I've noticed a definite price creep in the wines I've purchased over the last year or so. Not that wine prices overall have risen; it seems to me that prices have stayed pretty flat, actually.
Rather, it's my purchase choices that have moved slowly but surely up the price chart. Years ago, I bought the "fighting varietals" as they're called in the wine biz: $5-$7 bottles. Then for a long time I'd look for deals under $10. That was my limit, unless it was a special occasion. At some point, that crept over $10 to maybe $11. Now I look at my bottle six-pack (thanks, Safeway) and realize that the average post-saving price is more like $13. I've moved up the racks from the bottom shelf to the second to highest, and reach up to the top shelf now and then.
This is the problem with drinking good wine - it spoils you for the cheaper stuff. As my palate has evolved, my "wine price comfort zone" has grown as well. Luckily, there are some great wines to be had in my current price range.
Of course, I said that a few years ago as well.
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