uk wine recession ends this year, says vinexpothe downturn in uk wine drinking which has seen a 10.5 per capita drop since 2008, will end this year, forecasts vinexpo, the world&39s largest professional wine and spirits exhibition.the highlyaccurate data, prepared for vinexpo by the iwsr shows adult wine consumption will start to edge up over the next five years. however, wine drinking will not recover to its 2008 level of 25 litres per person equivalent in that year to 1.61 billion bottles of white, rosé and red wine 134.8 million ninelitre cases in the foreseeable future.vinexpo forecasts a slow recovery over the next five years, reaching 22.5 litres per head by 2018 when consumption is forecast to hit a total of 1.54 billion bottles 128.71m cases. uk wine drinking hit a sixyear low in 2014 falling by 146 million bottles 122.2m cases compared with the high point of 2008.contrarily, the total retail value of uk wine sales edged up over the same period due to an increase in sales of premiumpriced wines. the value of total uk wine sales rose from us14 billion in 2008 to reach us16.1 billion last year. it is forecast to reach us16.47 billion this year.fizzing futurethe outstanding success since 2008 is the rise of sparkling wine. its popularity with uk drinkers shows no sign of slowing. in the ten years from 2008 to 2018 uk drinkers are forecast to increase consumption per person from 1.6 litres to 2.2 litres a year.the volume of sparkling wine drunk in the uk rose from 8.68 million cases in 2008 to 11.23 by last year and is forecast to reach 11.56 million cases this year.driving the category are imports of prosecco. in 2013 alone the italian sparkling wine saw growth of 43 in uk imports. over the five years from 2008 to 2013 imports doubled from 1.38 million ninelitre cases to 3.57 million cases.of the top five exporters of sparkling wine to the uk, italy, spain and the muchsmaller usa, showed growth last year, while champagne and australian exports fell. the study contains actual volumes from 20082013. data from 2014 to 2018 is forecasted.in the pinkwhile white is the uk&39s favourite wine colour, the popularity of rosé wine has held up relatively well since 2008. consumption in 2015 is expected to reach 175 million bottles 14.59m cases and to arrive at 183 million bottles 15.24m cases by 2018.the volume of white wine consumed in the uk is forecast to pick up from a low of 662.6 million bottles 55.21m cases last year to 676.7 million bottles 56.39m cases this year and to 698.7 million bottles 58.22m cases by 2018.red wine will recover from a low of 636.2 million bottles 53.01m cases last year, to reach 645.2 million bottles 53.76m cases in 2015.none of the three will hit their peaks of 2008 when white volume was 720.2 million bottles 60m cases, rosé 186.7 million bottles 15.56m cases and red 710.3 million bottles 59.19m cases, says vinexpo.guillaume deglise, ceo of vinexpo, says, "we can say confidently that 2015 will show that the uk wine recession is over. while the uk market shed 9.6m cases between 2008 and 2013, it is now past its low point. the uk wine trade is building value and many leading marketers report progress at the premium end".about the vinexpoiwsr surveyfor the 13th year running, vinexpo, the international wine and spirits exhibition, has commissioned a study from market intelligence provider iwsr international wine and spirit research. this indepth analysis of global consumption, production and international trade in wines and spirits includes a 5year forecast up to 2018 for this new study.the survey covers 28 producing countries and 114 consumer markets.established in 1971, the iwsr database is the broadest, most accurate and most detailed source of information on the worldwide alcoholic beverages market.in 13 years, the vinexpo study has become a standard reference for professionals in the sector. the high quality of this unique survey, instigated by vinexpo, is proven year after year, as comparison of projected and actual consumption figures display a consistently low margin of error.vinexpo will take place from 14 to 18 june 2015press contactsuk v o i c eeugene bacot 07802 345030eugene@voicepr.co.ukcolin lewis 07796 461392colin@voicepr.co.ukpeter ward 07795 204455peterward3@sky.comvinexpoanne cusson head of press relationstel 33 0 5 56 56 01 68 email presse@vinexpo.com 
