We’re No. 33!

The Wine Institute has released its figures on world wine production, and the U.S. is still the fourth-largest producing nation, after Italy, France and Spain. But we’re only No. 33 in per-capita consumption at just 2.08 gallons a year, barely ahead of Uzbekistan at 1.81 gallons.

Some countries with higher per-capita wine rates than ours: Slovenia (12.88 gallons), Uruguay (9.28), Australia (5.25), Madagascar (4.66) and Lithuania (2.26).

As for the world’s greatest per-capita wine consumption, that honor goes to Luxembourg at 18.59 gallons. And it’s mostly imported wine, because Luxembourg makes only 26,000 gallons of its own. The smallest measurable wine consumer is Egypt, where the average yearly wine consumption is 1/100 of a gallon, just over 2 tablespoons.

Queen’s Chef Up, Around

Queen Elizabeth’s head chef is taking a break from the royal kitchens after being struck down by what newspapers said was salmonella picked up in Mexico, Reuters wire service reports.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman confirmed that Lionel Mann had fallen ill at the Balmoral estate in Scotland but declined to say what illness he had.

“He is unwell but he’s up and about and doing a desk job at the moment. We don’t know when he’ll be back in the kitchens,” she told Reuters. “There’s no risk for the queen or anyone else he cooks for.”