What is the ranking of wine-producing countries by volume?

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I can see you coming, you’re dying to see me shout “cock-a-doodle-doo”. I know, I feel like I’m looking in a mirror when I see you… I dream about it too! However, we’re going to have to take our troubles in our stride, as we won’t finish first in any of the World Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) rankings in 2019. But don’t worry, we’re only talking about quantities, and everyone knows that quality is ten times better than quantity.

Let’s cut to the chase and get down to figures.

On April 11, 2019, the OIV published its data on wine production worldwide during 2018. Due to a lack of data collection and coordination, we are unable to obtain more recent figures. Be that as it may, 2018 was a record year with 292.3 million hectolitres of wine produced worldwide, beating the 2004 record after a historically low 2017 due to unfavorable weather.

In terms of production volume, Europe dominates the ranking, with Italy in the lead at 54.8 million hectolitres, followed by France at 49.1 million hectolitres and Spain at 44.4 million hectolitres. The United States comes in fourth after a gap in the rankings: 23.9 million hectolitres produced.

In terms of wine-growing area, the European-dominated podium sees China’s presence maintained. Spain remains in first place with 969,000 hectares of vines, China is in second place with 870,000 hectares and France occupies last place on the podium with 800,000 hectares under cultivation.

Let’s move on to consumption. Not that you’d be surprised, but the nation of excess occupies first place with a comfortable lead: the USA boasts an annual consumption of 33 million hectolitres of wine. France ranks second, with consumption of 26.8 million hectolitres. Finally, Italy comes third. China comes third, with “only” 18 million hectolitres consumed.

In terms of world trade, the figures remain stable: Spain, Italy and France continue to dominate the export podium, with Spain the leading exporter by value (19.3% of world trade volume) and France the leading exporter by value (9.3 billion euros). The biggest wine importers are, in order, the Germans, the British and the Americans.

#Good to know