State of the Wine Industry in 60 Seconds

Silicon Valley Bank released its annual wine industry report today. It looks like 2014 will see moderate growth, with prices holding steady. More detail can be found here on Stark Insider including a link to the 42-page report.

For those looking for a quick hit, easily digestible version of what’s happening in the wine industry this year, here’s an infographic also produced by SVB as a companion piece. It should give you an informative snapshot of what’s happening in wine.

The 5 key takeaways for wine in 2014 can be summarized as:

Demand: up

Supply: balanced inventory

Pricing: holding steady

Grape costs: down

Profitability: down

Another developing story line, one that has yet to completely unfold, is the current extreme drought conditions that California faces (What’s causing it?).

While others across the country face winter storms, torrential rain, we here in Northern California are in the midst of a historic dry season.

A reservoir in Morgan Hill just south of where I live in Silicon Valley that is typically full at this time of year was near bone dry as I looked at it from a hill atop a friend’s ranch. How this will play out in terms of wine production remains to be seen. Early rain expected in January never came to be.

What next?

We’ll have to wait and see.

But wait, there’s more: Wine Report: Fine wine market expected to grow 6-10% in 2014 (Plus more predictions).