Local duo taps into maple wine, spirits market

Bruce Olson and Steve Buchsbaum thought it would be a lot of work to start distilling their own maple brandy. But they didn't know it would be impossible.By its legal definition, brandy is made from fruit, Buchsbaum said. So, what do you call a spirit distilled from fermented maple syrup?

"It doesn't fit into any category," he said. They call their product Knotted Maple, and they're pretty sure it's one of a kind. Olson and Buchsbaum, who are longtime friends, recently became business partners when they decided to open a winery and distillery, called Tree Spirits, out of a former garage on Fairfield Street in Oakland.

They started selling their maple spirits and sweet sparkling maple wine just before Christmas. Within a couple of months, they'll be bottling applejack and dry sparkling wines for retail sale. Olson, who bought the old garage to use as storage space, has been experimenting with winemaking there for about a decade. He started with traditional wine made from grapes, but over the years got more creative and tried fermenting apple cider and sap from a maple tree in his backyard.

"Being his friend, I had to drink a little of that wine," Buchsbaum said. "I said to Bruce, 'You could sell that stuff.'"

A year ago, they applied for federal permits for a winery and a distillery and hoped to open within a few months. But obtaining a license turned out to be a long and tedious process, they said. Buchsbaum, who handled the paperwork, said he had to include information about their equipment, finances, products and distilling process.

"They want to know what you're going to make and how you're going to make it," Buchsbaum said.

To make room for the fermenting tanks and bottling equipment, Olson put an addition on the garage and, in the fall, they had their licenses in place to start production. Tree Spirits is one of six distilleries in the state, according to the U.S. Department of Treasury's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. There are 26 licensed wineries.

Tree Spirits' maple products are made with syrup from Bacon Farm in Sidney. Cider from The Apple Farm in Fairfield is used in the wine and applejack. Since they started fermenting in the fall, they've been working to perfect their recipes.

"We did a lot of testing," Olson said with smirk.

Buchsbaum first had the idea to distill the fermented cider and syrup to make applejack, a popular spirit in the colonial era, and Knotted Maple, which they believe is brand new. They tried to keep the maple flavor subtle, so it wouldn't get sickeningly sweet after a few sips.

Olson said he's seen maple liqueurs, in which maple syrup is mixed with vodka, but has never come across anything quite like their spirit.

"We wanted to have a product that everybody else wasn't making," Buchsbaum said.

A 375-milliliter bottle of Knotted Maple costs $35.99. The bottles of wine are $18 apiece. Olson and Buchsbaum admit the products aren't cheap, but hope the fact that they're unique and locally made will drive sales.

The plan is to officially launch the products in the spring, when they'll put up a sign in front of the shop and schedule regular tastings. Now, they hold tastings by appointment.

While the business is getting started, the men -- both 56 years old -- plan to keep their day jobs. Olson is a ballroom dance instructor at Blue Wave Studio in Waterville, where he lives. Buchsbaum and his wife, who live in Belgrade, own Let's Talk Language School in Waterville. Both men said they wouldn't mind working full-time for Tree Spirits. "If it takes off, it will take up a lot of time," Olson said. "That's what we hope happens."

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Wine production in China to surpass Australia in three years

An industry report has shown that Chinese wine output could outpace Australia by 2014, producing as many as 218 million cases of wine! Various media have picked up the story this week, and talk about things like how China's got its own Dragon's Eye grape, how the Chinese prefer red over white, and how the biggest domestic producers are Great Wall, Dynasty and Changyu. Dynasty?!? DEAR FOREIGN MEDIA: PLEASE TASTE CHINESE WINE BEFORE YOU WRITE ABOUT IT.

Cheap wine can be a wonderful thing. Inexpensive, burns the gullet, harbors a lower sense of shame than cheap gin or whiskey. But as many of you who've fallen prey to those conveniently lined up bottles at All Days know, cheap Chinese wine is something altogether different. Nothing but the color resembles wine, and it tastes more like really acrid punch punching you in the stomach.

Given, that's just the cheap stuff, but it's also the stuff being sold by the most outlets to the most people. And they are the only brands likely to be accessible to the average Chinese budget.

