As the global financial crisis, or GFC, continues to unravel, and more and more businesses start to feel the pinch, larger wine companies with good cash flow and infrastructure could well be licking their lips. It seems that consumers, rather than reduce their consumption of wine, they are instead buying less expensive wine, and more of it.
While higher end quality producers and regions such as many houses in Burgundy are reporting a decrease in import sales by up to 20%, retailers around the world are seeing a spike in lower end, less expensive wines. It is reported that during the great depression in the 1920’s, many people reduced their spending, but small luxuries such as going to the theater, and indeed the consumption of beer & wine stayed relatively stable. So is this what we should expect over the next year or so?
We may see a similar situation to the global wine glut, where there was (and in some cases still is), downward pressure on wine prices, making high quality wine available at super cheap prices, as producers struggle to keep a foot hold in the market.
For the consumer, this means there should be some fantastic bargains on the horizon, and if you’re in the right place at the right time it may not only be a great bargain, but a very sound investment!