What makes the world of wine change
Climate, more value and less volume, Brexit, China, Eastern Europe and Asia. But let’s look at the lists of British wines to discover the new trends
What makes the world of wine change
Di Donatella Cinelli Colombini
The colossus of Wine Intelligence marketing surveys, excellently commented by the Italian WineMeridian, takes stock of the 5 elements that are changing the wine sector. I’ve added some comments.
CHANGE OF THE CLIMATE
The vineyards go north and go to the mountains. Everything becomes excessive: heat, typhoons, fires, floods…. But in spite of this, the number of good harvests and the quality of the wines is constantly growing also in the historical areas.
DECREASED VOLUMES INCREASED VALUES
Regular consumers are less and less, while those who taste wine only on social occasions increase, but their choices focus on more expensive bottles. More attention to health, more variety of labels and territories “to discover”, more availability of small sizes… Wine competitors such as cannabis drinks and craft beers play an important role.
BREXIT
What makes the world of wine change
The problems seem to be averted, at least for the time being. We all hope for a new referendum in which the UK people will decide in the light of increased awareness of the effects of leaving Europe, effects that were perhaps underestimated at the time of the first vote.
Other political disturbances are the US tariffs which now benefit Italian wines but could penalize them in the near future.
CHINA
For the first time since 2014 the volumes of imported wine decreased in 2018. The positive sign lies in the simultaneous increase in values. Chinese consumers are beginning to recognize the quality of wine and reject low-cost ones.