While the people in newly-wealthy countries have driven up the cost of premier wines to stratospheric levels (such as Lafite, DRC, Dom Perignon), thereby pricing them out of reach for most of the wine lovers of the world, it is also true that lower-cost wines have never been of such high quality before. It is indeed a Golden Age for the wine drinker who is willing to search for quality at the lower price levels (and that concept happens to be at the core of my wine business).
However, as efficiencies continue to be squeezed out by the large wineries, as wine costs to the consumer continue to fall, as more and more "value wine" vineyards are planted, it may become harder and harder for small artisan wineries to stay afloat. I fear the days of the Willamette Valley's most-expensive Pinot Noirs may be numbered, as the world fills with more and more less-expensive Pinots which are of increasing quality.
Thanks to K.D. for sending me the article.
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