You might want to reach for your glass before hearing this –
oh wait, too late!!
If your tipple is wine, you may be onto plums… or have to
move to juniper berries or apples or pears to get your fermented five a day,
because apparently, the world is running out of wine.
We are drinking it faster than we can make it according to a
study by financial services giant Morgan Stanley. Last year saw “the deepest
shortfall in more than 40 years of records” of 300million cases. That’s a lot
of booze.
Poor weather is being blamed for the 25% decrease from major
producers of our favourite vintages in Europe ,
Production in 2012 also dropped to its lowest levels in more
than four decades, continuing the decline since the 2004 peak when supply
outweighed demand by about 600million cases.
Report authors Tom Kierath and Crystal Wang predict that, in
the short term, “inventories will likely be reduced as current consumption
continues to be predominantly supplied by previous vintages”.
Basically we are drinking more expensive versions of the
grape juice and are soon to be left only with the cheap plonk from last years
grape.
So if you fancy having a nice rich glass of red, or a crisp
sip of white any time soon, you should maybe think about rationing it – those grapes
aren’t going to grow themselves, even if the bottle seems to empty without your permission.
Words by Gemma Clark
