The rise in the number of female drinkers has put the tradition of downing a few beers in the pub under threat, according to a new report from market analyst Datamonitor.
It reckons that beer is losing out to wine in sales, and has forecast that wine sales will grow by more than 15% over the next four years to £7b, while beer sales will fall by 3% over the same period.
Datamonitor's report found that annual British wine consumption had increased from 14 litres a head in 1998 to almost 17 litres last year, and will reach 19.3 litres per head by 2008.
But the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) slammed Datamonitor's findings, saying they do not match its own figures. A BBPA spokeswoman said: "There is no denying that wine sales and consumption have increased in the past decade. However, beer is still the drink of choice with UK consumers, with consumption per head increasing from 120.2 litres in 2000 to 124.3 litres in 2003."
She added: "During the same period, consumption of wine increased per head from 21.3 litres in 2000 to 24.6 litres in 2003, but sales will clearly need to increase dramatically for wine to gain the number one spot from beer."
Some pub companies and brewers are nonetheless preparing for a downturn in beer sales. Earlier this year Greene King launched Beer to Dine For, which comes in a wine-style bottle, in a bid to make beer more attractive to women and to bring it back to the dining table.