with wine. Long may it continue and flourish. People see wine as something both to enjoy with food and as part of a sociable lifestyle."

Related Articles:

• 20 May 2010 - Less consumers are buying wine in pubs and restaurants, says survey
• 18 Aug 2009 - WSTA to host low alcohol wine forum

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