What is Ireland's best selling wine?

One question I am often asked is what is Ireland’s best selling wine and the answer — Santa Rita 120 — probably shouldn’t surprise you, writes Leslie Williams.

One in every four bottles of wine (25.6%) purchased in Ireland is from Chile; Australia comes next at 17%, France third at 12.9% and Spain at 12.3%, followed by Italy, USA and New Zealand.

Chile’s ascent to the top of the table often comes as a surprise but is easy enough to explain given the excellent value and consistency of Chile’s wines. Add in the fact that they are well branded with a few large players to drive the market and that they are easy to understand given that almost all are varietals.