Wine is absolutely Italians’ number one favorite beverage, but fewer and fewer (19)% drink it

In general, fewer and fewer Italians are drinking alcoholic beverages. And, the ones that are drinking less wine (even though it is still number one) are the daily drinkers, especially older people,while occasional drinking is on the increase, especially among younger people. Wine still holds the number one position, together with beer, though they are both being surpassed by other alcoholic beverages. This is the contrasting synthesis extrapolated from the survey “Aspects of everyday life” on a sample of 24.000 Italian families, which WineNews analyzed. Generally speaking, the percentage of those who consumed at least one alcoholic beverage during the year 2017 was 65.4%, which is lower compared to the 2007 figure of 68.2%. The decrease is even more evident for those who drank a glass of wine every day (21.4% against 29.3%), while those who did so occasionally have increased (44% compared to 38.9%), and in particular, outside meals (29.2% over 25.6%). The percentage of those who consume only wine and beer has also gone down (21% against 26.3%), and instead, the percentage of those who consume other alcoholic beverages has increased (43.8% compared to 39.3%). Wine, however, can count on its great appeal, its tradition, its strong presence in all the territories, its production activity, and it is still the most consumed alcoholic beverage: 52.6% of Italians drink it at least once a year (compared to 48% beer and 43.8% other spirits). Further, as far as daily consumption is concerned, the nectar of Bacchus is the absolute star: 19% of Italians drink it every day, against 4.9% beer and barely 0.7% other alcoholic beverages. It is probably thanks to the culture of wine consumption that continues to be handed down in families, partially anyway, that in Italy consumption of alcoholic beverages is moderate, in most cases. 49.5% of the Italian population drinks in moderation; however, about 15.9% of consumers are subject to at least one behavioral risk, linked above all to excessive consumption outside meals (48.2%), while binge drinking is a risk for less than one Italian out of 10 (7.4%).