Same 
Think the problem is (as been stated many times) that many are drinking seltzer / cocktail in lieu of wine.
The cost of a glass of wine / markup is ridiculous that many would opt in for these instead and seen as a much better bang for your buck while delivering consistent results unlike wine.
But still, I suppose for the wine industry its better that more are drinking as that could lead to wine consumption
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As an East Coaster (even though from Maine, where wineries are thankfully thin on the ground), I have to feel fear and sorrow for people trying, and often succeeding, to make fine or great wine from New York through Virginia. Zero respect, zero presence outside your (very) local market, dependent on weather which is completely undependable.
I hope the good people in the Finger Lakes, North Fork, Maryland and Virginia who are making really good wine can survive what is happening. Most of them are in a much shakier position than those on the West Coast.
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That is a bit myopic, understandably as an East Coaster, but wine is made in most States, so there is a lot of struggle going on across the US.
WA wines struggle outside of WA and PNW, so do OR wines, which are the #2 and #3 wine producing regions in US.
It is going to be rough for a lot of families and companies across every State including CA.
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At Vin Expo in Bordeaux I saw solid Cotes de Gascogne wines, red and white, that absolutely fit what you are talking about for 1€ per bottle export price. That would retail at roughly $5/bottle. While I worked for a distributor, we picked up a Tuscan producer who produced a small regional wine that we sold for $4.89. Those are baffling prices for me, as I couldn’t produce anything for those costs much less pay any fixed costs, salaries, or taxes that go along with my basic cost of goods.
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Sign of someone that bought too much, and is now purging.
As little as five years ago, my import company (since sold) was buying Spanish wine for €1 per bottle (a little less for red and rose, a little more for white). We also sold the wines in 3L bag-in-box. Our sales peaked at about 10,000 cases a year (total mixed between 3 colors, 2 sizes).
The company that sold us the wines was delighted, would have been much happier if we were doing 100,000 cases… as in they were making a profit at €11.64 per case of 12 bottles of Garnacha Rose. But by the time I sold the business at the end of 2021, sales had dwindled to half of peak and the new owners dropped it. The economics were fine for everybody, the problem is that demand for that quality level of wine was crashing… and still is.
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If those wines are coming from who I think they’re coming from, that person is moving overseas indefinitely and just basically liquidated a cellar they won’t have much use for in two month’s time. (They also have other stuff on winebid that isn’t just Oregon)
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Articles like this don’t help with clarity and transparency for consumers.
This from growers should be concerning too.
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Even further off-topic, I was mildly interested in a 3 pack of Horsepower for $150 which didn’t sell, so now the opening bid is $160. 
And the pinor noir on winebid seems to be a very “electic” collection.
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Just recently the german food discounter ALDI saw protests outside some of their stores in the bordeaux region for selling bdx bottles at 1.99€.
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I guess the French Government’s buyout and rip out program isn’t working
I think it is, but it’s still very early and probably still too little.
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A discussion came up today regarding the state of the wine market, specifically in the US, New Zealand, and the UK, which are all in the same scenario as outlined in this thread, in detail…but neither of us knew what was happening in France, if similar malaise in the wine market is occuring - any insight there?
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I get an abbreviated link to Revue du Vin de France and the limited look I get gives a lot of info:
Wine sales are down, almost catastrophically from the point of view of growers of plonk. They can’t rip out the vines producing two buck chuck fast enough.
But the money being spent on wine is stable. For every 10 bottles of supermarket wine no longer being bottled or bought, something at a higher level is being purchased at a higher price. Average retail prices of Burgundy are still going up in France. The expansion of the Chablis vineyard a few decades ago seems to have increased demand, not killed it.
If sales at EUR 2 - 3 are collapsing, an increase from EUR 15 - 20, or EUR 35 - 50 takes up the slack… if you’re making the good stuff
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Dan is right! Not surprisingly.
From what I hear too, the cheap wines suffer and the premium stays rather intact. In auction too there’s been some downside, then some upside the last two month it feels like. Overall I get more offers this year compared to last, so somebody needs more sales. Also been cold-emailed a few times from previously very difficult shops asking if I want to place an order.
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So what happened to the consumers who used to drink the low cost wine?
Not drinking? Weed? Seltzer?
I know all of these were mentioned above. If you’re used to drinking $2 wine so you really want to change though?
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Yes to all. And I guess just wine in moderation. The Danish numbers of sold wines are down something like 3,5-4%. For now I’d say it’s nothing more than a cyclical slowdown, but I guess the next few years will show.
And those drinking 2$ stuff in Denmark? They have a problem with wine in the first place, or might be sangria makers— which could be a bit the same.
I wonder if they’re just dying off from age. The generation(s) that didn’t see wine as something fancy and had it at most meals out of a tumbler glass, maybe with a little ice in the warmer months. The ones who might fill up a jug at the local co-op back in the day.
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I think in a broader perspective, it is clear that wine consumption is moving away from everyday/food/entry wines, particularly in Europe. I got keel hauled over in the Portugal thread a few years back when I suggested that perhaps moving away from making $1-5/bottle wines would help everyone in the long run - it would create better conditions for both growers and producers.
As an equal critic of the luxury wine gauging pricing that’s been going on (especially here in the US), I do think there’s a sweet spot to be had. It is clear and bears out in the sales statistics that the new generation to wine, aren’t interested in the supermarket bottom shelf swill. Which would be what you’d expect in times when they can’t even afford rent in urban areas, but they seem to approach wine as treat and are willing to pay lower end premium for a good bottle. Less frequency, but better quality.
In the end, maybe it will align perfectly and come to rest at a happy medium price segment that can support farmers, small winemakers, distributors and restaurants alike - both here in the New and Old World.
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