Surprising Wine Trends: What To Expect In 2019

It’s that time of year again. Time to look at wine industry trends and determine how they’re likely to impact wine shops and restaurants across the nation.

The landscape of retail is rapidly changing. From corks to consumer behaviors, there are a number of wine trend projections for 2019. Where will the new year take you and your business?

Scanning technology and augmented reality create wine buyers with a single click.

Think about serving wine in your restaurant. Customers are seated at their table and have just finished the wine they ordered. They love it so much that they want to buy a bottle to take home.

Smartphones have made this easier than ever. Today, wine consumers can use their smartphones to scan the label. The scan tells them nutritional information, where to buy the wine, and more. They can read reviews, learn about the wine distributor, and purchase a bottle — all in a matter of minutes.

Scanning technology is not new. However, it’s rapidly growing in the consumer arena and wine drinkers are using it to research and find products.

A viral example is Tussock Jumper wine labels, available at DMV Distributing.

The company uses augmented reality to activate the animals on the wine label. Consumers can use their smartphone camera to hover over the wine label. This triggers a “living label,” where the animal will move and tell the consumer about the product in an accent reflecting the source country of the wine. The animal will explain “where the wine comes from, and the style they can expect from the grape variety, but it will also suggest a range of food matches,” according to The Drinks Business.

Millennials have more influence in the market.

There’s no question that millennials have a tremendous amount of influence in any marketplace. As the number of adult millennials continues to rise, so does their impact on the wine industry. In 2019, they’ll become the largest consumer demographic — and wine shops and restaurants must market accordingly.

Millennial wine drinkers are more drawn to eye-catching labels than brand names. In fact, brand loyalty is hardly a key factor in their overall purchasing decisions. They instead gravitate toward creatively designed labels with clever visuals.

In fact, according to Uncorkd, “In a study conducted by Portland State University, they concluded that millennials look at three different aspects in determining a wines value: label color, size of logo, and kind of logo.”

This science heavily influences how restaurants will use visual aids and presentation of wine menus as they seek to attract and keep millennial consumers.

Organic wines more sought after than ever.

With the ever-growing focus on healthier food options, more wine consumers are choosing to go organic. As the healthy living trend continues, wine consumers care more about what they put in their bodies, and it’s showing up in their buying decisions — even when buying alcohol.

Our advice? Restaurants and wine shops should offer an entire selection of organic wines, like our own Goru Verde. This impressive upsurge in popularity means paying special attention when rotating wines according to seasonality. Keep your menu and stock up-to-date so that consumers can try new wines every few months and keep with their organic preferences.

More Bordeaux, please.

Who doesn’t love a rich Bordeaux? This classic wine has long been a favorite among all consumers. However, higher prices and shinier, more eye-catching competition turned younger wine drinkers toward more approachable options. This waned Bordeaux’s popularity in recent years.

This, however, is changing.

More affordable prices and increased visibility driven by the Bordeaux region of France gave this wine a renewed appeal. In fact, it created a movement that spurred many wine drinkers to return to classic wines. The result? Bordeaux is back on the map and getting the attention it very much deserves.

The cork gets an upgrade.

When you think of wine, you likely picture an elegant corked bottle of your favorite red or white. The cork has long been a part of the wine experience, especially with classics, as it loosely defines the fanciness of a brand or wine type.

However, a harmless chemical in the cork, TCA, can alter the taste of a wine. This is called “cork taint” and can only affect wine if it comes in contact with it. Yet, it posed enough of a problem that many winemakers began using screw caps and other non-cork closures.

To adjust to the marketplace preference, Amorim and other large cork companies are working to eliminate cork taint and claim that they’re very close. By 2020, they expect cork taint to be a thing of the past. Expect 2019 to include a flurry of activity among cork manufacturers, which is great news. There’s just something about the cork that ties together the whole wine experience.

No matter the trends, when you choose wine from DMV Distributing, 2019 will be your best year yet. Browse our wines or reach out to one of our knowledgeable, friendly representatives. Trends come and go — but we’ll always be right here.