Last week, we wrote about the emerging trends in the beverages market. The wine market is joining the food and beverage markets in the changes and shifts in people’s preferences. Millennials, in particular, are choosing premium wines with specific characteristics.
Let’s take a look at what wine sellers and producers should take into account for the year 2020.
Organic wines, sustainably produced
People are asking for “cleaner” wines, and organic wines are following this trend.
Consumers and wine drinkers are concerned about the environment and the impact of pesticides and herbicides on natural environments and various fauna and flora. Organic wines give a positive and healthy outlook which ethical consumers appreciate.
Also, organic wines are often associated with local wineries and the sense of terroir that is so crucial to many farmers. Consumers and wine drinkers want to support these qualities when choosing their wine.
Organic wine used to be considered of lower quality than conventional wines. This is slowly changing and many fine dining establishments are proposing organic wines in their wine lists. Many major wineries are producing excellent organic wines along with their conventional ones.
People are increasingly concerned about the impact of agriculture on the environment. They are choosing food and drinks which are produced sustainably. Agricultural practices that are respecting the environment and making sure they are not depleting the soil of its nutrients are preferred by many consumers. Also, consumers appreciate agricultural methods with the least impact on the local fauna and flora.
All these factors explain why wines produced in a sustainable way are on the rise.
Natural wines and orange wines
A further step towards more sustainable agricultural processes is the production of natural wines.
Natural wines contain no additives or sulfites in their production and only use native yeasts. The grapes used are grown organically and the fermentation is natural and wholesome.
One distinctive quality of natural wines is that they tend to spoil faster and do not age well. Therefore, it’s best to drink natural wines within a year of production. Surprisingly, perhaps, people are increasingly interested in this natural way of producing wine.
Orange wines are a type of natural wines whose demand is growing lately. Orange wines are produced by letting white grapes ferment with their skins and seeds in the grape juice. This gives the wine an orange tint.
Orange wine is the oldest method of producing wine and consumers’ interest has picked up in the past few years.
Rosé wines
Although rosé wine used to be considered of lesser quality, it has made an important comeback in the last years.
Rosé wine producers have given us excellent quality rosé wines and consumers have appreciated their efforts by rewarding them with increased sales.
Millennials seem to recognize the worth of rosé wines: they tend to be slightly cheaper but still premium, a combination that consumers find attractive. Rosé wine consumption in France is higher than white wine consumption.
There is even talk of a rosé Prosecco. Although Prosecco can only be produced from specific white grapes, Italian producers are asking for an official rosé Prosecco designation. This tells us that the rosé trend is here to stay and even expand further.
Alternative packaging innovations: wine in cans
Many people thought that wine in a can would never be something that consumers would enjoy. Yet, they were wrong. This 2019 trend is continuing strong, with many producers opting to package their wine in cans.
Cans are easy to transport, simple to open and more manageable when stacking in supermarkets and wine shops. People take them on picnics or outings; their smaller size relative to bottles means it’s easier to consume without having leftover wine lingering in the bottle.
As people enjoy drinking alcohol in smaller quantities, wine in cans is suited for these new dietary preferences. Also, people with different wine tastes can each have the wine they prefer, without opening 750 ml bottles each. Finally, canned wine is easy to use for wine cocktails, making it a versatile choice for consumers.
Climate change and the future of the wine world
Climate change is going to affect wine production regions, grape varieties, and wine quality.
Higher temperatures will allow new countries such as the UK and Denmark to produce their own wine. Wine-producing areas may need to migrate to higher grounds to avoid warmer climate. This will affect grape production and consequently, wine production.
Lastly, wine growers will need to adopt new grape varieties, more suited to the new climate conditions that are slowly emerging. This is not just a 2020 trend; it is something that wine consumers, producers, and distributors will have to contemplate in the coming decades.