'Panic! Wine Prices Due to Rise' read a recent headline on TIME Magazine's website. Welcome to the absurd states of America. That TIME Magazine, not generally known for sarcastic titling, would be reporting on the subtleties of the wine grape market is surprise enough, but the suggestion that Americans care enough about wine to panic simply boggles the mind.
According to the statistics released by several sources, including the United States Department of Agriculture as well as The Wine Institute, California (which produces 90% of American wine) indeed faces a grape shortage. These statistics arrive each year in the...