The Daily Mail actually DID have an expert do a tasting (almost missed the boxed results at the bottom of the article), and said the £45 bottle of Great Wall Cabernet tasted "lovely." If any of our readers have had a similar experience, please let us know in the comments! So next time we decide to splurge, we know which Chinese wines are worth a try (I think we've all had that experience where you think "hey this one costs 100RMB so it probably tastes better, right??")

The industry also struggles from problems with quality control - last month there was a fake wine scandal involving one wine producer who made their wine almost entirely from chemicals. Another problem is pirated wine, where they simply place copied labels from a good winery on bottles full of crap wine.

So could this massive increase in output really mean an increase in quality Chinese wine? Certainly they can manage to get a decent tasting bottle on the shelves for less than $15, right? We'll see. But for now Australia can probably rest easy.

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Chinese Wine Student Wins Travel Scholarship to Australia

The winner of the Wine Australia Travel Scholarship in association with the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) in greater China has been announced.

Mr Jim Yang from Beijing will be awarded the prestigious Scholarship, which was open to eligible students in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau and is one of three scholarship winners from Asia. Lucy Anderson, Director – Asia, congratulated the winners and said she was encouraged by the enthusiasm and competition displayed via application for this prestigious award.

“China is such an exciting market for Australian wine producers and with so many keen, young, enthusiastic people learning about wine, it’s wonderful to be able to formally acknowledge and reward one of these individuals,” Ms Anderson said.

In a unique opportunity, Mr Yang will join Wine Australia’s Vintage 2011 program, travelling to Australia in April to gain hands on experience at a winery, visit a number of Australia’s famous wine regions and meet with winemakers from across the country.

Mr Yang has not had the chance to visit Australia before and on hearing the news he said: “It is really hard to describe my feeling now; first of all, I am so happy to gain the award. I am extremely keen to learn more about Australia, to taste the world class wines, to join the harvest, and to see the unique wine making process.”

Wine Australia continues its commitment to wine education, through the support of global education providers, ongoing investment in tutored masterclasses and the delivery of an educational platform “Australia: world class”, available in seven languages, via the internet and on DVD.

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Aussies switch from beer to wine

The iconic image of an Australian with a long cool beer in hand may not hold true forever, with statistics showing Australians are drinking less beer these days than at any time in the past 61 years.

In a report titled “No Longer a Nation of Beer Drinkers”, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that beer consumption has fallen gradually but consistently since the 1960s, while consumption of wines and spirits has increased. “Over the past 50 years, the level of apparent consumption of different alcoholic beverages has changed substantially,” the report said.

In terms of volume, beer consumption peaked in 1948-1949 at around 190 litres per person, but by 2008-2009 that had decreased to 107 litres per person. At the start of the 1960s, beer made up 76 percent of all pure alcohol consumed in Australia, but in recent years, this has fallen to 44 percent.

Wine consumption has increased threefold over the same time, to 36 percent, while the intake of spirits has nearly doubled to 20 percent.

The report noted that increased consumption was likely to have been affected by numerous factors including different age patterns in the population, increasing affluence and the growth of the Australian wine industry.

Changing taxes and the introduction of random breath testing are a few of the factors that could have cut consumption.

“Nobody drank wine in 1971,” said Stephen O'Bryan, a Sydney resident who proclaims himself a fan of both beer and wine.

“If I'm thirsty I'll drink beer and have wine with dinner. I always have.”

Despite the threat, beer's reign as top tipple Down Under still has a while to run.

While wine consumption has been increasing rapidly since the 1960s, its peak is a mere 29 litres per person first hit in 2006-2007 and holding steady in the years since.

“The problem with this document is it describes a trend over those 50 years rather than any sudden change,” said Troy Hey, public Relations Manager at beer giant Fosters Group .

While the report said wine's higher alcohol content could be a factor in rising consumption, O'Bryan was sceptical. “Alcohol content in wine varies so much anyway, anything near enough 15 percent for a heavy red to 9 percent for some of your lighter whites...You can get beer with 9 percent,” he said.

Overall, alcohol consumption per person peaked at 13.1 litres of pure alcohol in 1974-1975, drifted down through the 1980s and early 1990s, and then rose back up to 10.4 litres by 2009-2009. This consumption comes with a cost. A report last year showed that alcohol abuse is costing Australians $36 billion a year.

