Quality vs. Quantity - A Look at America's Wine Habit

There's a fascinating article in The International Herald Tribune today about American wine sales during the past 12 months. The findings, the recession has had an effect on what we're drinking. Also, it's had an effect on HOW MUCH we've been drinking. According to the article:

"In response to the economic downturn, alcohol retailers and industry experts say, American consumers have been trading down for less expensive wines and spirits. But what they have saved per bottle, many have almost made up for in quantity. "People are loading up on a lot more of the things that cost less," said Michael Cappadona, the assistant store manager at Total Wine in West Orange, New Jersey. "People that would normally come in and might buy five or six bottles are now wanting to buy something cheaper by the case.""

I'm not quite sure what to make of this. On the one hand, it's nice to read that American's are drinking more wine then ever. However, it is a bit sad to see that the quality of what their buying is going down and down. The piece goes onto say -

"At Wine.com, a large online alcohol retailer, the average price of a bottle of wine sold in December 2008 was 17 percent below the average price of a bottle sold in December 2007 - but the number of bottles sold was 15 percent higher than a year ago."

It's a fascinating read to say the least. Follow the link at the top of the post for the complete article.