China now holds the top spot as the country with the highest rate of red wine consumption in the world.
According to a report conducted by both the International Wine and Spirits Research and Vinexpo, China has taken the title for 2013, which was once held by France and Italy.
The New York Daily News reported that Chinese citizens drank nearly 1.865 billion bottles of wine last year - that measures out to be about 155 million 9-liter cases.
Compare that figure to France's 150 million cases consumed, and Italy's 141 million cases.
China's spike in wine consumption shows about 136 percent growth in the past five years.
The IWSR reported that China's red wine consumption has been steadily rising since 2005, with extreme spikes in numbers between the years of 2007 and 2013. That's when the country's citizens started knocking back glasses of vino in droves.
There was a 176 percent rise during those years, the Daily News reported.
Meanwhile, Italians collectively drank 6 percent less wine during the same time period, as France's wine consumption took an 18 percent dip.
At least 80 percent of the wine Chinese citizens drink is made in the country, making China the fifth biggest winemaking land on the map.
Some say the color red, which traditionally stands for luck, fortune and health, makes wine a necessary drink at celebrations and large events. This, coupled with heightened production, could be the reason behind the soar of popularity.
