2022 opens with momentum and optimism, among consumer trends capable of breaking the mold and attentive to sustainability, for a growing wine market, online and offline. Some concerns are linked to the increases in energy and raw materials prices: we will see if the sector will be able to turn the problem into opportunities for valorising small local businesses.
Here are the six main wine news of January 2022, which we think you should know.
TRENDS FOR 2022
Between the United States and Europe , the trends for this year appear to be: consumer creativity , more value wines with a story behind them, market space for less conventional regions , non-traditional winemaking methods (including skin maceration), natural wines with few sulphites to conquer new markets, wines with low or no alcohol content .
Online wine purchases are increasing, with the opportunity for e-commerce to retain customers acquired thanks to the contingencies of the pandemic .
As for consumption trends in relation to the types, if rosés seem to be making more and more progress, it seems that 2022 in America predicts a decline in red wine . Moreover, wines that go outside the classic categories (red, white, pink...) are increasingly being produced, while the demand for bubbles is growing, which increasingly become "everyday" wines.
The problems of production and supply of raw materials could also bring with them positive effects, in particular in the valorisation of small local productions .
And then: greater attention to sustainability , to women producers and to those who work in the vineyard .
For the most searched wines online, read about it here as the first NFTs in wine begin to appear.
MARKET and RINCORS
Not everyone is able to see the glass half full as to the consequences of the price increases also resulting from the difficulties in supplying raw materials, which risks slowing down the growth of the wine market.
The growth of the wine market is however growing , in Italy as throughout Europe , even if sector insiders underline the need to resume events, including international ones.
WINE EVENTS AND FAIRS
Great uncertainty remains for events and fairs: some which appear to be confirmed ( Slow Wine , Only Wine ) and others which have been postponed. ProWein goes in May.
A point on wine events can be read here .
WINE NUMBERS
It's time to take stock for Italian wine: the wine numbers have indeed been released. For e-commerce there are data from 2020 , which define a very positive growth trend. The balance sheets of the large Italian wine groups are also doing well.
There is also optimism at wine auctions , which in 2021 see Asia, the United States, the United Kingdom and France in the lead in terms of sales volumes. The main players for wine&spirits auctions are Sotheby's, Acker Merral, Christie's and Hart Davis Hart.
MOURNINGS
Lino Maga , visionary winemaker from the Oltrepò Pavese, dies at the age of 90: one of the great names in Italian wine, who fought for the exclusive recognition of the name Barbacarlo: croatina, uvarare and vespolina grown on a hill of tuff soil in that part of the Pavia area which "gets the sun all day".
You read about him in various places, including here , here and here .
Silvia Maestrelli , a passionate oenologist and winemaker who has passed away at the age of 54, was cultured and creative in interpreting an ancient job like that of viticulture, animated by a stubbornly innovative spirit. You can also read about it here .
CLAMPS
From this year the bottles of Sicilia DOC have the status band .
A system that guarantees the authenticity of the wine, to protect producers and consumers, tracing all the life stages of each bottle.
