Sorting grapes from an ancient vine Mokelumne River-Lodi harvest.
It’s that time of year when we start to talk about the most significant wine trends to expect in 2024.
At the end of this past November, for instance, the Benson Marketing Group came out with 6 Wine Industry Trends You Can’t Ignore in 2024. Their first prediction: “The no-alcohol or low-alcohol wine craze continues.” Question is, for whom? Wine lovers certainly don’t drink non-alcohol wines, and they never will, unless ordered by their doctors.
The Benson group suggests that alcohol-free beverages are being driven by Millennials and Gen Z consumers seeking “healthier lifestyles and more mindful consumption.” Clearly, though, this is piece of information is neither here nor there for consumers who currently drink wine, and means nothing to wineries that make their living anticipating what actual wine drinkers want.
in Backbar‘s October 2023 post entitled Trending in Wine: 2024 Predictions, the #1 prediction is… “Boxed Wine Breaking Boundaries.” Which prompts the question: Is this something a typical premium winery needs to be concerned about? Boxed wine production may certainly be a growing business for giant wineries with lots of schlock to sell; but it’s certainly doesn’t fit in with the values of the average consumer of premium wine, whose taste in wine is clearly becoming more discerning by the year.
Grapes from ancient vines such as these in Lodi’s Kirschenmann Vineyard, planted in 1915, are more highly acclaimed than ever—the very opposite of material suitable for