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Bumper harvest gives wine industry hangover

A bumper year for the country's grape growers could be great news for wine buyers, but not vineyards. Good growing conditions mean that this year's harvest might exceed 300,000 tonnes, raising the possibility of another wine glut and a tough year for wineries.

Oversupply has threatened to damage the value of New Zealand wines in key export markets since a bumper harvest in 2008. Grape prices subsequently slumped and, with them, profits.

Now, Vintage 2010, a state-of-the industry report by Deloittes and New Zealand Winegrowers, warns that although last year's reduced vintage went some way to alleviating problems caused by previous bumper harvests, the 2011 harvest could exceed 300,000 tonnes, adding to the industry's woes.

That warning is backed up by the producers of Oyster Bay wines, Delegat's, who said the wine surplus would continue to cause headaches for the next two years.

Speaking at the company's annual meeting, managing director Jim Delegat warned that a recovery was still some way off, vineyards would continue to lose value and grape prices were unlikely to rise in the near future.

"The 2010 harvest was a lower yield of 266,000 tonnes, but the industry supply imbalance is likely to prevail for another two years."He said "low-price private label wines" now accounted for five of the top 10 best-selling New Zealand wines in the industry's largest export market, the UK.

Paul Munro, of Deloittes, said that unless supply was matched to demand, New Zealand wine prices would fall in key markets. "That might result in a rapid undermining of the industry's premium positioning, which has taken many years to build," he said.

The current ability to price wine at premium prices had a crucial flow-on for grape growers and domestic companies which serviced the industry. Munro said declining revenues had been matched by cost reductions, but profitability was down. The smallest wineries (revenue of under $1 million) were suffering the most, and in some instances losing $50 a case.

Dozens of small vineyards are for sale around the country as falling profitability forces some owners out of the industry. Close to 100 grape properties are listed on the www.nzfarms.co.nz website, including two Marlborough vineyards - the 9ha Stoney Range and the 13ha Sandy Creek - offered in mortgagee sales. Deloittes said it it had noted many insolvencies throughout the country.

"In Central Otago and Marlborough there are large numbers of operations on the market," the report said. "There is clear uncertainty on behalf of investors and bankers of the level of financial viability in the industry."

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White Wines on the Rise

Mother Nature made it nearly impossible to produce disappointing Long Island wines last year. The outstanding vintage set the stage for especially rewarding white-wine drinking this year, when the 2010s will be released. Reds will mature in oak barrels for two or more years.

The rising quality of dry and off-dry whites (as well as cabernet franc, a red) has challenged the hoary notion that the East End is chiefly merlot country. Ambitious sparkling wines are also catching on, and alluring French-style rosés, which flatter maritime cuisine, are proliferating.

Local vintners are striving to create signature wines by defining and transmitting their terroirs: the mix of soils, topography and climate that gives wines particular characters. Chardonnays, sauvignon blancs and rieslings that experience minimal intervention in winemaking and are reared in steel tanks and neutral barrels can express terroir nicely. New oak can mask it.

Top-notch wineries like Bedell Cellars, Channing Daughters, Macari Vineyards, Shinn Estate Vineyards and Wölffer Estate Vineyard seem particularly attuned to the specifics of terroir. Their cellar methods seem to be adjusting to those specifics. There is a tier of less prominent producers whose 2010 wines are also likely to be inviting. It includes Anthony Nappa Wines, Bouké Wines, Clovis Point Wines, Comtesse Thérèse, Diliberto Winery, Jason’s Vineyard, Mattebella Vineyards, McCall Wines, Onabay Vineyards, Roanoke Vineyards, Suhru Wines and Waters Crest Winery. The new year brings the industry a potential downside. State budget constraints may prevent the New York Wine and Grape Foundation, a trade association, from subsidizing the Long Island Wine Council, a trade group, at the current level of almost $24,000. That kind of cutback would force vintners to spend more of their own money on marketing, raising the prospect of higher prices.

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China wine drinkers increase, UK biggest importer: new figures

China’s wine consumption and wine production are set to increase exponentially over the next four years. China: surge in consumption and production According to the latest figures from International Wine and Spirit Research (IWSR), commissioned by Vinexpo, consumption of wine by China and Hong Kong increased by over 100% between 2005 and 2009, from 46.9m to 95.9m cases.

