Take away the tiny countries of Andorra and The Vatican, and Croatia is the number one wine drinking country in the world, according to a table from The Wine Institute doing the social media rounds on May 17, 2016.
The Wine Institute has published a league table of wine consumption per capita, and for those of you who thought places such as France and Italy were the kings of wine consumption, the results are rather surprising.
Top of the list are two tiny countries, The Vatican and Andorra (and one wonders how much altar wine contributed to the Holy See’s top position), but the first sizable country – and in third place overall – is Croatia, narrowly ahead of its neighbour Slovenia with an annual per capita consumption of 44.20 litres per annum.
And for those who think, it may be a case of quantity over quality, think again. With its 130 indigenous grape varieties, Croatian wines are exciting international wine experts, and Croatian wines are attracting increased international recognition. In the latest case, for example, how many wines in the world can claim to have a menu designed specially for it by a 3-star Michelin restaurant, as was the case with the Caric Plovac Ploski from the island of Hvar recently?
