Wine trends: Transparency, sustainability and value for money

A lot of these things are still new in wine and it will take a long time to win over the traditionalists, but the important thing is that the wines are tasting good and the quality doesn’t have to be compromised. In fact, the quality of wine across the board has improved greatly with advancements in technology and education. And - new ways of doing things, like canning youthful, fruity wines, actually preserves quality over older methods.

Alternative formats, like cans and bag-in-box, are rocking the wine world because, not only do they deliver great wine, but they’re also super practical. A can or a box is much more portable and storable than a glass bottle, so it’s a better choice for many bars with space issues. And how much easier and faster is it to hand over a can at a festival or squirt wine from a box, which can hold up to four bottles inside? 

Another major plus point about wines in alternative formats are that they are better for the environment. The impact we have on the environment is now something most of us care about, more than ever before. Wines that are sustainably-packaged and sustainably-made are more in line with how many of us want to live. Natural wines that use no chemical products are appealing, and their taste and quality has made leaps and bounds in the past decade. If we don’t want to eat chemicals, why would we want to drink them?

Finally, as modern wine drinkers, we’re looking for value for money. Money’s tight and we’re watching what and where we spend. That’s where emerging wine regions come in. Those places around the world that haven’t yet built their reputations, where their name doesn’t precede them, like somewhere like Bordeaux, Barolo or Champagne. Regions like Slovenia, Hungary or Romania, where the climate is just right for the wines we like to drink, don’t come with the price tag of a more famous region.

We have one emerging region right on our doorstep - that’s, right! Little old England. Granted, these wines aren’t the cheapest because of restraints that come with small production (and paying people a fair wage - we can’t argue with that), but these are handcrafted wines where the quality is sky-high, and the price of those bottles doesn’t have overseas shipping costs factored in. In that respect, English wines can offer great value for money and it’s definitely a region to dig into.

Nothing in this world stands still, and that includes wine. If the changes in the wine world have been passing you by, why not jump aboard and see what you’ve been missing?