Wine, beer tie as top choices for U.S. drinkers

PRINCETON, N.J. — A recent Gallup poll found that more U.S. drinkers ages 18 to 24 years favor wine and beer as their alcoholic beverages of choice.

According to a survey of 1,016 adults, 64% of U.S. adults reported that they consume alcohol. Among those respondents, 35% named wine as their drink of choice, while 36% said they preferred to drink beer, a drop from 41% in 2010. Only 23% said they preferred to drink liquor.

Breaking down the statistics by gender, nearly half of male drinkers (48%) said they most often drink beer, followed by liquor at 26%, while 51% of female drinkers preferred wine. The research noted that the pattern is similar to years past, although the preference for beer is down slightly among both groups when compared with 2010.

Interestingly, the preference for beer among younger drinkers substantially dropped from 51% to 29%, while wine and liquor saw a 3% and 5% rise, respectively.