By: Mike Veseth

Mike Veseth — Wed, 16 May 2012 23:50:50 +0000

I agree, Ken. But remember that Germany is the tip of the European Economic Iceberg these days — it is basking in the sun, the rest of Europe is “under water.”

By: Ken Bernsohn

Ken Bernsohn — Tue, 15 May 2012 23:38:59 +0000

Usually events turn out to be messier, with unexpected side effects, than any scenarios expect.
“Wine as a global commodity” is not in the cards for Italians going wine shopping in Florence, Palermo or Rome. Nor in any state or province where government considers supporting the indigenous industry important.
Whether the margin will shift will depend on the inertia to be overcome in the market. People who now consider Cabernet Sauvignon to be “the real stuff” aren’t likely to stray too far.
You wrote, “If Europe’s recession continues and even deepens (as seems likely) and the U.S. recovery slows or even stalls (as seems possible), then the center of gravity in the wine world will necessarily a bit shift towards those areas where middle class incomes are growing, including parts of Asia, South America and even Africa.” Germany, as far as I know, doesn’t have a recession, but it is part of Europe.
And this implies that The U.S. is the centre (Canadian spelling) of the wine world. Not according to Londoners. And, as Bill Murray said in Meatballs, “It just doesn’t matter.” What matters is whether you, you friends, and I can find a good tasting bottle of wine we can afford, and that people can make enough money supplying us that they stay in the business.
Here comes the future, and as usual, we’ll all have to adjust to a world we didn’t expect.

Comments on: Tight, Fat, and Uncorked: Three Wine Scenarios

By: Mike Veseth

By: Ken Bernsohn