【英语生活】香港葡萄酒消耗量居亚洲之首

Who's the thirstiest in Asia? Hong Kongers, by a wide margin.

A new survey commissioned by French trade group Vinexpo and conducted by International Wine & Spirit Research showed that the average Hong Konger downed far more wine than anybody else on the continent. In 2010, the most recent year studied, a typical Hong Kong resident drank 4.7 liters of wine, the equivalent of 6.3 bottles. That figure is double the average consumption of Japan and Singapore and more than quadruple the 1.1 liters drunk per capita in China during the same period.

Hong Kongers have also taken to bubblies with a passion: The amount of champagne and other sparkling wine consumed in the city was more than double what the rest of the continent sipped in 2010.

Interest in wine in Hong Kong has surged since the government lifted import duties in 2008, said Dominique Heriard Dubreuil, chief executive of Vinexpo Asia-Pacific. Today, she said, 'Hong Kong is really the hub for both local consumption and as a gateway into China.'

In the four-year period ending 2010, wine consumption nearly doubled in Hong Kong and is expected to increase over the next four years to 6 liters.

Still, Hong Kong has liters to go before it challenges the top-drinking nations of the world. The French are still the world's No. 1 drinkers, downing 54 liters, followed by the Italians at 53 liters. Americans ranked 15th at 12 liters per person.

Though China's 1.3 billion people consumed a tiny fraction when compared to the average French person in 2010, they are now the sixth-largest consumers by country, just behind the United Kingdom and ahead of Argentina. Once the 2011 figures are finally tabulated, China is expected to surpass the U.K. to take the fifth spot.

To meet rising demand in China, wine makers in that country are boosting their production. China last year became the sixth-largest producer in the world, surpassing Australia for the first time.

'It's a bit similar to the experience we have seen in the U.S. 50 years ago. Local production is a big factor,' Ms. Heriard Dubreuil said. 'Consumers always feel they can trust wines from their own country first.'

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images2010年，平均每个香港人喝掉4.7升葡萄酒，相当于6.3瓶，较日本和新加坡的平均消耗量高出一倍，是中国内地1.1升人均消耗量的四倍多。
亚洲哪个地方的人最能喝？答案是香港人，而且不是一般的能喝。

法国贸易组织国际葡萄酒及烈酒展览会（Vinexpo）委托国际葡萄酒及烈酒研究所（International Wine and Spirit Research）所做的一项最新调查显示，香港人均葡萄酒消耗量比亚洲其他任何地区都要多得多。在这项调查研究的最近年份2010年，平均每个香港人喝掉4.7升葡萄酒，相当于6.3瓶，较日本和新加坡的平均消耗量高出一倍，是中国内地1.1升人均消耗量的四倍多。

香港人还喜欢喝香槟：2010年，香港消耗的香槟酒及其他气泡酒是亚洲其他地区消耗量的两倍多。

亚太区国际葡萄酒及烈酒展览会首席执行长多米尼克•海里亚尔•杜布雷伊（Dominique Heriard Dubreuil）说，自从政府2008年取消进口关税后，香港人对葡萄酒的兴趣就开始激增。她说，如今，香港不仅成了当地葡萄酒消费的中心，同时还是葡萄酒进入中国内地的入口。

2007年到2010年四年间，香港的葡萄酒消耗量增加了近一倍，预计将在未来四年增至六升。

不过，在挑战世界顶级葡萄酒消耗国之前，香港还任重道远。法国依然是世界第一葡萄酒消耗国，人均消耗量54升，意大利紧随其后，人均消耗量为53升。美国位列第15，人均消耗量12升。

虽然与法国相比，中国13亿人口2010年的人均消耗量微不足道，但中国现在却是第六大葡萄酒消费国，排在英国和阿根廷之间。一旦2011年的数据最终出炉，预计中国将超过英国夺得第五的位置。

为满足中国日益增长的需求，中国的葡萄酒制造商正在提高产量。中国去年首次超过澳大利亚，成为世界第六大葡萄酒生产国。

杜布雷伊说，这和50年前的美国有点类似；地方生产是一个重大因素；消费者总是觉得他们应该首先信任本国产的葡萄酒。