WHEN IT COMES to downing wine, there is an undisputed per capita leader. And it’s not one of the wine-producing powerhouses of the world.

According to new figures from the Wine Institute show that the Vatican City consumes a massive 74 litres of wine per head every year.

That amounts to about 300 glasses of wine a year.

The intake in the Holy See is almost double that in France or Italy. While some suggest the number is skewed by the use of wine in Catholic mass, Italian press reckons it is more to do with demographics.

According to the National Catholic Reporter:

Vatican residents are older (the lack of children are figured into the statistics), are overwhelmingly male, are highly educated and tend to eat communally — all factors that tend to lead toward higher wine consumption.

The small population of the Vatican, around 800, is another factor that skews the numbers. Other countries with high consumption are Luxembourg and Andorra, with 56 and 46 litres respectively.

Or, it could be the local supermarket, which sells wine almost tax free.

The rise last year, which included the inaugurating of a new pope, marked a climb of about 20% on 2011′s 62 litres imbibed by those in the Vatican.

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