The World’s Wine Habit Index

It is estimated that the Luxury Wines And Spirits Market size is estimated to reach $123.4 billion by 2027 and investing in wine is becoming a popular choice for those who enjoy the more luxurious things in life – yet the choice of red, white, rose or sparkling continues to be a discussion point around the dinner table universally.

With this in mind, the team at CompareMyJet have researched 38 OECD countries to reveal the biggest producers and consumers of wine, the world’s favourite wine as well as the cheapest and most expensive countries to buy a bottle of wine. We’ve also revealed the best places to visit to experience the greatest wine the world has to offer. 

The world’s biggest wine consumers vs. producers

To reveal the world’s top wine consumers and producers, the team at Compare My Jet have researched how many litres each country consumes and produces per 1000 residents. 

Per capita, Portugal is the country that consumes the highest amount of wine, with 45 litres being consumed per 1000 people. Interestingly, Portugal is also the third highest producer of wine, producing 74 litres per 1000 residents. With an outstanding selection of vineyards and wineries visitors can explore, Portugal is an ideal destination for wine lovers.

Home to many award-winning wines, Luxemburg is the country consuming the second-highest amount of wine per capita. Drinking a total of 25.7 million litres in total, that’s 41 litres per 1000 residents. Whilst this may be one of the smallest countries in the EU, there’s nothing small about their wine consumption.  

Italy takes the third spot for most wine consumed in a year, with a total of 40 litres drunk per 1000 people, and over 2 billion litres in total. With 20 different wine regions sprawled across this beautiful country, Italy is also the country that produces the most wine. With over 5 billion litres produced in 2021, 83 litres of wine per capita, Italy has a wide variety of wines on offer.   

Region/Country	Quantity consumed (litres)	Quantity produced (litres)	Quantity consumed per capita (litres, per 1000 people)	Quantity produced per capita litres, per 1000 people)
Portugal	460,000,000	735,900,000	45	74
Luxemburg	25,700,000	9,800,000	41	15
Italy	2,420,000,000	5,023,200,000	40	83
France	2,520,200,000	3,764,800,000	39	58
Slovenia	67,000,000	58,100,000	32	28
Switzerland	255,100,000	60,900,000	29	7
Austria	236,000,000	246,000,000	26	27
Germany	1,980,000,000	874,400,000	24	10
Australia	571,600,000	1,482,000,000	22	58
Spain	1,035,000,000	3,500,000,000	22	75

Red revealed as the world’s favourite type of wine

To find out the most popular wines, we looked at which category of wine each country is googling the most – red wine, white wine, rose wine or sparkling wine. 

Red wine has proven to be the world’s favourite wine, with 16 different countries searching for it the most. Countries  including the USA (90,500 searches per month), Mexico (49,500), the UK (27,100) and Japan (18,100) each have over 15,000 searched per month for red wine alone, however, it is Norway and Denmark with the highest searches per capita for ‘rødvin‘. 

With eight countries searching for sparkling wine the most, this is the second most popular global wine. According to our study, countries such as Germany (27,100), Finland (3,600), Austria (2,900) and Poland (3,600) favour sparkling wine over red, white and rose. Finland searches for sparkling wine most per capita. 

Out of the 38 OECD countries our team analysed, four countries favoured white wine the most: Sweden (3,600), Czech Republic, Israel (1,900 respectively) and Slovenia (260. Rose wine was searched the most by just one country, New Zealand (2,400). There were of course some countries who have a mixed punnet of opinions, including Switzerland and Iceland, countries famous for staying neutral. 

The UK’s favourite wine, revealed 

 We also looked at search volumes from cities in the UK to find out each city’s favourite and most searched for wine.  

Red wine is the clear favourite, with 20 cities all searching for it the most. Leeds, Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool are all included in the 20 cities loving red wine.

Rose, white and sparkling wine didn’t come close to red wine’s popularity, with just London searching for rose wine the most, and no cities searching for sparkling or white wine the most. 

The most and least expensive countries to buy a bottle of wine

The average price of a bottle of mid-range wine can vary drastically from country to country. We researched the price of wine in each country, and converted it into GBP to find out where it will cost you the most and the least to buy a bottle of your favourite vino. 

10 most expensive countries to buy a bottle of wine:

Country	Capital city	Average price of a bottle of wine (£)
Iceland	Reykjavík	14.97
Norway	Oslo	14.35
South Korea	Seoul	12.79
United States	Washington	12.33
Switzerland	Bern	11.07
Australia	Canberra	10.96
Finland	Helsinki	10.47
Ireland	Dublin	10.47
United Kingdom	London	9.36
Mexico	Mexico City	9.14

Wine drinkers not wanting to spend big may want to avoid Iceland, with the average price of a bottle costing £14.97. But the extra cost may be worth it when enjoying a glass of wine with a view of the northern lights. 

Norway comes next, with a bottle of wine costing £14.35 on average. Norway is known for being quite an expensive place to visit, so it comes as no surprise this Scandinavian country is featured in the top three.

In the third spot is South Korea. A visit to the home of K-Pop and Samsung won’t come cheap for wine lovers with the average bottle of wine costing £12.79 on average. 

10 least expensive countries to buy a bottle of wine:

Country	Capital city	Average price of a bottle of wine (£)
Portugal	Lisbon	3.49
Hungary	Budapest	3.91
Chile	Santiago	4.17
Slovakia	Bratislava	4.36
Germany	Berlin	4.89
Spain	Madrid	4.89
Austria	Vienna	5.24
Netherlands	Amsterdam	5.24
Slovenia	Ljubljana	5.24
Czech Republic	Prague	5.41

If you’re looking for great wine at a cheap price, take a flight to Portugal. The average bottle of wine cost just £3.49. With prices like that, it’s no wonder Portugal is the country consuming the highest amount of wine. 

Hungary comes in second place, with a bottle of wine costing just £3.91. They are also the tenth biggest producer of wine, producing 27 litres per 1000 residents in a year, Hungarian wine is definitely worth trying. 

Famous for its wine globally, Chile comes next with a bottle of wine costing £4.17 on average. As the fourth largest producer of wine, you can enjoy everything from a Cabernet Sauvignon to a Chardonnay here. 

Where to go to experience the best in class wine in each category

For wine enthusiasts who want to travel and enjoy the most top quality wine, our team has analysed Decanter’s ‘Best in Show’ awards for red, white, rose and sparkling to see which countries are home to the highest ranking wines. 

For red wine lovers, the best place to visit for top quality wine is Italy. Having won a total of six best in show awards for their red wine, you can sample some of the best there is to offer here. 

If white wine is more to your taste then France is the place for you. With five best in show awards in total for their white wine, you can experience wine produced by some of the greatest winemakers in any of their nine famous wine regions. France also has the highest number of best in show awards for sparkling wine, with the Champagne region being one of the world’s most famous wine regions. 

Spain is the only country to have won the best in show award for a rosé wine, so this is definitely a great place for pink wine lovers to visit. With plenty of vineyards and wineries to visit, Spain is a great location for wine connoisseurs. 

If you’re in need of a luxury holiday where you can experience some of the best wine the world has to offer, why not check out Compare My Jet to see how you can travel best in class.