Which U.S. State Drinks the Most Wine?

(Wine-Searcher) - We think we've found the reason why the federal Government doesn't work so well - they're all too busy drinking wine.

A neat piece of research published by Business Insider reveals the states that drink the most wine and top of the list is D.C., even though it isn't a state.

At 25.7 liters – about 34 bottles, or almost seven gallons – per head, Washington D.C. is way out in front of the pack and knocking it back at more than twice the national average, which the Wine Institute estimates is 2.7 gallons per head per year.

And when it comes to actual states, the Northeast has it all sewn up, with seven of the top 10 states by consumption being located between New Hampshire and Delaware.

New Hampshire residents down 19.6 liters of wine a year, with Massachusetts, New Jersey, Nevada and Connecticut making up the top five. They are followed by California, Rhode Island, Delaware and Hawaii.

The consumption rates don't seem to correlate to price, either; Texas has a low level of wine tax, but it also has low consumption. D.C. has relatively high taxation for wine, but its residents can't get enough.

West Virginians don't seem to like wine much, sitting bottom of the table on 2.4 liters per person. Yet, the state is wine friendly, according to the latest state-by-state report compiled by the American Wine Consumers Coalition. The state scored a respectable B grade for consumer friendliness, allowing direct to consumer shipping as well as Sunday sales.

It is less surprising to see Mississippi and Utah scraping the bottom of the consumption table, sipping just 2.8 and 3.2 liters per head respectively. Direct to consumer shipping is prohibited in both states and the sale of wine on Sundays is forbidden, according to the Coalition. The government also controls the sale of liquor in Utah.