How to be a smarter, more adventurous wine drinker

Anew year brings an opportunity for recalibration, rejuvenation and resuscitation. I don’t call them resolutions, because I still haven’t dropped those 20 pounds or written that book or even those thank-you notes. And I still don’t drink enough riesling.

But I do like to jolt myself out of my routine and look for new ways to enjoy my favorite hobby. Here’s a few ideas.

When you travel for business or pleasure, check out the local wines or wineries. I’m the type who pesters a heartland sommelier for a glass of the local frontenac gris. Local wineries typically have trouble cracking the tight real estate of a restaurant wine list, but if enough customers ask about the local vino, sommeliers take notice.

Keeping on the local theme — visit a winery for the first time. I tend to revisit old favorites at the expense of the new.

Most of all, I want to encourage your sense of adventure. By all means enjoy your favorite wines, but once in a while, take a chance on something different recommended by your local wine retail specialist (this is a plug for the specialty wine store) or even your local wine writer.

What will we see in wine this year? As consumers continue to choose wines based on more than price and flavor, I suspect we’ll see innovative efforts to promote wines by minority and women winemakers. More wine will be in lighter bottles, because consumers are demanding it and because sustainability and organic certifications are driving wineries to reduce their carbon footprint. We should see more wine in clear glass (more easily recycled) and without capsules over the cork (wasteful and an unnecessary cost). We should see more good wine in alternative packaging such as boxes, cans and aluminum bottles.

We should see more transparency, as European Union requirements for ingredient labeling take effect. You might not see these on the labels, but scan that QR code if you’re interested in what just went into your glass.

And we will also see more wine alternatives and low-alcohol, zero alcohol or de-alcoholized wines as the industry continues to come to grips with its reputation for excess, and consumers pull back from pandemic bingeing and seek the wine experience without the buzz.