Winebits 757: The “it’s all about wine prices” edition

This week’s wine news: Are wine drinkers balking at higher prices? Maybe so.

• Dumping pricey booze? Consumers may be buying less expensive alcohol this summer, reports VinePair, based on an analysis of beer and spirits sales data. The story doesn’t mention wine, but the sales numbers here tie in witth a variety of recent wine sales trends. Sales of cheaper beers and spirits, including Busch Light and spirits costing less than $10 are growing; sales of higher-priced craft beers and spirits aren’t. The story says that “continued inflationary pressures, extreme heat, rising interest rates and recession fears” are among the reasons for the changes. I assume the weather is included because simple beers are easier to drink when it’s 100 degrees. Who wants a hoppy, high alcohol craft beer then? One caveat: The sales figures compare 2022 to 2021, when there was some pandemic-ending boost in beer and spirits.

• Smaller wine servings? The New York Post, whose wine coverage is surprisingly interesting, says some Manhattan restaurants are cutting back on wine serving sizes to save money. “All over the city, from taverns to fine restaurants, diners are doing double takes as they receive reduced pours of wine at increased prices.” One wine writer says he paid $18 for a 4-ounce glass of Austrian gruner veltiner – a markup that works out to six or seven times the wholesale cost of the wine. The story says restaurants see this as one more way to cut costs at the expense of wine drinkers. Says one Manhattan wine importer: “I go to some places and think, ‘Are they serious?’ I’m blown away by how small the pours are.’’

• No more Champagne? British wine drinkers are turning away from Champagne, thanks to increasingly higher prices. This is shocking news, given that Britain is perhaps Champagne’s most important market outside of France. But, reports a British trade magazine, “nearly every Champagne available in the UK’s supermarkets suffered a sales slump this year.” Even the most popular labels are slumping, and the story blames high prices – caused by recent short Champagne harvests, as well as price hikes by many producers. The situation in Britain is not quite the same as here – British inflation is even worse than in the U.S., while Brexit has made European products more expensive even without inflation. Still, it’s worth noting the trend in Britain, and to watch what happens here.

Photo: Alexander Kovacs on Unsplash