As undoubtedly patriotic as all of you already are, you now have another reason to celebrate America as the best country on Earth. We have officially surpassed France to gain the number one spot for wine purchases in the world.
From The New York Times:
Americans bought 29.1 million hectoliters of wine in 2013, a rise of 0.5 percent on 2012, while French consumption fell nearly 7 percent to 28.1 million hectoliters.
I slept through physics, so I wasn’t exactly sure what a hectoliter is, but thanks to a quick Google search, I learned it’s 100 liters. America, you drank 2.9 BILLION liters of wine last year, which works out to about 3.86 billion bottles. That’s one hell of a hangover.
Overwhelmed? So am I. However, according to the stats, we’re still way behind on wine consumption per person. While a person in France drinks around 1.2 bottles of wine weekly, the typical American only drinks about a sixth of that, which averages out to about a glass a week. Study abroad, anyone?
I’m proud of you, America, but I think we can all agree that even the best country can get a little bit better. Move over, Bordeaux. College campuses are coming for you–you’ll be a sweet memory by this time next year. The next time you make your (legal, of course) wine purchase, consider upgrading to a box to show France that no one does it like the U.S. of A.
“Loving red, white, and blush almost as much as I love red, white, and blue. TSM.”
[via The New York Times]