New Year – Old Recession. What does the Wine Witch see in the year ahead?
1. Prices will continue to drop from first growth Brodeaux to bargain New World varieties. Supposedly the economy is improving, but nobody’s feeling it in their pocket books yet. If you have the means, this might be the time to snatch up some age worthy wines.
2. Wine regions will be extending their reputations beyond the varietals that made them famous. You will begin to see more Pinot Noir from Chile and Malbec from California.
3. New Zealand Savignon Blanc may be past its glory days. The market is absolutely saturated with the stuff and the quality is starting to slip. Still some good ones out there, but you need to be pickier these days.
4. Bad for the Wine Witch, but wine blogs will continue to proliferate. Hopefully quality will win out and the Wine Witch will prevail, but only if you keep reading.
5. China is probably the largest untapped wine market. A growing and thristy middle class combined with limited local product, is a golden opportunity for wineries that can operate within the very complicated Chinese business environment.
6. The days of the quadruple wine mark-up in restaurants are waning. The unlimited expense account meal is largely a thing of the past. People are spending their own money and they are also a lot smarter about wine prices. You dinosaurs who have not gotten this yet, better listen.
7. More and more wines will be boxed or secured with screw caps. All it will take is a few more names with a reputation for quality to get on board and the flood gates will open. If you are not planning to lay a wine down for years, boxes and screw caps are better for the wine and better for the environment.
As I hear of other hot trends, I will pass them along.
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