Hear, Hear: And Now for Some Drinking Maps
Put down your beer for one second and check out these drinking maps.
On Tuesday, The Economist posted the following map of global beer drinking, using multiple sources for their data. China seems to have already won this race, but the U.S. isn't too far behind. Also, kudos to South Africa for being the only African country to make the cut.
U.S. Alcohol Consumption: 1970 | 2007 | Change

Then, on Wednesday, Lewis followed up with a post on wine drinking. Alcohol is, after all, "a broad category, and in different parts of the country, people favor different drinks." His takeaway is that wine consumption is on the rise and it's been converging, too, but in this case the convergence is regional, not national.
He's also careful to note that, with Idaho and New Hampshire tied for the top wine-drinking spot, the data may be "somewhat suspect." Check out his maps below and, again, the original post has some good context. Oh, and you can pick that beer back up now.