Irish wine market shows rapid expansion, says survey

IRELAND is one of the fastest growing markets for wine consumption in the world and experts say the level of wine drinkers here is set to soar in the next three to five years.

A survey carried out for Vinexpo, a French-based wine exhibition organiser, shows that although Britain and Ireland still lag behind countries like France and Italy in wine consumption, we are catching up fast, alongside Scandinavian countries.

In 1990 there were 1.5 million cases of wine sold in Ireland. That figure rose to almost five million in 2001 and showed a further 20% rise in the first four months of 2002. The rate for this year is expected to breach six million.