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4307.0.55.002 - Apparent Consumption of Alcohol: Extended Time Series, 1944-45 to 2008-09 Quality Declaration 
Latest ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 18/01/2011  First Issue
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WINE





Pure alcohol in wine

One of the most marked changes in the apparent consumption of alcohol in Australia over the past 50 years has been the increasing prevalence of wine. Apparent per capita consumption of pure alcohol in the form of wine has increased steadily over the past 50 years, apart from a brief period in the late 1980s during which per capita consumption fell (Graph 7). In 2008-09 there were 3.7 litres of pure alcohol from wine available for consumption per person aged 15 years and over, more than triple the amount in 1960-61 (1.2 litres on average).


Graph 7: Apparent per capita consumption of pure alcohol in wine, 1961 to 2009


Despite the increase in apparent consumption of pure alcohol from wine and the decrease in apparent consumption from beer, beer continues to contribute the largest proportion to total apparent consumption of pure alcohol in Australia (44% for beer in 2008-09, compared to 36% for wine) (Graphs 3 and 8).


Graph 8: Apparent consumption of pure alcohol, Wine as a proportion of all alcohol, 1961 to 2009

TABLE 3: APPARENT CONSUMPTION OF WINE
Total volume available for consumption
Pure alcohol available for consumption
Year ended 30 June(b)
Volume

'000 litres
Per capita(a)

litres
Volume

'000 litres
Per capita(a)

litres
1949
49 207
8.50
na
na
1959
51 794
7.44
na
na
1969
100 182
11.62
14 405
1.67
1979
236 257
22.07
29 402
2.75
1989
321 265
24.77
38 493
2.97
1999
375 480
25.25
46 540
3.13
2009
515 780
29.36
65 600
3.73
na not available
(a) Litres per person aged 15 years and over.
(b) See data cube for all years 1944-45 to 2008-09.


Total volume of wine

In volume terms, apparent consumption of wine has increased rapidly since the 1960s. In 2008-09 there were 516 million litres of wine available for consumption, almost ten times the amount in 1960-61 (53 million litres). While population growth will have played a part in this increase (with the number of persons aged 15 years and over increasing by around 10 million between 1960-61 and 2008-09), apparent per capita consumption has also increased strongly, particularly between the mid 1960s and mid 1980s (Graph 9). In 1985-86 apparent per capita consumption reached a peak of 28 litres per person aged 15 years and over, after which apparent per capita consumption declined. Since 1995-96 apparent per capita consumption of wine has resumed an upward trend, reaching 29 litres per person in 2006-07 and remaining at this level in the following years.


Graph 9: Apparent per capita consumption of wine, 1945 to 2009

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