Wine X Staff
Online Edition
With the new year now here, plus some, the industry professionals are trying to predict & adjust to emerging consumer trends. We have seen it all; from a huge boom in American wine production, to boxed wine, screw caps, and recent increases in more premium purchases from, well, everyone…..
Totally unscientific, just random things we’re seeing. You might disagree.
One thing that has been on the rise now for a couple of years within the Canadian and American market is canned wine. Ok, I’m not saying I have totally come around on this but my guess is that the uptick is probably a lot like my experience….. you finally have an occasion to try wine in a can, and guess what? It isn’t crap. It tastes the same as wine from a bottle or a bag-in-a-box. Go figure. Just to be clear, I’m not predicting a wide-scale swap out of glass to can, For one thing, the cost per ounce is considerable less in a larger format. So the basic economics aren’t going to help the canned cause. But there’s definitely a niche for people that have an urge to sip but for whatever reason a bottle isn’t going to work. You know – like places that wont allow glass for example. If we’re right, we will likely see a large increase in the production, distribution and consumption of wine in a can. Being a hit among travelers and backpackers, canned wine is super convenient. While they are mostly sold as singles, I think things will really take off when they are sold in a case of 24. One can dream. 🙂
Rose was a hot item in 2018 and we just don’t see that trend slowing. White Zin and cosmos really made it tough for Rose, to break through to mass appeal, but its an awesome warm weather alternative to a beer or a white. Rose might be one of the big winners with the rise or canned wines. Seeing a lot of 1 + 1 = 3 in this space.
And just listening to our followers, millennial and new-to-wine peeps are also steering away from the extremely high volume, low cost grocery store brands and opting for higher quality wines, many of which come from local wineries if available. We’re thinking its just the ebb and flow of fad & fashion in the wine biz. The charm of a $2 bottle that is at least drinkable or a box with a spout is waning and now, even for home drinking. At least that’s what we’re sensing. Life’s too short to drink bad wine, right? 😛 Lots of buzz in the Twittersphere on peeps focusing on pairing wine with a specific foodie creation as opposed to drinking like a cocktail. Hand in hand with this, we’re continuing to see a real interest in learning more about wine and consuming a larger variety of wines. Kudos to a lot of great voices in the wine world like WineFolly and the Somm movies for making us even know that Vinho Verde is a wine and not an Orange County ‘burb.
Finally, I really think Adam Lee’s experiment with Clarice Wines is going to open some eyes in 2019. We’ll spend more time int eh next few months on his story, but for today we just want to say that he’s got some great things going with extending the Clarice story beyond the bottle. We bet you’ll be seeing more virtually onmichannel-esque labels as well as ones that are interactive through certain apps, giving you a lot more information on the vineyard, winery history and more when you scan the label on your phone.
How’s your 2019 going. Wine X is looking forward to crushing it!
