Spain drinks 36 million bottles of cava this Christmas and New Year

PALMA
A staggering 36 million bottles of cava will be drunk in Spain over this Christmas and the New Year, according to wine-merchants.
Sales have been up this year as a whole, with 10 per cent greater bottles being shifted than in 2009. Christmas and New Year make up 39 per cent of annual cava sales, although in the past, this was 50 per cent, a signal that the recession has hit Spain's home-grown bubbly.

But in the region four per cent greater cava will be drunk this festive season in Spain than to compare last year, out of the total of 56 million bottles sold in the country throughout 2010.

One of the largest fans of Spanish cava is Germany, which has upped its exports by 20 per cent greater and which habitually drinks in the region of 22 million bottles a year.

After Germany, the UK is the largest consumer, with 19 million bottles, followed by Belgium's 14 million and USA in fourth position.
Japan is also fond of Spanish cava, with sales increasing by 23.5 per cent this year to a total of almost 4.1 million bottles.