In 1990 there were 1.5 million cases of wine sold in Ireland. That figure rose to almost five million in 2001 and showed a further 20% rise in the first four months of 2002. The rate for this year is expected to breach six million.
Although still the lowest rate in the EU, the market for table wine in Ireland has more than doubled in the past decade.
...
On average, Britons drink 29 bottles a year each with that number likely to increase sharply by 2006.
But both Britain and Ireland still lag far behind the world’s biggest drinkers - the French - who consume 79 bottles per head every year.