SA households spend more on wine than on coffee, but beer still comes out tops as South Africans’ most preferred beverage, said Stats SA in an article published on 25 May in light of National Wine Day.

Wine takes up 7,2% of total household expenditure on alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, according to Stats SA’s inflation basket. This places wine in fourth place as the most popular beverage that households spend money on.

Beer is the clear winner, taking up over a third of household spending on beverages, followed by fizzy drinks and spirit coolers. Whisky follows wine in fifth place. Coffee – including ground coffee, coffee beans and instant coffee – is tied with tea in sixth place, taking up 5,6% of household spending on drinks.

Wine’s 7,2% can be further broken down into red (3,9%) and white (3,2%). As a nation, it seems we are slightly more partial to red wine over white, said Stats SA.