Based on personal consumption, many of us assumed we drank more wine during the pandemic. Not so.

The International Organization of Wine and Wine reported recently that global consumption of wine was done 3 percent in 2020. That’s better than the 10 percent drop it anticipated, but still down from previous years.

The COVID-19 pandemic shut down the hospitality industry and thus on-site wine sales. Although large retailers and e-commerce showed increases, they weren’t enough to offset the loss in on-site sales. Adding to these woes were the tariffs initiated by the U.S. and China.

Hardest hit was the sparkling wine category. Except for prosecco, sparkling wine experience the worse declines. Bag-in-the-box wines, however, soared. What does that say? Some people were drinking more wine, but not better wine.

At least the U.S. kept up its end of the trade. Now the world’s largest wine-consuming country, it is on track to keep up with previous years’ consumption levels. Way too go, folks.