This headline, from the State of the Wine Industry report, caught my attention this morning.  I bet fine wine sales reps and industry insiders were cheering, “Hallelujah!”  I know that I was.  I started selling wine in early 2004, and it was a different world.  Do you remember terms such as “allocated”, “limited quantities,” or “buy it now for your cellar before it’s all sold”?  These were the sales tactics practiced by the fine wine salespeople years ago.  We all loved those customers that were dying to buy anything that was: expensive, highly allocated and highly rated.  We even made that stuff up sometimes and they still bought the wine!  (sorry guys, but we are sales people.)

Wow have the times changed.  The new buzz words are: affordable, easy drinking, everyday wines, budget friendly.  The casual wine drinker went from a $25 bottle to a $12 bottle.  The high-end buyers began looking for great values around $30 a bottle.  And the average consumer, well way too many people went to the under $10 wines, many of which are mass-produced and sold in the large chain stores.  So how do you buy decent wine in a tough economy?  I have adapted to the change in buying habits by educating consumers about the wines they buy.  The more you know about the style of wine that you like, the better chance you have of making a good purchase.  Your local wine shops and restaurants are excellent sources of information.  Whether you are looking to spend $10 for a bottle of wine to go with takeout pizza, or $50 for a special occasion, there are plenty of values out there. 

A brief quote from the Wine Industry report, “The wine industry is poised to benefit from an improving economy – and fine wine sales are forecasted to grow by 11-15% year over year – concludes Silicon Valley Bank’s latest annual wine industry report.”  Please go to http://www.svb.com/2011-wine-report/ if you would like to read the whole report.