For wine lovers, it's a buyer's market

LP note: As a 37-year veteran of the wine business, I can confidentially say that what's happening in Napa is old news. That is, the wine industry has always been victim of boom and bust cycles. Napa — and the U.S. premium wine business as a whole — has been on a roll for far too long, mirroring the upswing in the economy since the later Reagan years and the growing interest in the beverage. But it was inevitable that the period of bounty was going to come crashing down; it always does.

Old-line Napans (like my friend Bill Cadman, who owns Tulocay Winery) will not be surprised. They've witnessed it before. Consumers should rejoice, however, for there are bargains to be had. All they have to do is look for them.

Try the Red: Napa Learns to Sell

By KATRINA HERON
New York Times
NAPA, Calif.

TOM DAVIES was driving last fall down Highway 29, the two-lane blacktop that serves as the Napa Valley’s main drag, when he saw something that literally stopped him in his tracks. “There was a sign on the side of the road that said, ‘Cabernet Grapes for Sale,’ ” he recalled, still incredulous that economic desperation had forced a Napa grower to hawk the region’s hallowed fruit like a load of zucchini.

In the 30 years that Mr. Davies, the president of V. Sattui Winery and Vineyards, has worked in the Napa wine business, he has never seen a sight quite so unsettling. “Grapes were left hanging on the vine last year,” he said.

This unusual predicament is not easily remedied at a time when vintners are awash in wine. Highly touted Napa releases in 2009 did not sell out, which means that inventory is backing up, which in turn means that much of the 2010 grape harvest will essentially have nowhere to go. Some winemakers have even debated skipping a vintage, which would amount to wiping a year off the calendar.

Not so long ago, it seemed a given that Napa wines would forever be immune from oversupply.

But in 2009, sales of wines priced at $25 and above dropped 30 percent nationwide, according to Nielsen. While global wine sales increased, California wine shipments fell for the first time in 16 years.

More here.