Credit Crunch Takes a Toll on Wine Biz

Retailers, restaurants and wineries are seeing evidence of wine prices falling and consumers trading down in these hard times, reports the L.A. Times. Rare Napa wines are easier to get than ever, and sales of high-end wines and Champagne are dropping fast. Wine industry analyst Jon Fredrikson told the paper that sales of wine for $9 or less constitutes the fastest growing segment for the wine market, while prices above $9 “are starting to trend down... to wine they consider