We're facing a global wine shortage, says report

Sorry for this bit of glass-half-empty news to start the day, but we are on the brink of a global wine shortage, according to Morgan Stanley.

There was a global shortfall of around 300 million cases of wine in 2012, which is roughly one tenth of the world’s wine consumption.

Last year saw the worst worldwide wine supply shortage in more than four decades.

Wine production has been dropping since 2004, according to the report, but wine consumption has increased by 8% since 2000, giving the world a classic under-supply problem.

France, Italy and Spain have seen a steep decline in wine production in recent years as land is used for other purposes.

As the world’s three largest wine-producing countries – responsible for some 60% of the world’s wine supply – this has had a major effect on the amount of wine produced globally.

French wine production fell some 18% between 2011 and 2012.

New-world wine-growing regions look set to benefit from the shortfall, as prices for their wines will be pushed up.

“Data suggests there may be insufficient supply to meet demand in coming years, as current vintages are released,” said the Morgan Stanley report.

It added that “as consumption turns to the 2012 vintage we expect the current production shortfall to culminate in a significant increase in export demand and higher prices for exports globally”.