Business Journal: Wine Consumption Up


Share |
(Sacramento, CA)
Monday, August 25, 2008
Wine-grape growers and winemakers are raising a glass to another record year of wine sales. Consumers spent almost $28 billion on wine in 2007, that’s a 3.2 percent increase compared to 2006, according to the Beverage Information Group. It’s also the 14th-consecutive year of increased sales. At the current pace, the U.S. wine industry will surpass France and Italy to become the largest wine market and wine importer in the world by 2010. California accounts for a majority of the wine production in the U.S. One of the reasons for surging U.S. sales is lower-priced boxed wines, such as Target’s WineCube and Black Box Wines from Constellation Wines.