Although statistics seen in isolation may often be deceptive, these latest figures from International Wine and Spirit Research provides a compelling glimpse into the trends shaping the industry in coming months and years.

Some of the interesting statistics include the following:

• Chinese consumption of wine will increase to 126,4 million cases by 2014.
• 90% of wine currently drunk in China is domestically produced.
• France, Italy and Spain remain the world's largest wine producer, accounting for jut half of the 3 billion cases produced annually.
• The UK is currently the word's largest importer both by value and volume.
• Britain consumes more white wine per capita than any other country.
• Consumer markets poised to show the most growth over the next 4 years are China, Russia and and the US.
• Worldwide, one in four bottles is drunk in a country where it was not made.

The last statistic makes one wonder how ecological issues like carbon footprints will affect international wine exports in the near future.

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