Ready for a happy, profitable new year? Forget reinventing the wheel and take a look at what is trending globally. Incorporate these trends into your local marketing strategies—and take it to the bank.
4 Global Wine Trends
1) Banish Snobbery
There is now an entire wine culture that deliberately rejects esotericism in wine and positions itself as the antithesis of wine snobbery—it’s casual, accessible, and above all, fun. People are finding new ways to enjoy wine that fit their lifestyles and tastes.
Do you sweet-shame, or do you embrace differences in palates? Many wineries are becoming wise to the fact that wine drinkers have a variety of likes, and sweet and semi-sweet wines are (surprising to many in the industry) often preferred. A recent visit to the Finger Lakes showed us how easy it is to banish snobbery with many offering a variety of wines from dry to sweet.
2) Welcome Experimentation
Playing off the trend of simplification, the new wine culture is focused on the consumer experience—helping people find the wine they like and creating new ways to enhance the experience.
We’ve seen people lined up out the door at a Willamette Valley winery whose winemaker was leading a workshop on blending. We even participated when RoxyAnn’s winemaker did the same last winter, and we have a bottle of our own “Buddy Blend” waiting in our wine cellar for just the right occasion.
3) The New Rules of Retail
The world’s become smaller for the wine drinker. Many countries and regions offer multi-winery wine clubs to encourage exploration of all the area’s wine offerings.
We found this new model in Tennessee this fall—a wine club that offers a consumer-picked selection from any of the area’s wineries every shipment. Pretty forward-thinking for a newish wine region.
4) Wine Is a Lifestyle
Wine is now more than a drink; it’s a social indicator and lifestyle product. And like all lifestyle products, people want their wine to communicate certain things about them and their lives.
Think of your choice in wine as another indicator of whom you want to be perceived as. It’s a badge, a brand, and you wear it proudly and promote it on social media.
This information is a compliation from research by Campbell Ewald and Capiche. Campbell Ewald interviewed Capiche this fall as part of their research for the New York Wine & Grape Foundation. They quizzed us pretty hard on West Coast trends and, after conducting worldwide research, this is a snapshot of their findings. We added some anecdotal information as well.
Not sure how to use this data to your advantage? Let us help. Contact me (Chris) at 541.601.0114 or chris@capiche.wine. Let’s get this right for your brand.
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