The organisation predicts that this figure will increase a further 20% by 2014, to 126.4m cases. In terms of domestic production of wine, China is set to increase by 77% over the next four years, from an average 72m cases to 128m cases.

Those wishing to take advantage of this burgeoning market should remember that 90% of the wine drunk in China is domestically produced, Vinexpo chairman Xavier de Eizaguirre said at a press conference in London today France, Italy and Spain remain the world’s biggest producers of wine, accounting for just under half of the world’s production of 3bn cases.

However, by 2014 these countries’ production is expected to decline by between one and seven percent.
This is due mainly to more efficient management of vineland, grubbing up of unprofitable vineyards, and concentration on quality by reduction of yields, Robert Beynat, Vinexpo chief executive, said. The only countries to increase production will be Argentina by over 13%, Chile by 8%, South Africa by 7%, and China.

While the US will be the world’s biggest consumer of wine by 2012, with over 300m cases taking over from Italy at the top of the table, the UK is the world’s largest importing nation both by value and volume.

Britons spend more in total on those styles than the French: Britain imported 1.77bn bottles of still and sparkling wine in 2010, to a value of £8.6bn.

However, in terms of per capita consumption we are only tenth in the table. In an anomaly, Britain consumes more white wine per capita than any other country: 44% of all wine drunk. By contrast, consumption of red wine has declined 8% over the last five years and is forecast to decrease more by 2014.

At the same time, the British are among the world’s most enthusiastic rosé drinkers: we are the fourth largest market for rosé, consuming 10% of the world’s total production. As consumers, Russia, the US and China are expected to show the most growth over the next four years, increasing consumption by 20.7m cases in China, 27m cases in the US and 5.5m cases in Russia.

Of the 3bn cases, or 36bn bottles, produced worldwide, a quarter is exported. Vinexpo estimates that one in four bottles is drunk in a country in which it was not made. This figure is expected to increase.

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France reclaims no.1 wine producer title

France reclaimed its position as the world's leading wine producer last year after losing the top spot to Italy in 2009, according to a study released Tuesday by wine and spirits trade show Vinexpo.

The study, conducted by London-based International Wine and Spirit Research (IWSR), said France produced 419 million cases of wine last year, making it the top global producer followed by Italy and Spain. France is expected to maintain its top position until 2014, the study said, despite an expected 5.54 per cent average drop in production levels during the same period.

After dropping on average by two per cent a year since the 1960s, the decline in global wine consumption slowed between 2005 and 2009 to 1.4 per cent per year, the study said. The decline is expected to slow further between 2010 and 2014, to 0.7 per cent per year, it said.

French wine exports fell by an average of 1.1 per cent in value between 2005 and 2009 and by 9.4 per cent in volume, the study said. The French wine industry has benefited in particular from a huge surge in demand for wines from its Bordeaux region in China and Hong Kong, according to the Bordeaux Wine Council.

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Wine for Mr. Gay World

Last year’s Fifa soccer World Cup was a bit of a fizzer in Cape Town as the Western Cape attracted less than half the number of visitors as Gauteng. Even worse was the poor performance of SA wine exports to the UK, largest export market, with sales to supermarkets down 11% by volume and 6% by value over the year.

This in a market which grew volumes by 2% and value by 7% as the UK clawed itself out of recession. How ironic then that Australia, a country sans World Cup, grew volumes by 5% and value by 7% from a much higher base with a currency that appreciated against Sterling even more than the Rand.

While Cape Town in winter is hardly an ideal soccer destination, it is one of the Gay Capitals of the world. So the news that SA is to bid for the Mr Gay World 2012 competition comes as welcome news to hard-pressed SA producers.

As the Guardian reported in December “The current Mr Gay World is South African Charl van den Berg. Coenie Kukkuk, a Pretoria lawyer who is the director of South Africa’s bid to host Mr Gay World 2012, said: ‘The event is not a modeling competition. Charl is a gay role model who gives courage to gays all over Africa and shows them their lives are about more than repression, torture, HIV and prison sentences.’ ”

Backsberg were one of the first producers to target pink drinkers with a Camp Chardonnay and Camp Chardonnay, now discontinued, as they used the wrong varietals. As the late, gay, Manhattan philosopher Susan Sontag pointed out, “the essence of camp is the love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration”, which makes Viognier a shoo-in for pink white. For red, it would have to be Pinotage, which is Pinot Noir in drag, full of aggressive tannins which are the oral equivalent of a five o’clock shadow and Maori tattoo.

