Wine is preferred tipple in Taiwan

Taiwanese who drink alcohol will tend to choose wine over beer and spirits, according to the findings by Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation (TPOF), a non-government polling organisation.

According to the survey results by TPOF, 54% of Taiwanese adults drink at least occasionally. Among the drinkers, 30.8% of them preferred wine, followed by beer (30.6%) and liquor (29.4%).

Meanwhile, 45.8% of Taiwanese are teetatollers and 0.2% respondents apparently refused to give an answer.

Interestingly, the poll found that with different political parties in Taiwan, its party members’ tipple preferences varied as well.

For the majority ruling party, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), 36.9% of its members prefer liquor, followed by wine (29.4%) and beer (23.9%), while the Kuomingdang party members most often opted for wine (37.7%) over beer (32.1%) and liquor (23.1%).

Additionally, the findings showed that spirits are the preferred alcoholic beverage for both low-incomers and high net worth individuals though choices of which spirit vary drastically.

In terms of age groups, beer (39.6%) remains a favourite among people below 34 years old while wine (36%) is the preferred drink for people between the age of 35 and 54. Meanwhile, people aged over 55 opt for liquor (44%).

The TPOF also found that spirits are most popular among men. In the poll, 37.4% of male drinkers said they preferred liquor, then 33.8% for beer and 17.2% for wine. For women, more than half of the female drinkers went for wine (50.2%) with only 26% for beer and 18% for liquor.

Taiwan is estimated to have imported US$183 million worth of wine last year, and US$675 million of spirits led by high-end single malt whisky from the UK, according to figures by exports.gov.