Brits prove their love of wine

Britons could soon overtake the French as the world's leading wine drinkers as people increasingly give up their pints for a glass of red or white.

A new study finds 64 per cent of British adults are now wine drinkers, compared to 65 per cent in France. And while wine sales jumped by 4.1 per cent in this country last year, in France they dropped by 3.2 per cent, according to a new report by market analysts Mintel.

"Wine has grown to become an everyday drink for much of the population," said a Mintel spokesman.

The report found France is quickly losing its taste for the drink - with French consumers drinking only half the wine they did 40 years ago. Many are believed to have switched to nonalcoholic alternatives.

However, while the UK now has almost as many wine drinkers as France, the average Frenchman still drinks more.

The average Frenchman drinks 53 litres of wine a year, down from 91 litres in 1980. The average Briton drinks 22 litres a year, a three-fold jump from 7.7 litres in 1981.

The Mintel survey also found that Britons are some of the heaviest drinkers in Europe. Eighty-nine per cent of Britons say they have drunk alcohol at least once in their lives, compared with 88.1 per cent of people in France, 87.6 per cent of Italians and 76.4 per cent of Spaniards.

Despite their reputation as beer drinkers, Germans are the continent's biggest teetotallers - with a third saying they have never drunk alcohol.

The report also shows that young British and French people get hooked on drinking at an early age, and once they get a taste for alcohol they never want to give it up.

Among Britons under 20 almost four out of five - 78 per cent - drink alcohol.

This week's Wine Box