CONSUMER PRODUCTS
<i> Times Staff and Wire Reports</i>
Thirst for U.S. Wines Grows Worldwide: Foreign sales of American wine posted an 11th straight record year last year, and for the first time ever topped the $200-million mark, according an Agriculture Department report. Among the findings: British wine drinkers consumed more U.S.-made wine--especially the red varieties--than ever before; Japanese buyers preferred American white varieties, and Canada bought lots of each. A major shift by American vintners to more high quality grape varieties, along with aggressive promotion by the U.S. wine industry, has whetted the foreign appetite for American wine, a USDA wine expert said. Wine industry officials predicted that the growth trend will continue.
