Thirsty Brits fuel Aussie wine exports

THIRSTY Brits helped drive Australian wine exports 15% higher last year, with a record A$2.7bn (£1.2bn) worth being sent overseas. Sales of Australian wine to the UK jumped 20% to A$964m, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

In 2003, Australia overtook France as the biggest wine supplier to the UK.

The market is expected to reach £6bn by 2008, up from £5.1bn in 2003. Britons now drink 38% of all wine exported from Australia, consuming 225m litres of the 584m that were sent overseas last year.

Australian wines have the biggest market share in British supermarkets, which account for 80% of wine sales. Six of the top ten wines sold in Britain last year were from Australia.