Germans love bubbles. They drink more sparkling wine than any other nationality in the world, 2.9 million hectolitres, which is 4.7 bottles per person. In second place is Russia with 2.4 Mhl and in third place the US with 1.9 million hectolitres. France comes only in fourth place with 1.8 million hectolitres but fare better if you calculate the consumption per capita. Then the French end up in second place after the Germans with 3.7 bottles per year and per person.
Saving face a bit more, France produces 20% of the world’s bubbles. Italy is the second biggest producer with 18%, Germany is third with 15%, followed by Spain and Russia each with 10% of global production.
Most of the sekt (the German word for sparkling wine) produced in Germany is made from simple imported bulk wine that is turned into sparkling wine in Germany, often with fairly low alcohol content. Sekt of higher quality (Deutscher Sekt), from German grapes, represents a very small part of the huge sekt production. But it is growing. Read more:
Immerse yourself in sparkling wine and contribute to world consumption on the wine tour to Champagne.
