Why do you need to stock up wine now?
What’s going on that might entice you to buy more than a few bottles for a weekend, you might ask?
There are several reasons, but it all comes down to bottles.
What Toilet Paper and Wine Have in Common
What does it have to do with bottles?
If you live on planet Earth and are not a multimillionaire, the world-changing event of 2020 might have brought some limitations to your life due to supply-chain logistical issues. Remember “run-on” toilet paper when stores limited sales to half a roll per person per day?!
The drastic surge in toilet paper consumption coincided with an uptick in wine sales during quarantines. Surprise, surprise! People were afraid and scared.
We recall visiting a huge local wine store (part of a national chain) in April of 2020 and seeing empty shelves that were always full. The manager confessed that it feels like people are shopping for Christmas, and the store is almost out of Rosé wine that they expected to last for months.
They quickly made up for sold inventory within a few weeks to accommodate increased demand. Toilet paper took a little longer to recover.
Well, we agree wine is more important!
At the moment, the shelves are stocked with wine, and everything seems fine. But is it for long?
Wine Bottles Challenge
At the moment, there’s nothing to worry about. There will always be wine and lots of it. It may not be as reasonably priced as we are accustomed to, and it will likely surprise our wallets by Christmas time when higher wine production costs reflect the vintage of 2022. So what will drive up the prices?
Some might say, “Duh! It’s inflation, genius!” Not so fast. Inflation definitely plays a role but not the major one, especially for a wine under $15. The main contributor to the rising costs of wine will be bottles, or rather lack thereof. A quick search on the internet can bring up dozens of articles about how winemakers struggle to find the bottles.
The supply-chain issues snaring container ships in traffic jams led to a shipping crisis and global shortages of products key to bottling wine. Everything that has to do with bottles is on the rise. Whether it’s European Union or the United States, the shortage of bottles increased prices by at least 30-40% by the beginning of 2022.
To make things worse, the energy crisis fueled by the sanctions against Russia sent paper costs up by 40% and plastic by 70% in Europe. Combined bottles, labels, and packaging materials are estimated to add up to $2-3 per bottle and be transferred to the consumers.
While it’s a palatable increase for a $30-50 bottle of wine and some cost might be absorbed by the producer to remain competitive, for $7-10 wine, it means up to a 50% hike. With inflation in mind, the difference can be even higher.
Interestingly, the bottle shortage has an impact not on the price but on the quality of the wine. The wines currently being aged in barrels or held in tanks may have to stay there until they can be bottled, which might be too long.
The oak from the barrels may overshadow characteristic fruit flavors, and the resulting wine may taste overwhelmingly woodsy. Tanks can slow down the maturation process, and the resulting wine might have a bland flavor. Neither is the desired outcome.
Why stock up on wine now?
We can say goodbye to reasonably priced good wine or stock up on quality budget wines*** hoping we have enough to carry us through the time until the prices come down.
Forget about buying $10 wine and planning to keep it for a few years. It’s made to be consumed the minute it arrives in stores and is not worth the space in your apartment or house. And you can’t store canned or boxed wine either. Typically, it’s meant to be drunk within 12 months from the production date. It may not go bad, but it definitely can lose its flavors; you’ll get stuck with a whole box of wine you hate.
The new reasonable might be the wine priced above $20 and below $40. Of course, it depends on the producer!
When we thought we might become more relaxed about choosing wine, it just became more complicated!
Or not?
We are always looking for a great value wine that can gracefully age at least a few years. Sign up for the updates on our website to be the first to learn about them.