European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 18, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Too much rain on the vines by Mary Neth consumer editor ill Germany s soggy summer spell doom to this year s Vintage of wine7 ii is too Early to Tell was he terse reply from the German wine Institute. We can t make any statement until the end of september or  a member of the Berg Trasso vintner s association   in Heppe Hoim however was t As tight lipped a Don t see much Hope he sad there s been much Loo much  other vintners around the country also were reported to be moaning about Loo much rain and no enough Sun a Hundred Days of Lull Sunshine Aie needed below can May and october the germans say to produce Good wine and 120 to produce great wine. They gel their 100 about every other year and their 120 about . According lot. Col Donald l. Best chief of the aerospace sciences division of the 2nd weather Wing Al Kapaun air Stal on in Germany May and june were the worse months weather Wise in the past 103 years. By bad weather i mean Cool Cloudy and  he said Usan meteorologists use a data base provided by the Gorman weather service to compare current Germany s Rainy Tum Merhett vintners worried about this year s wine. Sun photo t v Brenda hosted weather conditions with similar conditions in the past. July and August also had above Normal rainfall though August was no1 cloudier than Normal. Best pointed Oul however that Clouds Are Low Lyme and shitting. A wine Field for example on Ono Side of 3 Hill might have More Sun than one on me other Side. This explains Why every year in every wine producing area some Farmers somehow manage id grow Good grapes and some vintners somehow manage to produce Good wines. Despite the German wine instituted Rousal to make a prediction about the 87 Vintage predicting what a certain year will bring in amount and Quality of wine is a favo Ile pastime cd the vintners themselves. A Lun Book distributed to winegrowers by Gena Druck in Bingen a company that produces wine labels uses astrology to figure wines for the coining years. The Book Oas Astro Butl by Alexander von Pronay. Says that 1987 is a Jupiter year and Jupiter years tend 1o be More Wel than dry generally producing no More than an average wine at Best. Ii the German wines for 1987 turn out to be a sizzle should wine drinkers turn to the French again the Olicia word is no word. Spec a French agricultural organization said there could be no prediction for at least another 14 Days. The spokeswoman noted however that As in Germany there had been an overabundance of rainfall. In Italy things look much different. According to information gathered by the stars and stripes Naples Bureau it could be a Banner year Lor italian wine vintners report that they Are already receiving orders from Northern Europe for tha 1987 output. Perhaps because of Speculator about a not so wonderful wine year in Germany the demand is up about 15 percent wine growers say. Up Manle italian while sparkling wine is most in demand. Americans drinking less wine by Howard g. Goldberg new York times f any wine enthusiasts Harbor the delusion that the United slates is becoming a wine drinking country 1986 Market statistics will Clear their Heads. Wine consumption is Down among americans especially while wine Long the casual favorite according in data just released some sparkle has gone out of inc demand for sparkling wine and sales of red wine keep sinking More wine is being drunk in a modified form however sates of wine coolers continue to Boom. If anything. Alcoholic beverage users remain beef once cd. According to the 1987 edition of beverage trends in America review and forecast which was issued by Impact a new York based publication that monitors the wine spirits and Beer industries. Impact s analyses command attention because Industry executives generally consider its statistics among the most reliable it is published by m Shanken communications which also publishes wine Spectator a newspaper for wino enthusiasts and the Trade. A companion  Devolld exclusively to the wine Market reported that total wine shipments to distributors in America fell 5 5 percent in 1966 having dropped from 523 million Gallons in 1934 to 493 million in 1985, shipments plunged last year to 466 million the lowest level in the 1980s. Seer sales Bacon Krasl Rose 2.3 percent from 5.6 billion Gallons to 5.7 billion Gallons an All time Peak. In the 80s, Beer consumption has risen and alien marginally last year americans consumed t .94 Gallons of wine per capita As against 24.14 Gallons of Beer. This is a blow to members of the wine Industry who had found Comfort in the 2.11 gallon per capita level registered in 1980 the first Lime americans had reached the two gallon Range. During the wine upswing that began in the 1970s a phenomenon marked by a widespread Missere Eption that the Europe animation of the american drinking Public was underway per capita consumption Rose steadily. Starting at 1.31 Gallons in 1970. It soared to 2 23 in 1983 and has declined yearly since then. A glance at data on consumption in Europe where wine has historically slowed in the bloodstream of daily life at Home in Public and Al Church emphasizes the prompt Only of the american wine Industry s optimism in the 1970s in 1965. The portuguese drank 23 Gallons per capita the italians 22 a Gallons the French 21 1 Gallons and the Spanish 127 Gallons according to Impact s latest available data. Jon Fredrikson president of Gomberg Fredn son & associates wine Industry consultants in san Francisco said the steady erosion of interest in lower priced wine could be attributed to the nation s growing health consciousness with its emphasis on moderation the extraordinary wine cooler Boom stronger Laws on driving while intoxicated and raised drinking Ages coolers which Are a combination of wine carbonated water and fruit juice remain the hottest product in the alcoholic beverage Industry. When they first appeared in 1983, seven million Gallons was sold fast year consumption Rose to 172 million and Industry sources say the ceiling is not in sight. Coolers have sliced into table wine sales and have la raved the Jug wine Market moribund according to Impact. But Andre Utchel Itchell. An 85-year-old californian called the Dean of american wine makers he semes As a consultant to numerous wineries said that coolers uttered a potential Long term Benefit to the Industry. To be absorbed into american culture wine has to be accepted first in Small amounts Whan a child is 4 or 5 years old he once said to me. You can t create a Winc consume my Public just by Selling High Quality wine. You have to train Consumers gradually trom youth Aboul tha pleasures of wine by bringing them into Contact with various wine products " the cooler he said is such an entry level product further woes May await tha american wine Industry. Customers May be put off by federally mandated sulfite Labelling that began this year an increase in the led Oral excise tax on wine is under consideration in Congress. 16 the stars and stripes Friday september 18,1987