Stop whining: price of wine plummets

As the price of bread and milk continue to skyrocket, turning to the bottle may be the answer.

The latest in a series of five-yearly surveys by researchers at Lincoln University shows that while consumer costs have shot up for products like meat and dairy, the price of wine has dropped significantly.

In 1998, consumers were paying on average $17 for what they considered an every-day wine. A decade later that average cost is down to $14.60, the survey found.

The cost of "special-occasion" wine also decreased - with the average spending dropping from $25 to $21.60.

The university's head of marketing, Charles Lamb, said along with the drop in price of wine, the survey showed an increase in how much wine New Zealanders were knocking back.

While the proportion of New Zealanders drinking wine remained steady at about 70 percent of all adults, the frequency of consumption and had increased dramatically.

The average annual per capita consumption had risen to about 18.5 litres, which compared with 24 litres in Australia and 62 litres in Vatican City, the world's largest per-head wine consumer, Mr Lamb aid.

"More than 50 percent of the 600 people surveyed drink wine on three days of the week or more."