The current recession is taking a massive toll on the US wine industry.

The poor economy has turned the wine industry into a buyer’s market with good wines at cheap prices.

Expensive bottles of wine are not flying off store shelves like they used to, so retailers have to look at other ways to spark interest in their products.

Many wine stores have information about the wines they sell posted in their stores. It’s a good tool for consumers, helping them find wines they like at a price that fits their budget.

The impact of this on South Africa will probably be two fold.  First the US consumers will be less reluctant to try something new (i.e. SA wines). The reason for this is that they can’t afford to be wrong.

Secondly the local market will become more important (and more competitive)  as many smaller wineries will have to focus  on closer-to-home-sales as their exported quantities (profits) decline.

The retailers still holds the key and the question remains if the so called better deals will be past to the consumers? Maybe online wine buying will become more competitive as they (online wine retailers) will be able to pass on the lower prices to the consumers.

Source: msnbc.com