Does feeling bad about the economy make you want to crack into a bottle of wine? Maybe. But isn't that also the case on a nice sunny day?

Leave it to the Wall Street Journal to whip up a non-story in today's paper centered on that trusty old cliche that when things get bad, people get boozing. Here's what they say:

"There's good news for the wine industry: Tough times can lead some consumers to drown their sorrows.

That was the general conclusion Tuesday when the world's biggest wine maker by volume, Constellation Brands Inc. of Fairport, N.Y., reported a 50% increase in fiscal first-quarter net income."

Except after a little digging into the facts, it's fairly obvious that Constellation's not just flourishing because things suck and people want to get drunk. First, alcohol (as the WSJ notes) tends to be unaffected by major shifts in the economy. People may lose cash, but they've always got a few bucks to spare on drink. Second, Constellation not only recently boosted prices, but they also acquired Fortune Brands—a company with popular wines like Clos du Bois. They also ditched some of their low-end labels in March.

But before you call me crazy, take a look at how some other wine producers have been doing. A spin on Google Finance shows that most winemakers have been recording typical profits without any major leaps. Willamette Valley Vineyards actually posted lower profits for the first quarter this year than last and Chile's Concha y Toro, a wine exporter, said it's first quarter profits dropped by 7.6%—although some of that's due to the weak U.S. dollar, they say.

But forget the numbers. I'm curious anecdotally—does a down economy inspire you to drink? We think the Journal is streeettttching for a story.

(Yes, we know this is former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder drinking a beer. But it's the only appropriate image we came up with when we Googled "businessman drunk".)