Remarkable Change in American Wine Industry

In 2013, the United States became the largest wine consumer in the world, accounting for more than 13 percent of the global wine consumption, followed by France and Italy.  

Historically, wine-producing European countries, led by France, had been the leading global consumers, as well as producers, of wines. In the nineteenth century, American wineries were known to produce quality wines, but the era of Prohibition form 1922 to 1933 eradicated the domestic wine industry, and had long-lasting consequences. It took several decades after its repeal for American wine consumption to move upwards. From the 1960s there was spectacular growth: U.S. wine consumption grew from 163 million gallons in 1960 to 913  million gallons in 2015.  

Although beer has remained the most popular alcoholic beverage in the United States in terms of consumption amounts, the growth rate of wine consumption has exceeded that of beer consumption over the last four decades.