As we deal with the challenges of our sluggish economy, wine sales are one of the first places we see economic attrition. I have always thought that wine sales should be made part of the ‘leading economic indicators’ index as they tend to foreshadow peoples confidence vis-à-vis which wines people are drinking.

Wines are indeed an epicurean ‘canary in a coalmine’ to our economy at large. When times are good and people are flush, people seek out the so-called trophy wines of Napa valley Cabernets, Grand Cru Bordeaux, and 1esr Cru Burgundies. When times are less rosy, those same wines often reappear in the market at premium wine auctions led by the likes of Zachys, Hart Davis Hart and Sherry Lehman.

In trying to save some dough, folks may trade down to wines that give pleasure but are not as expensive. ‘Tête de Cuvée’ Champagne (the Dom Perignon, Taittinger ‘Comte de Champagne’ sorts of bottles) gives way to tasty non-vintage bottlings. We see less 2^nd and 3^rd growth and more ‘Cru Bourgeois’ Bordeaux wines find themselves being “discovered” and enjoyed. Continue reading »