MOVE OVER FRANCE, U.S. WINE IS COMING THROUGH

Perhaps U.S. wines have little to fear from imports despite the abnormally large 2005 grape harvest. Experts say that the American wine market will jump ahead of France and become the largest wine-maker by the end of the decade. Jon Fredrikson, Woodside wine analyst, reported that 2005 was a great year for U.S. wine where record volumes and sales were reached. "From the perspective of 3½ decades in the wine industry, I can assure you right now that things have never been better in this market and the future looks outstanding." Close to 300 million cases of wine were purchased by American consumers, generating $25 billion and leading the country one step closer to outstripping France and Italy. And although the old world countries still consume far higher amounts of wine, they are slowly slipping downwards. Jon assured listeners at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium that, “If we continue to grow at just 3 percent through the end of the decade, we will be the largest wine consumer nation in the world.” Furthermore, all indications show that 2006 will likely produce a much smaller grape harvest and help out with supply.