Brace yourselves, wine lovers: your favourite cheap red could be getting more expensive.
The International Vine and Wine Organization (OIV) reports that global wine production in 2017 fell to its lowest levels in 60 years, dropping 8.6 per cent from the previous year, to 250 million hectolitres.
Climate conditions were partly to blame, especially in wine-production leader Europe, which in early 2017 experienced some of its coldest weather in years. Home to the top three wine-producing countries in the world (Italy, Spain and France), output from Europe dropped 14.6 per cent compared to the year before.
Prices are expected to go up, especially for cheaper bottles.
Stephen Rannekleiv, a global beverages strategist at Rabobank, told CNN Money that when prices go up, it puts "a lot of strain" on producers that go after lower price points.
"The wine companies that are targeting very low prices ... will be hit the worst, because their margins are very low," he said.
Rannekleiv also said "everyone kind of goes down a tier in quality," since in some cases, "lower quality wines are getting blended into slightly higher value products."
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