10 WINE TRENDS TO WATCH IN 2023
By Peggy Fiandaca, LDV Winery in Arizona
ON BIG BLEND RADIO: It’s all about Wine Trends to Watch in 2023 on this episode of “Wine Time with Peggy” featuring Peggy Fiandaca, who along with her winemaker husband Curt Lawrence Dunham, owns and operates LDV Winery in Arizona. Watch here in the YouTube player or download the podcast on PodBean.
- Continued increase in the popularity of sparkling wines. Sparkling wines are no longer reserved for special occasions or celebrations. Consumers are choosing sparkling wines for everyday drinking.
- Younger generations are very concerned about how products they purchase are produced. This trend also relates to what wines they consume. Young wine consumers continue to be drawn to organic and biodynamic wines.
- Related to #2, is the continued growing environmental concern across all consumer demographics. Consumers are looking for brands that are focused on sustainability and producing natural wines. However, the term “natural wine” is unregulated, and the definition can be very broad, but it has taken hold in popular vernacular.
- The wine industry is seeing continued growth in alternative wine packaging. Wine in cans, boxes, and bags are being used by wine brands at various price points. Partly, due to the conversation about the sustainability of glass and packaging costs.
- There is a growing demand for lower alcohol and reduced sugar content. There is a shift toward abstaining from all alcohol or reducing the amount of alcohol consumed. There appears to be a lack of understanding between lower alcohol and reduced sugar content. The two are not always directly related.
- People are looking for immersive wine experiences with an educational focus. Consumers want to enjoy wine tasting but they also want to learn about how the wine was made or where/how the grapes are grown.
- New wine regions, like Arizona or Texas, as wine destinations. This trend is due partly because the high cost of wine tasting in traditional destinations such as Napa Valley and Sonoma County. There is a growing conversation around the topic of whether these great wine regions have priced themselves out of the wine tourism market.
- Complimentary to several other trends, there will be increasing popularity in culinary and wine tours. Consumers want to try local food and wine; paired together is even better.
- The tight economy will continue to impact the wine industry and wine regions. There appears to be an economic storm brewing impacting the wine industry – supply chain issues continue to be problematic and costly; increasing production costs; younger consumers not choosing wine like past demographics; changing consumer behaviors away from wine; and the overall economy’s impact on consumer spending.
- There is a lot of discussion about transparency and consumers wanting to know about wine ingredients. Federal regulators are considering potential wine label requirements for ingredients. This is already being implemented in other countries. One argument against the new regulation is the cost to implement for small producers will be hard to absorb.
