WILL CONSOLIDATION HURT THE WINE INDUSTRY?

Although the wine industry is still rather fragmented, it is moving closer and closer to a heavily consolidated environment. Wine Business Monthly reported that “the big three” – Constellation Brands, E & J Gallo, and the Wine Group – sold a combination of 171 million cases of wine last year, roughly 60% of U.S. wine sales. Jon Fredrickson of Woodside told W. Blake Gray at the San Francisco Chronicle, “There’s always been a big three, as long as I’ve been