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Overall wine consumption in the United States increased 0.9 percent in 2008 to 294.7 million 9-liter cases, according to the Beverage Information Group’s recently released 2009 Wine Handbook. Although the growth rate has slowed a bit, this is the 15th consecutive year of case gains. Because of the recession, consumers have become more frugal in their purchases, trading down to value-priced wines in both on- and off-premise venues.

Another factor accounting for the growth in U.S. wine consumption is the weakened dollar, which has driven up prices of imported wine selections. This has in turn spurred a rise in sales among competitively priced domestic vintages.