Wine Shortage: Global Consumption Up as Land to Grow Grapes Decreases

Relaxing with a glass of wine may become harder to do, as global consumption increases while grape-growing land decreases.

A report released Monday by Morgan Stanley Research found this sobering fact: there was a shortfall of about 300 million cases of wine in 2012, the largest undersupply in nearly 50 years, Quartz reported. 

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And because production is not keeping pace with worldwide demand, which has been on an upswing since the late 1990s, the supply will decrease even more.

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

The U.S. drinks 12 percent of the world’s wine, which is double its per capita consumption since 2000. China has doubled its consumption not once, but twice in the past five years.

The land used to grow grapes for wine-making in the world’s three largest wine-producing countries — Spain, France, and Italy — has decreased considerably since 2000, Australia-based analysts Tom Kierath and Crystal Wang told CNN.

The shortage comes even though there are 2.8 billion cases of wine each year from one million wine producers.

There is hope, however.

This year is predicted to be the best year for wine production in seven years, according to the International Organization of Vine and Wine.

“After five modest harvests in a row and an exceptionally weak 2012 harvest, wine production in 2013 can be qualified as relatively high,” the organization said in a statement.

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