I\u2019ve been peering into my crystal glass to see where the wine world is going in 2026, but the future is cloudy right now. For example, will the US Supreme Court rule against US President Donald\u00a0Trump\u2019s tariffs, so wine prices don\u2019t go up even more? We\u2019ll have to wait and see.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, I\u2019m confident climate change will affect grape growing for the foreseeable future. The UK\u2019s Met Office predicts 2026 will be among the top four warmest years ever recorded, which means more floods, storms, heat waves, drought and wildfires in historic regions in 2026, causing winemakers to\u00a0plant more vines in cooler climes such as in Sweden.<\/p>\n
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Some trends from this past year are still evolving.\u00a0Non-alcoholic wines\u00a0will go even more mainstream, with bigger selections in restaurants and even better-tasting examples as technology improves. Five large French\u00a0<\/strong>companies\u00a0<\/strong>are on the case, with giant Castel announcing an investment of \u20ac10 million (R194 million) in a no-alcohol production facility in the Loire Valley.<\/p>\n White wines\u00a0will keep outpacing reds; winegrowers in Sancerre even opened a new office in Bangkok in December. Wineries\u2019 embrace of eco-ethics translates into expanding investment in regenerative farming, and the\u00a0wine and health controversy\u00a0and whether bottles should carry a cancer warning continues.<\/p>\n Sales of wine may be down, but I\u2019m more optimistic than my colleagues and reject\u00a0a doom-and-gloom narrative.<\/p>\n Source: Bloomberg<\/p>\n<\/div>\n New data from the 2025 US Wine Consumer Benchmark Segmentation Study found Generation Z (born 1997 to 2012) has upped consumption over the past year, much in line with previous generations when they came of age,\u00a0and millennials (1981 to 1996) have overtaken boomers to become the biggest wine-drinking cohort.<\/p>\n Wine bars and natural wine fairs are packed with those consumers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Vino is now part of pop culture and the sports world (check out Kendall-Jackson\u2019s new NBA-label wines), as well as a main character in films such as the Netflix romcom\u00a0Champagne Problems. Season two of\u00a0hit wine series\u00a0Drops of God\u00a0will drop on Apple TV\u00a0on 21 January.<\/p>\n And as old ideas of fine wine rapidly shift, \u201cmake wine fun again\u201d is the new zeitgeist.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what else I see in my glass \u2026<\/p>\n You\u2019ll be drinking more sparkling wine, from surprising places<\/strong><\/p>\n Champagne sales are slumping, but fizz broadly has been less affected than the downturn affecting still wine in the US, the UK and France, where prosecco sales grew 12% last year.<\/p>\n It turns out that millennials and Gen Z indulge in sparkling wine much more than boomers do.<\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n This is according to a survey of almost 5 000 US adults released in early December by the Wine Market Council, a US market research company.<\/p>\n Why? Bubbly is now a lifestyle wine for every day, like ros\u00e9, something to sip with takeout Thai or Chinese. Not to mention that in a flute, fizz is wonderfully Instagrammable.<\/p>\n Winemakers everywhere plan to cater to that thirst.\u00a0You\u2019ll see more options that bridge the price gap between Champagne and prosecco, such as French cr\u00e9mants, English sparklers, dry Lambrusco, and German and Austrian sekt.<\/p>\n Look for the rise of fizz from new regions and from native grapes. I chalk it up to the\u00a0draw of adventure, with small boutique producers perceived as more authentic, rather than giant Champagne brands such as Mo\u00ebt that seem more corporate. And with no limiting Appellation d\u2019Origine Contr\u00f4l\u00e9e (AOC) rules like in Champagne, sparkling wine producers can use just about any type of grape, which means very different tastes as well.<\/p>\n Production of Mt Etna spumante bianco,\u00a0using local Sicilian grapes such as grillo and catarratto,\u00a0more than doubled between 2019 and 2024.<\/p>\n Richard Geoffroy, former chef de cave of Dom P\u00e9rignon, released a tank-fermented sparkling wine from Corsica under the name Avvizz\u00e0 in 2025; it\u2019s made with a blend of three native-to-the-island grape varieties.\u00a0California boutique bubbly\u2019s new top spot is the Santa Rita Hills.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll head to wineries for adventure, not just tasting<\/strong><\/p>\n Younger wine lovers crave authenticity and immersive experiences, and more wineries will woo them with local adventures.<\/p>\n Read: From farm gates to great\u00a0escapes: The rise of\u00a0agritourism in South Africa<\/p>\n The\u00a0Global Wine Tourism Report 2025\u00a0found 73% of the 1 310 wineries in 47 countries they surveyed plan to expand their offered activities. (These now account for an average 25% of a winery\u2019s revenue.)<\/p>\n In South Africa, some estates offer outdoor fun by day, and indulgent wine and food tastings by night.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The mountain biking trails at\u00a0Rhebokskloof Estate in Paarl are a mix of steep climbs and thrilling descents.