WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE CALIFORNIA WINE INDUSTRY? - Danger ahead, but opportunities are there for producers and consumers in these tough times.

摘要

This being Wine Enthusiast's Best of the Year issue, as well as the start of a new year, it's a good time to reflect on California's wine industry, as it maneuvers its way into a future that is profoundly uncertain. Moving into the same cloudy futureare wine lovers, who might be rethinking their buying strategies for 2009. For both the industry and the consumer, this coming year will present enormous risks, as well as the possibility of rewards. You've probably heard that the Chinese word for "crisis" is composed of elements that mean "danger" and "opportunity." (This interpretation is incorrect, according to scholars. But it's useful.) The crisis confronting the California wine industry and consumers is clearly the economic meltdown that, as I write these words in mid-October, appears to be worsening. As people have less money to spend, they may cut down on discretionary purchases—and like it or not, wine and alcoholic beverages in general are discretionary. Necessities like mortages or rents, food, gas, home heating and healthcare come first. At the same time, we may find wine's place on the table holding strong as consumers turn to home entertaining and find that now more than ever, a glass of wine brings them joy. We'll have to wait and see.