As the taste for wine grows in the U.S, so do the share of wine sales from American growers. But. that's changing as more countries have figured out how to grow decent grapes.
"Competition is huge in the United States from other countries."
They're unusual, intriguing and often times cheaper.
Foreign wines are moving in on the U.S. market like never before, making the California wine industry nervous.
Rodney Schwatz, winery owner: "Every country in the world that produces wine grapes is looking to the United States as a place to sell their product. So it's our job to put up our defenses, so to speak."
How to beat off the stiff competition is the talk at the annual Unified Wine and Grape Symposium.
Twenty-seven percent of wine consumed in the United States is already coming from abroad -- it was only 13 percent in 1990.
Brian Wilson, oak barrel maker: "If you want to call it a glut, that would be a glut. Yes, there's a lot of foreign wines coming into the United States, especially from Australia and South America."
China is also emerging as a competitor, aiming to have more than a million acres of grapes planted in three years.
California harvested less than half a million acres last year.
Governor Schwarzenegger pushed California wines on his recent trade trip to China in the hopes of developing a market early.
Meanwhile, the California wine industry is now looking to grow its domestic share.
The Wine Institute says the U.S. ranks only 35th globally in per capita wine consumption.
At its peak, a typical Frenchman drank 25 gallons of wine a year.
In America, the annual average today is almost 2 and a half gallons a person.
Karen Ross, CA Assoc. of Wine Grape Growers: "We're starting to see for the first time ever that America's becoming a wine drinking culture. We have that here in California, but in the middle part of the country, that's not necessarily a beverage they think of."
Wine sales are rising among baby boomers who are making the switch from beer. And more men are drinking wine.
In the end, all this competition may actually be good for the consumer. It could force wine makers to increase their quality and lower the prices.
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