Aussies drink beer but wine is picking up

From "The Week" 25 February 20011:

"Wine now represents 36% of all alcohol consumed by Australians, a threefold increase on 1960´s levels.

From mid 2009 to mid 2009 this represented 29.36 litres for each person over the age of 15.

While beer is still the nation´s drink of choice with 44% of all alcohol consumed, trends indicate that we´re slowly swapping our schooners for wine glasses. An ABS report reveals tha we are currently drinking less beer than we have at any point since 1949.

About 87% of all wines purchased in Austrralia in 2009 was produced locally. 204 million litres were white, 159 million litres were red or rosé. 44% was sold in soft-pack.

There are 2,420 Australian companies selling wine but almost 90% of all sales are made by the largest 20."