Wine pips beer as

top tipple: survey

by John Harrington

Wine has pipped beer as the favourite choice among British drinkers, according to a new survey.

The study from consumer market research group Synovate reveals that three-quarters of drinkers consume wine, and 29% name it as their favourite alcoholic drink.

Beer is drunk by 59% of the drinking public and is the favourite of 17%.

The survey, shown exclusively to the Morning Advertiser, also suggests that men are increasingly comfortable with drinking wine. Although a greater proportion of men choose beer over wine as their favourite drink, the gap is small. Twenty-nine per cent preferred beer, compared to 27% for wine.

In contrast, women overwhelmingly prefer wine over beer. One-third of women chose wine as their favourite drink, with just 5% naming beer as their favourite drink.

Explaining the popularity of wine, Synovate's head of advertising Deborah McCrudden, said: 'Wine has become much more available over the years, as people's knowledge of wine has improved and we are getting better wines into the country.

'There's much more choice as well, and there are far more wine bars cropping up. I think wine's growing popularity is down to the availability, knowledge and quality of wines, and the fact that it's not as expensive as it used to be.

She added: 'If you look at 10 years ago, wine was more of a female drink and it's now seen as being acceptable for men. I think now a lot of women drink it because they see it as a more healthy option.

The survey suggests that people often underestimate the alcoholic strength of drinks. For example, 69% of people surveyed believed that a pint of premium lager contained two units of alcohol.

The actual figure is nearer to three units.

McCrudden attributed this to the rising popularity of premium lager brands. 'There's ignorance about how much these premium lagers contain, she said.

Men are also three times as likely as women to choose whisky as their favourite drink 13% against 4% and women are far more likely to opt for clear spirits and champagne.