SACRAMENTO -- The nation's wine industry descended on a packed hotel ballroom Wednesday to hear a sobering message: Rocked by tight consumer spending and import competition, the industry reeled in 2009 and faces uncertain prospects this year.
The "State of the Industry" presentation kicked off the second day of the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium, expected to attract 11,000 industry members to the Sacramento Convention Center and the Hyatt Regency through Friday.
Last year was "brutal," said John Fredrikson, a wine-business consultant with Bay Area-based Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates.
 
 
"Usually, we're raving about how great the year was," he told the Hyatt audience of winery professionals and grape growers. "But this was probably the worst year you ever had."
Despite the nation's continued slump, "we're beginning to see slight improvement in some areas" of the wine industry, Frederikson said, particularly among the lowest-priced brands. "It's going to take a while, but we'll come back."
For the first 11 months of 2009, California wine shipments were down an estimated 4 million cases, a drop of nearly 4 percent from 2008. For the entire domestic wine market, shipments were down by 3 million cases.
Wine sales also fell an estimated 6 percent to 10 percent at restaurants nationwide as consumers tightened their budgets in a slumping economy and avoided dining out.
For consumers who did buy wine in 2009, a low price point was more important than ever.
"As we basically had a financial heart attack, people just reined in their spending and were very cautious," Fredrikson said. "They moved dramatically down to lower price points, below $5 and $7. Small wineries in the North Coast that sell bottles from $25 to $100 were basically shut out. Inventories backed up, and that just made it an ugly year."
Global import competition is also on the rise. Some countries, such as Spain, are planting popular varietals to take on the U.S. industry. Chile, in particular, has focused aggressively on the U.S. market, producing affordable and well-crafted cabernet sauvignon that's favored by American palates.
"We are the target," said Glenn Proctor, a grape and wine broker with San Rafael's Joseph Ciatti Co. "Other areas are saying, 'How can I sell them wine?' "
Not all was doom-and-gloom in 2009, especially for large commercial producers that focus on value wines. California's top seven wine producers, including Modesto-based E.&J. Gallo and Constellation, enjoyed overall growth of 6.9 million cases.
Trinchero Family Estates, which oversees such budget brands as Sutter Home and Menage a Trois, saw its shipments rise 16 percent in 2009. Trinchero was awarded "2009 Winery of the Year" at the symposium because of its strong financial performance.
Wine industry representatives expressed hope that the recession will lift soon and wineries will develop new strategies to compete globally.
"We have too much invested here," said Nat DiBuduo, president of Allied Grape Growers, a Fresno-based trade association. "We're taking this on as a challenge. I haven't given up. The industry hasn't given up. We have to change our mode of operations and build a better mousetrap."