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The wine industry is navigating a complex landscape, highlighted by the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium’s insights on California’s grape oversupply and the need to remove vineyards to balance the market. Hybrid grape varieties are gaining attention for their sustainability and resilience, potentially reshaping wine production. The Pacific Northwest’s wine grape acreage remains steady, contrasting with California’s challenges. Innovations like alcohol-free wines are emerging in response to changing consumer preferences, with French winemakers adapting to the trend. English sparkling wine is experiencing growth, taking market share from champagne. However, companies like Vintage Wine Estates face downsizing amid market pressures and excess production. Laithwaites is pioneering sustainability with the UK’s first 100% recycled glass wine bottle, highlighting the industry’s shift towards eco-friendly practices. These developments reflect the wine industry’s adaptation to environmental concerns, consumer trends, and market dynamics.
Pink Won’t Save California Wine | Wine-Searcher News & Features
The California wine industry faces a significant challenge with a substantial oversupply of wine grapes, as discussed at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium. The president of Allied Grape Growers, Jeff Bitter, highlighted the need for the removal of an additional 20,000 acres of grapevines, totaling 50,000 acres, to balance the market. Despite the potential for a high-quality 2023 vintage, red grape varieties remain in excess, specifically Cabernet Sauvignon, which already surpasses demand. Simultaneously, the industry is facing a decline in wine sales, especially in restaurants, further compounded by changing consumer preferences and health concerns. While there’s a small increase in direct-to-consumer shipments of high-end wines, the trend does not extend to lower-priced categories. The popularity of Rosé wine, and red wines in general, is also declining, leaving producers with excess stock and challenging market conditions. Even high-value old-vine Zinfandel grapes are being recommended for removal due to economic inefficiency, casting a shadow over the market’s future.
Are Hybrids the Future of Wine? – Vintner Project
Hybrid grape varieties are emerging as a pivotal innovation in the wine industry, offering both resilience to cold climates and disease resistance, thereby reducing the need for chemical treatments and facilitating organic farming. These new hybrids are the result of meticulous cross-pollination between hardy wild grapes and popular vinifera species, like Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, combined with advanced DNA technology, which streamlines the selection for disease resistance. The development process for these hybrids is extensive, potentially taking up to two decades to introduce viable new grapes. The movement is spearheaded by organizations like PIWI International, and is gaining traction in regions like Germany, where these novel varieties match winemaking philosophies aligned with natural, sustainable practices. Although winemakers are optimistic about these hybrids, rebranding efforts and consumer education are essential for broader acceptance of these “future wines.” They symbolize a confluence of sustainable production, industry diversification, and the evolving narrative of wine culture.
PNW wine grape acreage holds steady
In 2023, the wine grape acreage in the Pacific Northwest maintained stability, with Oregon and Washington together accounting for more than 105,000 acres. Washington saw a modest increase in vineyard acreage, while Oregon’s remained consistent with the previous year. Pinot noir dominated in Oregon, while Cabernet Sauvignon was the top choice in Washington. Despite a record grape production in Oregon in the previous season and an oversupply issue driving down prices, there were no recommendations for acreage reduction in the region, unlike the advised significant cuts in California to address the supply-demand imbalance.
Sobering news: French winemakers go teetotal
Coralie de Bouard has innovatively crafted an alcohol-free wine named “Prince Oscar,” initially for the teetotalling Qatari owners of the Paris Saint-Germain football club, which has now garnered widespread interest. As part of a broader trend in Bordeaux and amidst a global shift towards alcohol-free lifestyles, she’s part of a movement adapting to the market, especially during “Dry January.” Despite the challenge of retaining flavor complexity without alcohol, de Bouard utilizes traditional fermentation and distillation methods to maintain the wine’s characteristics by extracting alcohol at lower temperatures and adding concentrated grape must. This strategy has become a financial “lifebuoy” for her vineyard in a region suffering from overproduction and falling demand. The trend is gaining traction as sales of low-alcohol beverages are expected to grow, and winemakers and consultants see potential for improvement in production methods, aiming to create non-alcoholic wines that maintain the quality and appeal of their alcoholic counterparts.
Chapel Down, an English sparkling wine producer, celebrated a 14% increase in sales, reaching £15m last year, as it saw considerable growth in a market where homegrown fizz is taking market share from French champagne. With a 25% surge in core sparkling wine sales driven by a 12% hike in prices, the Kent-based company, which recently went public on the Aim stock market, experienced robust growth across various sectors. This included a 26% rise in the hospitality sector, a 67% boost in exports, and notable success in UK duty-free outlets. Even though the brand is seeing rapid and sustained growth as the UK’s largest sparkling wine maker and has gained international recognition for its wine quality, Chapel Down did face a 7% dip in still wine sales and an equal decline in its spirits division, prompting a strategic exit from the latter by April. Despite these challenges, a particularly fruitful harvest in 2023 has positioned the company with strong momentum going into the new financial year.
Axe Falls Again at Vintage Wine Estates | Wine-Searcher News & Features
Vintage Wine Estates (VWE) is in the midst of significant corporate restructuring, recently selling off wine brands and now laying off a substantial number of employees across various departments, primarily in sales and marketing. This downsizing follows a severe decline in VWE’s stock value, plummeting over 80% and consequently reducing the company’s market capitalization dramatically. Amidst the layoffs, there are allegations of VWE misusing permit spaces for profit, details of which were outlined in an anonymous letter to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. While the production side remains largely intact, the layoffs heavily affected the sales force and various tasting rooms, with some closures reported. The unrest at VWE comes at a time when market analysts indicate an excess in wine production and a crunch in sales across California, necessitating a significant cutback in vineyard acreage. Critics question the logic behind retaining the wine production staff over the sales team amidst these challenging times for the industry.
Laithwaites launches wine in recycled glass bottle
Laithwaites, an online wine merchant, has introduced the UK’s first wine bottle made entirely from 100% recycled glass, aligning with its commitment to halve its carbon footprint by 2030. The initiative, featuring the W/O Frappato wine made in collaboration with Dino Tashcetti’s cooperative winery, addresses the significant impact of transportation and glass packaging on Laithwaites’ carbon emissions. Innovations in the bottle’s design include the absence of foil or plastic, use of a biodegradable label, and provision of detailed information through a QR code. The move towards using recycled glass not only reduces the need for new raw materials but also lessens environmental pollution and positions glass as a more sustainable option over bag-in-box or ‘paper wine bottle’ packaging due to its inert nature, resealability, and benefits for refilling over disposal.
