Thursday, September 25, 2008

Bad Economy: Wine Sales Still Strong

Despite the bad economy, sales of wine and alcohol appear to have at least remained steady, if not increasing in some areas. And wine may also be an attractive investment opportunity.

The Telegraph has an article, "Wine buyers defy credit crunch," that describes how there has been increased interest in investing in wine rather than stocks in the UK. "Live-ex, a research company that runs a fine-wine index, estimates that prices of the best vintages have increased by 50 per cent since the start of last year – in sharp contrast to the stock market, where prices have fallen by 15 per cent."

The Sacramento Bee recently published an article, "California wine sales appear healthy," states that though wine sales at restaurants are decreasing, retail and direct-to-consumer wine sales are increasing.

As a bit of an alternative, the Press Democrat reports in "Softening wine market," that wine sales are softening as consumers purchase less expensive wines while others cut back completely. But they see some optimism as well, pointing to various positive factors leading to a greater acceptance of wine overall.

So, have your wine buying habits changed with the worsening economy? Are you buying less expensive wines, though the same amount of wine? Are you investing in wine?

No comments: