In 1999, Italian wine sales estimated at around 6 billion dollars. In Italy, as in most of the rest of the world, women prefer white wine and men prefer red. Red and white wine each have about 50 per cent of the market. While per capita wine consumption declines, overall total wine consumption has remained relatively stagnet. The sale of table wines is slowly decreasing while the more expensive quality wines are increasing.
Most restaurants have house wine available poured into a carafe from a big jug in back.
Surprisingly, the sale of bulk wine in one liter tetra brik packages has been increasing at the expense of bottles. However, when your interest is in drinking wine, and not necessarily of a particular quality, tetra-brik or cardboard boxed wine is particularly convenient for picnics, watching a soccer game or just hanging around the park. Plus, you don t have to worry about tossing the bottle somewhere. Young Italians drink more soft drinks, mineral water, and beer than wine. Some claim that the wine consumption reduction is the result of anti-alcohol campaigns, high wine prices, the taste of wine, and the general stigma of wine being associated with Zio Beppe and Nonno stretching their wine at lunch through a siesta and into dinner.