Expect wine prices to go down in 2011

Riesling will rise. The market for wine in Asia will boom on. Customers will continue to hunt for vintage values. And the market for fine wine will continue to rumble back to life.

That's the sort of year industry observers say the world of wine will bring us in 2011.

In 2010, the economy remained a top issue for American high-end winemakers, many of them in California. They saw sales of wines priced at $30 or more a bottle slammed when consumer spending collapsed.

"Since so much of the economy of high-end wine is attached to a robust economy and wealth creation, we have clearly seen a difficult couple of years for Napa and other high-end growing areas," said Barry Schuler, former chairman and CEO of America Online and now proprietor of Meteor Vineyard in the Napa Valley.

Now, "the market's definitely coming back," which means producers have to decide what to do next, he says. "I think people are looking at Asia, where all there's an interest in fine wine and high-end wine, both from collectors and young entrepreneurs who are acquiring some wealth for the first time."

Here at home, meanwhile, consumers who had been staying away from premium wines, says Doug Shafer of Shafer Vineyards, are feeling a little more confident.

Consumers used to getting good values in wines likely will continue that hunt. "There can be some really good finds out there," Shafer says.

Some consumers are going to be looking to imports for values, exploring the well-priced varietals of Argentina, Chile, Portugal, the Rhone in France, and Spain.

In 2010, wine drinkers found bargains on Internet sites such as wine.woot.com and Lot 18, where wine is sold at a discount.