Say it ain't so...Is there a global wine drought?
Say it ain't so...Is there a global wine drought?
Dec 3, 2013 6(CNN) - Global wine production is booming with vineyards springing up everywhere from China to the United States, Chile and New Zealand.
But when a recent report authored by Morgan Stanley Research predicted a looming global wine shortage, vinophiles took to social media to express their dismay over the bleak news.
The report stated that the international demand for wine outweighed production by 300 million cases in 2012 -- dropping to its lowest point in over 40 years.
With worldwide consumption jumping by 1% last year, the researchers concluded demand could overtake supply in the coming years pushing the price of wine up.
As the viticulture chaos ensued, France's International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) released their very own forecast report that countered Morgan Stanley's analysis.
While Morgan Stanley's figures weren't incorrect, per se, their forecast did not take into account 2013's production levels which actually show a return to 2006 production levels, a healthy state of production for the industry. What's more -- Spain, Italy, France and Chile produced record wine levels in 2013.
"It's how you interpret those figures. For all intents and purposes, for those of us in the West who are consumers, no -- there is not going to be a wine shortage," says Felicity Carter, editor-in-chief of Meininger's Wine Business International magazine.
"The question is whether there is going to be a wine shortage for consumers in markets that are extremely price sensitive -- like parts of Eastern Europe -- because the cheaper wine that they drink will be diverted to bulk up wine that goes into big consumption markets."
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