China | United States

Winemakers around the world believe that a potentially huge wine market may
be fermenting in China. Now if only the Chinese would give up their juice.


Illustration by Red Nose Studio

Numbers and alcohol don't mix.

Take this statistic, for instance: Per capita, Americans consume 2,670 percent more wine annually than the Chinese do. Based on that, you'd figure that a lot of Americans would soon be joining the parade of Hollywood starlets who are heading to rehab. But you'd be wrong. In fact, the vast numerical difference between wine consumption in the United States and in China actually says less about Americans and more about Chinese preferences for adult beverages.

You see, per capita, Americans drink 2.77 gallons of wine per year. That would be a lot - too much - if you were to down it all at once. But drinking 2.77 gallons, or about 10 bottles of wine, over the course of a year is equivalent to having less than a glass a day. And a glass a day is supposed to be good for you. The Chinese, meanwhile, drink just one-tenth of a gallon of wine per year per capita. That's about half a typical 750- milliliter bottle. In other words, Americans aren't wine lushes, and the Chinese, who have long preferred beer and distilled spirits, don't drink that much wine.