Australian wine is being sold cheaper than bottled water, as a glut of grapes pushes the cost of a bottle below A$2, reports an AFP story carried by the International Herald Tribune. Bumper harvests for three straight years have led to a massive oversupply, with as much as a billion litres of unsold wine in storage tanks across the country.

Leading winemakers have seen their shares tumble and many grape growers could be forced out of business. For the consumer, though, it means quality wines are available for much less than their normal prices as producers move excess stock in unlabelled bottles known as cleanskins. “There are more wine bargains around than I have ever seen,” AFP quotes Shane Tremble, merchandise manager for the liquor retailer BWS, as reporting. Tremble has been in the industry for 30 years.

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http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/08/13/business/wine.php