8 wine trends to watch for in 2021
Surprisingly, COVID-19 has not changed what we will pour into glasses this year.
Rosé is still hot. So is hard seltzer, which along with canned cocktails, grew 43% during 2020. Bubbly is still going strong, with more countries than ever producing great examples (read: Brazil).
Expect many of 2020’s trends to evolve in 2021 — the health and wellness alcohol-free drinks boom, the canned and boxed wine movement, vino from extreme regions — helped along by new digital and AI technology innovations.
Here’s what else I see in my crystal glass:
Pink prosecco is the new new thing
I’m betting 2021’s big pink drink will be prosecco rosé. At the end of November, the approved category launched in Italy, which already has a boom in big-value pink wines. John Gillespie, founder and chief executive officer of market research firm Wine Opinions, says that combining the prosecco trend with the rosé trend is as close to a sure thing for success in the U.S. as he’s seen.
More than 100 labels have sought U.S. approval. A couple are already on shelves, and more are coming this year.
Online wine access will get way better
Online sales are booming with growth in the three digits. Rob McMillan, founder of Silicon Valley Bank Wine Division, reports that for small producers, it’s 153%. Expect new and expanded shopping sites and search engines this year.
I have my eye on Pix.wine, from wine tech platform Emetry. Led by industry veterans Paul Mabray and Erica Duecy, it aims to be the ultimate onestop online finding and buying spot, with plenty of deep data to help you decide what to pick. I found it impressively comprehensive and easy to navigate, with a design and information to appeal to everyone from newbies to connoisseurs. A daily newsletter? Yes. Hot picks from diverse critics? Ditto. Collectors can even sign up to receive texts when rare bottles they’re hunting are available at a good price. It launches in April with links for more than 200,000 wines.
The wine country will be … Portugal
The thirst for discovery rolls on, and Portugal is becoming the latest hot spot. Why did sales of the country’swines surge 35.1% in September alone in the U.S.?
It’s simple: quality-price ratio. They’re delicious, foodfriendly, inexpensive, and more than worth the cost. Douro Valley reds are stunning, but for this year I’m also betting on newcomer region Alentejo, with its fresh, aromatic, savory whites and juicy, plush, smoky red blends, all from unusual varieties (antao vas, argonez), and some fermented in clay amphora. The region boasts rock-star winemakers, a fantastic sustainability program and one third of the world’s cork forests.
Wine seltzer is the new hard seltzer
Expect more craft breweries and celebrities to offer their own interpretations of these dry, low-alcohol drinks. Yes, I’ll be sampling chef Gordon Ramsay’s brand-new Hell’s Seltzer line, with flavors inspired by dishes in his Hell’s Kitchen restaurants and names such as “Knicker Twist” (passionfruit, pineapple and orange flavor notes).
In its annual predictions, U.K.-based market research firm, Wine Intelligence, sees a coming push by wine producers “to ride the hard seltzer wave.” Mass-market wine brand Barefoot launched four last spring made from white wine, seltzer water, and natural flavors, with a mere 4% alcohol, as did Napa’s Trinchero with its Del Mar wine seltzer. They’re lighter and crisper than canned wine-based spritzers, which, well, contain more wine.
Virtual tastings are the new perks
Winery tasting room visits took a huge hit in 2020, and winemakers quickly pivoted to virtual tastings that allowed drinkers to get up close and personal with brands they love. These are not going away. But to me the more interesting development is the way corporations, which couldn’t lavish travel and entertainment money on reward retreats to Napa, tapped wineries to host special sessions for employee team-building and perks, a trend that’s also here to stay. (No, it’s not day drinking.) Each employee gets mailed a specific set of bottles (snacks, too, sometimes) to sample at home while participating.
And for the harder stuff, the Cocktail Guru is leading virtual mixology classes for companies ranging from the London Stock Exchange to Pfizer.
Sustainability will be the big eco-word
Once just a meaningless feel-good term in the wine industry, “sustainability” is starting to reflect serious commitment to organic vines, green winery design, carbon neutrality, and more.
But wineries are expanding sustainability to mean economic and social accountability, too, which includes promoting racial and gender diversity and taking care of workers — concerns especially important to younger drinkers.
This year, more wineries, including luxury wine giants, will promote new “ethical wine” initiatives such as the certified regenerative farming program.
Oenotourism will be back virtually
Oenotourism, now shut down, won’t be back for a while. Count on being transported to wine regions virtually, as new wine experiences vie with Netflix.
Silicon Valley entrepreneur Michael Baum created an innovative tourism hub in Burgundy after buying his wine estate Chteau de Pommard. Now he’s launching Vivant, a platform streaming live wine experiences from wine regions around the world, with professional production values and a community of organic wine producers.
Expect master-classes, music and wine pairing, and interactive “visits” to 12 new wine regions in 2021.
Rise of the robot sommelier
With restaurants closing and the Court of Master Sommeliers organization rocked by #MeToo scandals, the somm community had a bad year in 2020.
And now, robots. In cooperation with Veuve Clicquot and Dom Perignon, two M group restaurants in London unleashed Bailey and Sage, which ferry bottles and glasses of bubbly to customers. Hotel Trio in Healdsburg, Calif., sends out Rosé the Robot butler to deliver room service wines. “She” is sanitized after each delivery.