Recessional Wines. By Bruno Buelens Thursday, 4th December 2008

It's happening all around us - the financial crisis is having an impact; across the globe, the bubble has burst. 

I prefer the bubbles in my glass to be quite frank. But as is the case in so many businesses, the wine industry has been under pressure from overproduction and the resulting prices. The effect is making me fuzzy.
 
Some big 2005 Bordeaux and Burgundy Chateau wine retail prices have dropped considerably - sometimes up to 25 per cent. It's not that the quality of the wine has dropped by the same figure; the drop is due to the value people attach to these wines and the influence of supply and demand.

These types of wines have in a way lost their basic purpose which is a wine to drink to enjoy, rather than an investment. There is no doubt however that merely having these great wines in your cellar can be very enjoyable indeed. But sometimes, owning them is like playing on a mini stock market.

And on stock markets, you either win or you loose. And with the market depleting, some may well and are tempted to pick up a bargain with high hopes that the future will see supply and demand change again, and thus prices increase.
 
At the end of the day, these wines are for the lucky few who can afford them. In recent years, technological and scientific improvements in wine making have emerged. This has led to the production of quality and affordable wines.

The big question now however is if consumers will stick to their quality level and drink less, or will want to drink the same volume but will opt for a lower quality.  It's a risky time for both producers and importers, as pressure increases and consumer demand falls. 

Of course the storm will pass - it always does. Now is the time to keep the head cool, the heart warm and the wine chilled. Life is too short to drink bad wine. Wine lovers always pick their cellared bottle to match the occasion. So here is a toast to wine, recessional wines, be they bargains or not.

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