Late last year, The Wine Institute asked its trainees what wine trends they see or expect. We briefly summed it up as "lighter, less, better, more sustainable".
Text: Ingrid Larmoyeur | Image: AI art by Vinissima
These are the main trends identified by the wine students:
- Lighter wines
- Less wood maturation
- Less alcohol
- Quality before quantity
- Easy to drink
- Blend wines
- Quality terrace wines
- Organic wines
- Attention to small indigenous grape varieties
- Looking for wine closer to home (Germany, Belgium, Netherlands)
Trainees' predictions are fairly in line with those of the professional world.
You can see a shift worldwide. Less wine is being drunk, especially also by younger generations (Millennials and Gen Z). But there is also, especially since corona, a focus on quality in general. We pay attention to our health. So when we drink wine, we no longer carelessly chug a few glasses of slobber wine, but want to enjoy a really nice glass of wine. And that wine may well be from lesser known indigenous grape varieties, authentic with a special story, and increasingly has to be sustainable. There is also a growing preference for lighter wines or even alcohol-free wines. And the trend from less (heavy) red to elegant white wines and to wines with less wood maturation also fits the general picture.
So for 2025, lighter, better and sustainable more often.
Don't want to miss a single edition? Subscribe then subscribe to WINELIFE Magazine now!
Want to stay up to date with the best articles? Follow WINELIFE magazine on Instagram, Facebook and sign up for our fortnightly newsletter.
Read more for free
Would you like to continue reading this article for free? Enter your e-mail address or log in with Google and read on immediately.