On Shaman's Rock

Keep calm. Keep pouring

From Shaman’s Rock

By Jim Poling Sr.

I learned this week that the world has too much wine. We are fermenting more grape juice than we are drinking.

Australian wineries are reported to be sitting on more than 256 million unsold cases of wine—more than two years of inventory. And, the European Union has paid France $172 million to destroy more than 80 million gallons of excess wine. It will be distilled into ethanol that can be used in perfumes, cleaning products and hand sanitizers.

There are similar stories from most of the world’s wine producing areas, British Columbia and Ontario included.

Far too much wine and fewer people drinking it. I’ve been drinking my share to help restore a balance, but it’s not been enough. I’m going to try harder.

Wine drinking world-wide declined six per cent between 2017 and 2022. In Canada, wine sales have declined at their fastest pace in more than a decade. They fell by four per cent in 2021/2022, the largest decrease since Statistics Canada began tracking alcohol sales in 1949.

Falling wine sales have led wine producers around the world to cut production, some drastically. Extreme weather and changing drinking patterns are cited as the main reasons for decreased production and falling sales. Many producers have deliberately cut back on vineyard sizes, while others have seen wild weather reduce their crop sizes. 

British Columbia has reported huge crop losses resulting from summer droughts, fall flooding and extreme winter cold and snowfalls during the last couple of years. Provincial grape growers say extreme weather has caused a 54-per-cent reduction in grape and wine production for the 2023 vintage.

But the other big factor is that people are changing their drinking habits. Inflation has increased wine prices, forcing some drinkers to go to lower-priced drinks such as beer.

Wine is losing favour among the world’s younger people. Many younger wine drinkers are not drinking red wines, preferring sparkling wines like whites and roses. There also is a growing preference for ciders and coolers.

Polls indicate, however, that younger people in general are rethinking any alcohol use. One poll shows that more than one-third of respondents 18 to 35 said they were drinking too much alcohol and said it has negative effects on their health.

More than half of those young people responding to the poll said they have cut back on alcohol consumption, many noting they have participated in alcohol cutbacks such as ‘Dry February.’ 

They have found an easy alternative in marijuana. Canadian alcohol sales have fallen while recreational drug sales have boomed since the federal government legalized cannabis five years ago.

Statistics Canada reports cannabis sales have increased annually since legalization, with Canadian spending $4.7 billion on the recreational drug in 2022/2023. That’s a $0.6 billion jump from the previous year.

StatsCan also reports that cannabis spending now averages $150 a year for every Canadian of legal age. 

Whether wine drinking will continue to fall is anyone’s guess. The wine industry says sales of premium wines are increasing, but that seems to be a reflection of the growing divide between rich and poor Canadians.

Canadians with money will buy more expensive cars, bigger houses and premium wines. Those without will continue to cut back on all goods they find too expensive – wine included.

Wine prices were expected to increase significantly next month when the feds planned to boost the alcohol excise tax by almost five per cent. However, Ottawa has backed off that increase and has said the excise tax will remain capped at a two-per-cent increase for two years.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation welcomed this year’s reduced tax boost but said alcohol should not be taxed at all. It has said that taxes already account for roughly 65 percent of the price of wine. 

“Canadians are struggling with inflation and the last thing we need is the feds making it more expensive to enjoy a cold one at the end of a long work week,” Franco Terrazzano, a federation director has said.  “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should be trying to make life more affordable and that means scrapping his alcohol tax hikes.”

I’ll drink to that!