China passes France to become world's second-largest wine grower

China has relegated France to third place on the list of the world’s top wine-growing countries. With 799,000 hectares now under vine, China is second only to Spain, which has 1.02 million hectares of vineyards.

Australia is the world’s 12th-largest wine grower, with 152,000 hectares.

However, the figures released by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (IOVW) show that France remains the biggest producer of wine, producing 46.7 million hectolitres (mhL) in 2014. France also takes in the most revenue from wine, earning more than AU$10.67 billion last year.

Global wine consumption dropped slightly from 2013, with 240 mhL quaffed worldwide, a drop of 2.4 mhL. The United States was the biggest single consumer, accounting for 13% of all wine consumed, followed by France and Italy.

China is rapidly emerging as a major player in viniculture, accounting for 11% of the territory given over to vineyards last year, up from 4% in 2000. The rise contrasts strongly with other major players, whose wine-growing regions have either declined or recorded very modest growth in the same period.

The biggest importers of wine were Germany, the United Kingdom and the US - with total global trade valued at $36 billion.

Australia’s wine production dropped slightly, down 4% on 2013 figures, placing it sixth behind France, Italy, Spain, US and Argentina. The IOVW report also highlighted the impressive performance of New Zealand, whose wine production expanded by 29% from 2013 levels to exceed 3 mhL for the first time.

Forecasts for 2015 anticipate a slight drop in wine production in the Southern Hemisphere.