Anticipated rebound in wine consumer, acquisition spending could expand pool of M&A buyers in 2011 There are indicators that our economy is crawling out of its deep recession. Employment data is getting incrementally better, corporate profitability is on the rise, merger-and-acquisition activity is increasing on Wall Street and there are rumors abounding that 2011 wine sales are off to the strongest start that many wineries have seen in years. If this market trend continues, it will be a sign of good things to come in the wine industry’s merger-and-acquisition marketplace.