In the red blend department, sensitive sippers need look no further than the Satyricon 2009 from La Vierge in the upper Hemel & Aarde Valley. A blend of three Italian grapes Barbera, Sangiovese and Nebbiolo, it is a liquid version of the eternal love triangle: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston or in this case three louche Latin lotharios: Encolpius, Giton and Ascyltus from the raunchy Roman novel of Gaius Petronius Arbiter, one of the courtiers of that great fiddler Nero, two millennia ago. A fashion consultant to the emperor, Pliny the Elder called Petronius “a judge of elegance” and this Gavin Rajah of his day certainly got it right with this wine.

Crimson red like Julian Clary’s blusher, the nose is all lifted aromatics of crushed hedgerow berries above a palate of intense pastille fruit, the kind Rowntree’s used to make in those heady, far off days when Woolies sold Scotch eggs and indulgently gelatinous pork pies. Mini role models for the roast pigs stuffed with sausage from the Satyricon original. Oh, how one misses a decent deep fried lark’s tongue!

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Constellation Brands Q3 Profit Beats Street View; Lifts FY11 EPS Guidance

Alcoholic beverages maker Constellation Brands, Inc. (STZ: News ,STZ-B: News ) Thursday reported a surge in third-quarter profit, driven by lower restructuring costs as well as a reduction in interest expense and effective tax rate. On a comparable basis, earnings rose from the prior-year period and topped Wall Street forecast. However, net sales were down 2% from last year, reflecting a decrease in Australia and Europe wine sales and the divestiture of the company's UK cider business. Constellation also lifted its earnings outlook for fiscal 2011.

The company's third-quarter net income was $139.3 million or $0.65 per share, compared with $44.1 million or $0.20 per share last year. Comparable net income rose to $141.5 million from $120.4 million in the prior-year quarter. Comparable earnings per share were $0.66, up from $0.54 in the same quarter last year.

On average, 11 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.62 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. Constellation's quarterly net sales declined 2% to $966.4 million from $987.7 million in the comparable period last year, mainly due to the divestiture of the UK cider business Gaymer Cider Co. to C&C Group Plc of Dublin, Ireland last year.

Nine analysts had a revenue estimate consensus of $992.83 million. Organic net sales on a constant currency basis were in line with the prior year third quarter.

Commenting on the third-quarter results, Rob Sands, president and chief executive officer of Constellation Brands, stated, "Our third quarter results demonstrate that our strategy is working. We are experiencing continued momentum from our U.S. distributor transition with positive depletion trends recorded during the quarter and we continue to reap the benefits from our diligent focus on free cash flow."

The company's wine sales, which is the cash cow among its businesses, totaled $911 million, a decline of 3% from the previous year, with North America wine net sales rising 1% to $676 million and Australia and Europe wine net sales dropping 12% to $235 million. North America wine net sales showed a favorable product mix, offset by a decrease in U.S. volume, the company said.

Net sales of spirits grew 8% in the quarter to $55 million, driven a 34% gain for SVEDKA Vodka on the back of continued investment in television advertising and events like the New York City Fashion Week.

Constellation also stated that equity earnings from its 50% interest in the Crown Imports joint venture totaled $58 million, an increase of 27% from the third quarter of last year. Crown, which imports, distributes and markets beer brands across the U.S., generated net sales of $612 million, up 22% from last year, primarily due to volume growth. In the third quarter, pre-tax restructuring charges and unusual items declined to $6 million from $81 million last year. Interest expense also decreased 25% to $49 million on lower average interest rates and borrowings during the quarter. On a comparable basis, effective tax rate was 29%, compared with 35% in the prior-year quarter.

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Wine Sales to Benefit (Product) Red AIDS Fight

Red, the effort to fight AIDS in Africa, is teaming up with its first alcoholic beverage partner, which also happens to be its first marketer partner from Australia.Fifteen percent of the proceeds from the sales in North America of two Penfolds wines, Thomas Hyland and Koonunga Hill, will be donated to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the company and the (Red) organization are to announce this week. (Red) donates the money it receives to the Global Fund.