\u00a0Morgenhof Estate\u00a0offers up quad biking in off-limit areas in Stellenbosch.<\/p>\n Read:<\/p>\n And the Franschhoek Valley is a hot spot for paragliding and zip-lining, though not, I\u2019m reassured, with a glass in hand.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll be hunting for values<\/strong><\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT:<\/p>\n CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Yes, billionaires are snapping up expensive Burgundies, but affordability and value for money will be 2026\u2019s wine watchwords.<\/p>\n Being adventurous will (mostly) get you the best deals, which means seeking out wines from less-well-known regions of Eastern Europe, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain, especially those made from local grape varieties.<\/p>\n For whites, think fragrant examples from Sicily\u2019s grillo grapes and Spain\u2019s godello.<\/p>\n For reds, look for Greece\u2019s light, chillable reds made from liatiko on Crete and bright, spicy touriga franca blend wines from Portugal\u2019s Douro.<\/p>\n And let\u2019s not forget that California\u2019s grape glut is inspiring new n\u00e9gociant labels, including\u00a0Cam X, which \u2018rescue\u2019 the leftovers from premium wineries and sell the vino without the famous name at rock-bottom prices.<\/p>\n More dining spots will ditch the formal wine list<\/strong><\/p>\n Short, unfussy, hypercurated wine lists have been a thing, and the next trend in casual vibe dining is the no-written list.<\/p>\n London\u2019s\u00a0Humble Grape\u00a0locations have lists but encourage you to answer a few quick questions and let them do the matchmaking.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n At\u00a0Canteen\u00a0in Notting Hill, you just choose a glass of red or white from a keg.<\/p>\n At the US\u2019s cosy\u00a0Sauced\u00a0wine bars in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Nashville, it\u2019s all personal interaction: You tell somms [sommeliers]\u00a0what you\u2019re looking for, and they bring out a few choices for you to taste. Ditto at\u00a0Les Enfants du March\u00e9\u00a0in Paris.<\/p>\n Is this good news? Or not? It\u2019s fun and easy, but maybe it\u2019s not so satisfying for wine geeks.<\/p>\n AI will be your virtual sommelier and Napa itinerary maker<\/strong><\/p>\n Artificial intelligence is reshaping how wine is grown and made, with AI-powered sensors and drones that monitor soil moisture and detect vine diseases before they spread, assess weather patterns and predict harvest times.<\/p>\n In Bordeaux, AI-driven robots prune, weed and move grapes from sorting tables to fermentation vats.<\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT:<\/p>\n CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n And next year AI will put its mark on oenotourism [wine tourism]. The\u00a0Napa Valley Marriott Hotel & Spa\u00a0is the region\u2019s first hotel to team up\u00a0with\u00a0Preferabli, the AI-driven wine recommendation software and its new Tastefuli app and integrate them into the hotel\u2019s guest experiences. The idea is to offer personalised recommendations for food, wine and spirits, as well as winery tours based on guest profiles \u2013 a new form of concierge.\u00a0More partnerships are coming in Napa and the bay area in early 2026, then throughout the West Coast and across North America. The UK is in the offing.<\/p>\n Surely suggested winery visits will include the stunning, newly renovated\u00a0Robert Mondavi winery\u00a0opening in May, but bear in mind that the\u00a0San Francisco Chronicle\u00a0recently reported some AI limitations. ChatGPT,\u00a0the\u00a0Chronicle\u2019s Jess Lander\u00a0found, mostly steers visitors to well-known touristy spots. For hidden gem insider spots with chill vibes, you still need a human with knowledge.<\/p>\n New-style wine bottles will take over<\/strong><\/p>\n A new Wild West of bottle sizes is coming.<\/p>\n Until 2025, wine in the US could be legally sold only in a limited number of sizes, from airplane bottles to large formats named after biblical kings. Now there are 13 additional permitted sizes, mostly on the small side.<\/p>\n Take\u00a0The Estate Collection by the Glass Gift Set from Daou Vineyards, for example, offers three luxury red blends in 100ml bottles, which look a bit like test tubes.<\/p>\n I foresee cult cabs marketed in sophisticated little six-packs in a bid for affordability.<\/p>\n But I still have many, many questions<\/strong><\/p>\n What wine will Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce pour at their wedding in June?<\/p>\n Will chocolate-flavoured reds like Nobile Rosso Dubai Chocolate catch on thanks to\u00a0Gen Z\u2019s current interest in sweet wine?<\/p>\n Will we stop talking (please) about \u2018mindful drinking\u2019?<\/p>\n And will this be the year\u00a0zinfandel comes back?<\/p>\n \u00a9\u00a02026\u00a0Bloomberg L.P.<\/p>\n Follow Moneyweb\u2019s in-depth finance and business news on WhatsApp here.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Wine](\"https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/446911250-555x312.jpg\")
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