Wine drinking will slow but still grow

Wine consumption in Britain is to slow – but will continue to grow over the next five years despite the recession, according to new data from wine and spirit exhibition organiser Vinexpo.

In the five years from 2003-2007 wine drinking in Britain grew more than 12% and Britain overtook Germany as the world's biggest wine importer. But forecasts based on the next five years 2008-2012 show that growth will continue at a much slower rate of just over 6%.

The predictions are based on research from the International Wine and Spirit Record which analyses global trends.

The IWSR also monitors spirits sales, which are predicted to be up by nearly 6% in the UK by 2012. Vodka has overtaken Scotch whisky as the nation’s favourite spirit and consumption is expected to increase by a further 20%.