7 Ways Wine Will Change in 2022

Ways Wine Will Change in 2022

The wine industry is coming out of yet another tumultuous year of doing business amid a worldwide pandemic. With severe weather disasters (such as flooding in western Germany, terrible April frosts in France and Italy, and the California wildfires), global supply chain disruptions, and the mounting threat of price inflation, unpredictability has always been present. 

Despite this, the picture for 2022 is far from doom and gloom. Restaurants bars are quietly rebounding, and off-premise sales are continuing their post-Covid-19 surge, demonstrating the industry’s never-ending potential for creativity, flexibility, and tenacity.

So, on that note, let’s take a look at a few critical wine trends that will continue to define the wine industry’s trajectory in 2022, regardless of what the new year brings. 

Stylistic Divisions will Continue to Blur

For a long time, the world of wine has been divided into stylistic divisions, primarily based on color. However, those once-stable classifications are beginning to blur as a new generation of boundary-pushing winemakers worldwide experiment with a variety of different winemaking processes and procedures. That said, this is one of the most apparent ways wine will change in 2022.

The resulting wines are bright, crisp, and crushable, blurring boundaries between dark rosé and pale red. However, they couldn’t be more in sync with the current “chillable red” mindset. According to current wine trends, we should anticipate seeing more of this stylistic approach in the future. However, the growth of this wine style comes when people are more inclined to disregard formal classifications or labels and simply accept things as they are.

Cannabis-Infused Wines Are Now Available

Probably one of the most exciting wine trends of 2022 is cannabis-infused wine. After all, Marijuana and wine were destined to merge sooner or later. Such a thing has been made possible by the rise in popularity of non-psychoactive cannabis derivatives like CBD and the growing trend of cannabis legalization.

These wines are, of course, only accessible in states where it is legal to consume cannabis. What’s more, they are rarely shipped over state boundaries. Of course, most of these cannabis-infused wines are produced in California due to their legalization of cannabis. However, there is one caveat: because alcohol and cannabis cannot be marketed together, these beverages have been de-alcoholized. So, keep a watch out for cannabis-infused wines if you visit the Sunshine State in the future.

Natural Win Will Expand and Grow

There was a time when natural wine was restricted to a few hubs of activity in major coastal cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York. However, with the emergence of an increasing number of small-scale, natural-focused importers, the movement is swiftly gaining traction in areas of the country previously dominated by huge corporate-owned brands and national distributors.

This is one of the wine trends officially passing from fringe to critical stage, becoming a vital pillar of wine’s new mainstream. Not to mention, interest in the category is rapidly growing across the United States too. As this evolution proceeds further, the naturalist gospel is ready to convert a new but different demographics of customers, especially those who have never considered themselves wine drinkers. 

Price Inflation and Supply Chain Issues Will Wreak Havoc

According to various wine specialists, supply chain challenges will continue to disrupt all elements of the trade in 2022, generating unavoidable price inflation and shortages for familiar brands, 

While these concerns have already impacted the Champagne market, stoking fears of inevitable gaps for the holidays and beyond, experts also predict the impacts will be much broader.

Furthermore, purchasers will be compelled to explore far beyond the tried-and-true solutions due to rising prices, shipping delays, and limited inventories. While this will undoubtedly cause a plethora of problems, it will encourage restaurants and bars to seek out boutique suppliers that offer alternatives to the big-name brands. It is one of the most obvious ways wine will change in 2022!

Low Alcohol Wine Is Making A Comeback

Millennials are generally concerned with their overall health. However, this is a trend that has spilled over into the wine industry as well (pun intended). White Claw and other low-calorie, low-alcohol, and low-sugar beverages provide healthy, low-alcohol options for people who aren’t avid wine drinkers. 

In fact, consumers are also turning away from low-alcohol wines and sipping on wine spritzers instead, no longer drawing eye rolls and laughs. While some companies produce wines with little to no alcohol in a few of their wine offerings, this process isn’t perfect by any means, and the flavor of the wine typically suffers as a result. So instead, look for unadulterated wines with low alcohol content.

Ecommerce will Become More Creative To Retain Clients Acquired During Covid-19

Online wine sales have remained high even as we move into a post-Covid-19 world. However, today, the eCommerce industry has a significant obstacle in front of them: how to discover innovative ways to increase online user engagement and retain newly gained customers.

What’s the secret to keeping that growth going? Persuade buyers that purchasing wine online can be just as enjoyable as obtaining advice from a reputable local wine retailer. As a result, online vendors and brands received many new customers during the epidemic. So, over the past year, they’ve focused on positioning themselves to provide a better experience than clients could get in a regular brick-and-mortar wine store or retail environment. This is one of those wine trends that will still be ever-present long after Covid-19 is over!

Wine Will Be Sold In Cans

During the past decade, wines in “alternative packaging” have grown more widely available; boxed wine has improved in quantity and quality, and bagged wine is slowly making a comeback too.

However, one of the most noticeable new wine trends has been canned wine. These unique wines are often drinkable, fruity wine cans containing good quality blends. Not to mention, they are typically presented in special packaging as well.

Furthermore, The wine cans are non-fragile, small, and do not require a bottle opener, making them ideal for casual drinking. In contrast, most people pour wine into glasses while on a picnic. However,  you can now be the odd one out and drink wine literally out of a can. 

Wrapping Up

There has been a distinct zeitgeist in wine and beverage culture during the previous five years or so. Between so-called pét-nat, orange wines, natural wines, minimal intervention wines, obscure wine regions, and so on, the catchphrase seemed to be “the weirder, the better.” Not to mention, wine sellers and other beverage professionals seem to enjoy dealing with wines that the average wine-drinker would not understand or recognize. So, with too many wine trends to cover in one article, we know for a fact that wine as we know it will change dramatically in 2022!