Wine News: Brace Yourself - A Wine Shortage is Coming

The Atlantic published a piece describing a "fast-approaching" wine shortage:

At the current pace, a global shortage of wine is fast approaching. “Data suggests there may be insufficient supply to meet demand in coming years, as current vintages are released,” the report says. 

The problem is something of a two-headed monster. 

On the One Hand… 

Global wine consumption has been on the rise almost without interruption (save for a short stint between 2008 and 2009) since the late 1990s. 

The US and China, in particular, have been drinking more. The US, which guzzles roughly 12% of the world’s wine, has seen its per capita consumption double since the start of the century. And China, which is now the world’s fifth largest import market, has doubled its consumption not once, but twice in the past five years. 

On the Other… 

World production hasn’t managed to keep pace. Outputs have steadily declined in a number of the world’s most prosperous regions. Overall, global production has been on a downward trend ever since the early 2000s, when there were still massive excesses. Peak wine, the report holds, isn’t merely upon us; it already happened—back in 2004.

The article points that a decrease in production from the France, Italy, and Spain, the world's three largest producers of wine, is contributing to the shortage. But, this sounds like a great opportunity for emerging wine markets. Either way, I'd better start hoarding.