The announcement is to be made at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in Palm Springs, Calif., of which Penfolds is a sponsor. The catalyst for the agreement is Francesca Schuler, chief marketing officer for the Americas at the Napa, Calif., office of Treasury Wine Estates. She formerly worked at Gap Inc., which has been a partner of (Red) for many years.

“I was at Gap a long time, where I saw the success of (Red) and its business model,” Ms. Schuler said in a phone interview on Tuesday, particularly of the organization’s “being a true partner with a brand.”
Penfolds “is looking to aggressively grow in the Americas,” Ms. Schuler said, and the partnership with (Product) Red is part of those plans.

“It doesn’t hurt Penfolds has a red cap,” she added, laughing. There have been eyebrows raised in the past when money is raised for causes by the sale of alcoholic beverages. Examples include complaints about donations tied to the sale of mixed drinks at bars.

“We haven’t had any concerns so far” along those lines, Ms. Schuler said. “People are excited about the partnership.”Susan Smith Ellis, chief executive at (Red) in New York, echoed Ms. Schuler. “Clearly, we all thought about that,” Ms. Ellis said, referring to the potential issues that may be raised by the organization’s ties with alcoholic beverages. “We’re not trying to sell this to anyone under age.”

The partnership with Penfolds could come in handy, she added, because (Red) has been considering a wine auction as a fund-raiser, inspired by an art auction that it held with Sotheby’s. The other marketers with which (Red) is teamed up, in addition to Gap, include American Express, in Britain; Apple; the Converse and Nike units of Nike Inc.; Emporio Armani; Hallmark, in the United States; and Starbucks.

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Pinot noir favourite tipple as wine and palates mature

Wine-drinkers are more likely to pick pinot noir from the shelf than sauvignon blanc, a survey shows. A Herald-DigiPoll survey showed that slightly more New Zealanders (31.3 per cent) chose red wines over white (30.1 per cent).

Red wine's popularity is likely to be due to the marked increase in pinot noir drinkers. As New Zealand pinot noir gathers international acclaim, local demand for it has stepped up, resulting in cheaper bottles on the shelves.

Wine commentators say New Zealanders' move to pinot noir was a natural progression, which showed a more mature local market and palate. Men were especially attracted to red wine, and were twice as likely as women to choose it. In the white wine market, traditional favourite chardonnay has been overtaken by sauvignon blanc in popularity.

The poll showed 33.9 per cent of white wine drinkers chose sauvignon blanc, while 25.5 per cent chose chardonnay. In his most recent book, wine writer Michael Cooper said sauvignon blanc eclipsed chardonnay in popularity when discounted brands came on the market.

The introduction of $10 sauvignon blanc gave people a cheap and fashionable option. He said that with wine on supermarket shelves, women had taken over the job of buying wines and generally preferred fresh, fruity wines like sauvignon blanc. A quarter of New Zealanders said they did not drink wine at all.

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Beer And Wine

Soon, you could actually see a wine section in grocery stores like Reasors. There are talks about changing Oklahoma law..and some consumers say, it's about time. "It is a big problem for young women in Oklahoma. They can't take their babies in there and that's a big issue i'm sure with some of them" says one lady.

Parkhill liquor and wine store is one of the largest in the city. But the owner says it would be a mistake allowing grocery stores to sell high point beer and wine. It's going make wine and strong beer available to minors . It will drive the price of spirits up, because the basic retailer is going to have to make up that loss.

He says he might have to raise the price on bottles of tequila, vodka or rum. Parkhill says wine makes up 65-percent of his business and sharing the market, would hurt. still, other states are doing it already.
One lady from the grocery store "i'm not a big drinker, so I don't it's big deal. in other cities, like Detroit, you can walk in and there's a whole row of nothing but champagne liquor everything.

And while liquor store owners may be concerned about money, consumers feel like there is liquor, wine and beer to go around. One lady says "the grocery stores are not like going to a good liquor store and buying wine, but it's nice to pick up a bottle of wine and not have to make 3 stops on the way home."

Right now, lawmakers and industry leaders are talking bout "mixing drinks" we'll have to wait and see.
But most agree it is only a matter of time before you see wine in grocery stores like this one.

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