Canadians might have a new passion to add after hockey: being wine connoisseurs or, at the very least, avid drinkers of the alcoholic beverage.

British firm IWSR found that wine consumption in Canada increased 26.6% from 2003 to 2007, and expects Canadians to continue to soak up wine bottles in 2012, when retail sales will increase by 29.3% from 2008.

Whether Canadians will drink to forget their troubles during economically tough times is another matter.

"We're not pretending to give you a crystal ball view of the wine market, but this is our best guess," said Xavier de Eizaguirre, chairman of Vinexpo, which commissioned the study.

Canada isn't alone on the world stage when it comes to emptying wine bottles quickly. The study found that of the 114 wine-consuming countries it looked at, all but six are expected to drink more vino.

"The six countries that will experience a decrease are France, Switzerland, Portugal, Austria, Argentina and Spain; all six are wine producers," said Mr. said Mr.deEizaguirre. New markets are also helping fuel the global demand for wine. Russia and China will account for 58% of the growth in wine consumption in 2009. While vineyards are seeing their vintages heading off to bold new markets, production continues to be dominated by three countries: France, Italy and Spain. The trio make up well over half of all wine produced.

The title of the biggest wine-drinking country is also expected to change hands in the coming years. In 2007, Italy unseated long-time wine-drinking heavyweight France: by 2012, the United States will be the largest wine-drinking market.

Overall, global wine consumption is expected to grow about 6% by 2012. The study says the effects of a sluggish economy "will be limited in overall terms," especially when smoothed out over the five-year period from 2007 to 2012.

The study is the seventh consecutive look at the global wine market published by the IWSR. Mr.deElzaguirre says that past studies haven't been far off the mark when making global predictions.