Wine Predictions
Plus a Template Email for Ontario Hospitality Businesses
The year 2021 saw a continuation of what we saw in 2020 with supply chain disruptions, labour shortages, extreme weather events, pandemic-restrictions, etc., all of which impacted wine and wine-adjacent businesses. For 2022, in addition to supply chain issues, online wine, and buying local, there will be a continued move to low-to-no-alcohol options, as recently written about in The Wine Effect: No/Low ABV Beverages Are Here To Stay by Renée Sferrazza. It seems Dry January may be more of a permanent trend, with Dry Dating also on the rise. Below are a few articles with even more 2022 wine predictions; as well as a link to a suggested template email to send to the government from interested Ontario restaurants and bars (and other hospitality businesses) who are currently pivoting back to bottle shops and online sales, as the province moved back into a modified Step Two of its Roadmap to Reopen.
SevenFiftyDaily's 6 Wine Industry Trends to Watch in 2022 include:
The continuation of supply chain disruptions that may force buyers to look at boutique wholesalers — who “also tend to work with independent, conscientious growers that better align with my ethos as a buyer” — and wines from lesser known regions.
The blurring of stylistic categories “as a younger generation of boundary-pushing winemakers across the globe explore an array of alternative winemaking approaches and techniques,” e.g., orange wines, co-ferments, and the “current ‘chillable red’ zeitgeist” (Martha Stewart is also on the chilled red trend).
Natural wine expanding into new markets and mouths: “the movement has officially passed from fringe to an essential pillar of wine’s new mainstream.”
Everyday sparkling wine (but not necessarily Veuve Clicquot), plus more pét-nat.
Using data to deliver personalized online wine buying experiences.
More experimental by-the-glass beverage programs.
SevenFiftyDaily reports a generally positive industry outlook: “With restaurants steadily on the rebound and off-premise sales continuing their post-pandemic boom, the industry is once again proving its endless capacity for creativity, adaptability, and resilience.”
Wine Intelligence’s Industry Predictions for 2022 offers five forecasts but the two highlighted focus on packaging. First, Wine Intelligence reports that there will be increased pressure to reduce glass packaging weight of wine bottles by the likes of wine influencers like the UK’s Jancis Robinson and Tim Atkin, and retailers who will use their buying power, and their own carbon reduction targets, to “strong-arm suppliers into committing to lightweight glass where possible.” Secondly, the growth of Ready To Drink packaging will continue (hello canned wine), but “the big innovation will come from industry building new product sub-categories in wine that hit both of the growing trends of the 2020s: wine in a portable, single serve format, with a low-alcohol formulation that turns it from wine to a wine-based sparkling drink.”
Template Email for Ontario Hospitality Businesses. For subscribers and readers of this newsletter who work at Ontario restaurants and bars (and other impacted businesses), I drafted a template email advocating for business supports and better planning from the government. Once you click the link your email will automatically open and be pre-populated with the to/cc, subject, and message fields; all you have to do is sign your name and edit accordingly, if you’d like to include info about your business and why this matters to you. The letter is directed to the Premier of Ontario, with cc’s to the Minister of Finance, the Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction, and the Leader of the Opposition. You may also want to copy your MPP and MP. Please note that the template email generator works best from a smartphone; there may be formatting issues when using a desktop (sorry!).
