As the end of 2016 countdown begins, it is a good time to reflect on the 2016 Hot Wine Trends predicted by the wine Gurus. Here is how I would score the trends predicted by Dr Liz Thach, MW Professor of Management and Wine Business, Sonoma State University, for both the USA and within the BC Wine Market segment.
- Premiumization Continues– the desire to try a more premium product and pay more for it, or “premiumization” is expected to continue in 2016 for wine and other alcoholic beverages. A- strong trends continues for the best quality wine in both markets.
- Hot Wine Styles: Sparkling & Sangria – though still table wine continues to grow in value and volume, sparkling wine, especially Prosecco, is extremely popular in America and grew at 11.7% in value, while Sangria grew at 9.8%, according to Nielson (Brager, 2016). B- A strong trend for sparkling wines in both Markets. Sangria, which is one of my favourite summer drinks, has not really caught on in BC
- Five Most Popular Wine Varietals – surprisingly the slightly tart and refreshing style of Sauvignon Blanc won the prize for most increased value(13.3%) and volume change (10.7%). This was followed by the continuing hot trend of Red Blends, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and then Pinot Grigio (Fredrikson, 2016). However, the highest volume varietal sold in the US continues to be Chardonnay. B – For the BC Wine market the big winning categories for growth were Sparkling and Rose’. The most popular wines continue to be – Merlot, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir.
- Most Popular Imports – Americans continue to be in love with wines from Italy and New Zealand. However, both France and Portugal made great showings in 2015 with 10.8% and 8% increases in value for wines from both countries (Brager, 2016).
- Fastest Growing Wine Containers – though the 750 ml glass bottle still dominates the US market at over 50% of the volume of wine sold, the 3 Liter Box and Tetra pack continued to grow in popularity (Fredrikson, 2016) B- Boxed wine growth continues to be strong in the US. In BC only bottled wine can have a BC VQA rating and so the sale of boxed wine is stalled, which is unfortunate as it is a far superior environmental solution than glass bottles. There were some excellent boxed wines buys as some BC winery sell their VQA quality wines in 3-litre boxes at a significant discount. Mt Boucherie continues to sell Merlot, Chardonnay and Gewurztraminer in boxes.
Please leave your thoughts on the Hot Wine Trends for 2017 in the comment section below.
Our Best Wishes to you for the Holidays.