Britain is no longer a nation of beer-drinkers.
Get the bunting out because wine is now the preferred alcoholic drink in the UK.
A survey published to coincide with this week’s London International Wine Fair (a 3-day marathon event that strikes dread in most of the wine trade) shows white wine is the country’s 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, edging out beer which managed a respectable 48%, and 47% saying red wine. Rosé wine is next in line with over a third (35%) saying they drink it.
Jeremy Beadles, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, said: “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.”
The poll surveyed almost 2,000 drinkers.
