UK: Beer concedes bit by bit its place to wine

A new report reveal that for the first time British shoppers are spending more on wine than on beer. An estimated �1.97bn a year is now spent on wine, compared to �1.79bn on beer. Experts say the swing is the result of a number of factors, including clever marketing, the lack of a major sporting event this summer (traditionally a boost for beer sales) and, significantly, a substantial increase in women's drinking the Independent reported on August 21.

Craig Smith, the editor of Marketing magazine, which will publish the results of the TNS-conducted survey in this week's issue, said wine sales had risen by �250m since last year, while sales of beer had declined slightly.

"We are now in the era of branded wine," Mr Smith said. "Previously, wines had been a fairly impenetrable sector for most grocery consumers, who were faced with a big wall of bottles and didn't really know what to choose."

The consumption of alcohol by British women increased by 27 % between 1998 and 2003, with this group now accounting for 55 % of all wine which is drunk in the United Kingdom.