Winebits 698: Layoffs, wine prices, wine consumption

This week’s wine news: Consolidation-driven layoffs hit California, plus wine prices are tied to toilet paper prices and the French are drinking more wine

• Layoffs hit California wineries: Clos du Bois and Sebastiani, two long-time California wineries, closed last week as consolidation tightened its grip on the wine business. Wine-searcher reported that the brands will continue, but will be made elsewhere. As many as 80 people could lose their jobs. E&J Gallo closed the Clos du Bois winery, a Sonoma fixture since 1974, after acquiring the label in its multi-billion dollar deal with Constellation Brands. Sebastiani, founded in 1904, survived Prohibition and two world wars, but not its purchase by Foley Family Wines in 2008. Both producers said it didn’t make economic sense to keep the wineries open.

• Who knew? Newsweek, as near as I can tell, is reporting that since toilet paper prices will increase in the “post-Covid-19 era,” so will wine prices. There doesn’t seem to be any evidence supporting this assertion, save for a reference to the consumer price index for people who live in cities and some quotes taken – not necessarily in context – from this year’s Silicon Valley Bank report. The story, in fact, is a terrific example of post-modern reporting – stringing together a bunch of news releases, paraphrasing quotes, and pretending that it takes the place of original reporting.

• Good for the French: French home wine consumption increased more than three percent in 2020, probably because of the pandemic. The report, from the the country’s FranceAgriMer agency, found that households bought about four cases of wine. But that’s still less than the five-year average and about 20 percent less than what they bought in 2010. Interestingly, the best selling price category was €2.99 or less (about US$3.65) – a price point that barely exists in this country.