Less wine but more value, sustainability increasingly important: 2020 for Wine Intelligence

Global wine consumption will decrease, but will increasingly shift to wines of higher quality and value; everything related to sustainability will continue to grow significantly in consumers’ purchasing choices; there will be a renaissance of wines from countries less celebrated for quality production, from Germany to Greece, from South Africa to Portugal; investments in packaging and service will increase; wines and cannabis drinks will be increasingly on the shelves in countries where it is legal: are the forecasts for the wine market in 2020 by the British agency Wine Intelligence, signed by the director of operations Richard Halstead. On everything, of course, lies the uncertainty of the economic picture, from a possible new wave of economic recession both in the Eurozone and in the United States and China, Wine Intelligence points out, without, of course, excluding Brexit and the US duty policy that changes from day to day. But the main trends, in any case, are identifiable. Starting from what can be synthesized with the old slogan “less but better”. Because wine consumption, according to Halstead, is destined to decrease, with the growth of new consumer countries and emerging economies that will not be enough, in quantity, to compensate for the slow and inexorable decline of the more mature markets. Nevertheless, this drop in volumes will be accompanied by a shift in consumption towards higher priced wines, even in markets historically linked to low prices, such as Germany, for example. Another aspect that will emerge stronger and stronger is the one related to “sustainability”, in all its aspects: environmental, social and not only, and to be rewarded will be above all who will take care of all these aspects, and will be able to communicate it. However, some critical issues remain on the “sustainable” wine front, such as the fact that there is not a single globally shared definition of what organic, biodynamic or natural wine is.
Again, according to Wine Intelligence, although the production of countries such as France, Italy and Spain will not lose interest, as well as the great international grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, but 2020 will be a year of rebirth also for quality wines from countries less in the spotlight, such as Germany, especially with Riesling, or Portugal and South Africa, especially the world with red wines, and Greece, with white wines, while the growth of rosé wines will continue, and not only from Provence. All this is connected by a common trend, that is the consumers' desire for more aromatic wines, fresh and with less alcohol, in particular when it comes to whites, and for less tannic wines, however interesting, as far as reds are concerned. But 2020 will be a year of innovation in terms of packaging and service, partly linked to the need to find technological solutions able to preserve the best wine in its movements around the world, partly to the great and already mentioned theme of sustainability, partly also to the desire to find the most suitable formats for the trend to drink less wine, but of greater value. Finally, the coming year will probably be the year of the real boom in cannabis-infused wines and drinks in countries where cannabis is legalized.