Trends are also flying around our ears when it comes to wine. Currently, we are going for light, fresh white wines, preferably with a bubble. Exactly the kind of wines they make in Alsace. WINELIFE went out and discovered La belle vie Behind the Vosges Mountains.
Text and image: Château Petri, courtesy of Chris Alblas

Where do wine trends come from? Why is the consumption of red wines declining so much and are we flocking to lighter and fresher wines? The media plays an important role in this, news about food and drink affecting your health cannot be missed. Besides, the anti-everything lobby bans all goodies, even one glass of wine is completely out of the question according to them.

Fortunately, not everyone abandons wine immediately, but a change in the market is noticeable. WINELIFE's survey of a number of sommeliers about what consumers will actually want in 2025 yielded four trends. These are wines with less alcohol, wines with less tannin, dry fresh and white wines. Sparkling wines also score high. Furthermore, wine lovers find it important that wine is made with respect for nature and they want to know where the wine comes from. Let all this fit perfectly with viticulture in Alsace. Since they put more effort into dry, mineral wines there, they make exactly what the market demands. WINELIFE followed there La route du vin to taste them and immediately discovered that this area between the Vosges Mountains and the German border is a lovely place to be. 

Alsace makes it all

Sparkling, fresh light wines or smooth reds, you can find it all in Alsace. Yet the region's wines are much less popular than they were a while ago. The reputation that only sweet and semi-sweet wines are made here is to blame. In the 1980s and 1990s, American wine guru Robert Parker gave high marks to a richer and fuller style of wines, with residual sweetness. This caused some producers to deliberately make sweeter wines, as they sold better on the US market.

Unfortunately, the sugar content was not mentioned on the labels. Back then, as a consumer, you were never sure whether you were buying a dry or a sweet wine. Fortunately, after about 2000 they returned to a drier, tighter style, which is certainly well appreciated today. Especially also because producers provide more clarity on the label. 

Want to read more? You can do so in WINELIFE 97, shop it here.

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.