Read up on a few trends you should be on the lookout for this year.
We’re well into 2019, so hopefully all your New Year’s resolutions to drink less have gone out the window by now, and you’re sitting smug in your Snuggie with one of those 750ml wine glasses filled with the good stuff. (If anyone asks, you’re just pre-gaming for our upcoming Wine & Food Festival in June — which, as always, is going to be a very memorable celebration.)
That being said, we’re starting to see which trends are going to gain momentum in the wine industry this year. As our own New Year’s resolution, we told ourselves we would never give up wine as a resolution ever again, and have been reading up on trends since. Below, we picked out a few of the most interesting ones we think you should be on the lookout for throughout 2019.
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Wine Experiences and Education
Enotourism, especially in the Hudson Valley, has seen a significant rise in attention through the last decade. Taking into consideration the past few years, however, and it’s clear that attention is showing no signs of slowing down. At the same time, wine drinkers are wanting to know what exactly is in their bottle more than ever, and are taking steps to learn the ins and outs of the industry. Exploring the local scene on one of many local winery day trips just might give you the inside scoop you’ve been looking for.
Related: 4 Winery Day Trips to Live Your Best Life Possible
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Cannabis-infused Wines
2018 saw crazy progress in the recreational cannabis industry, and 2019 will undoubtedly push that along further. Even Latimer is talking about the legalization of marijuana these days, so it’s no surprise that THC-infused beverages will be hitting the market soon. While it might be a long time away from popping up on Westchester shelves, expect to be reading more about cannabis-infused wines on your favorite wine blogs throughout the year.
Scanning Technology
It’s 2019 and Apple’s slogan, “There’s an app for that,” couldn’t hold more true. That includes wine-scanning apps that provide consumers to learn everything they need about a wine just by scanning a label. With an app like Vivino, you can even scan a label of a wine you might enjoy at a friend’s house or out to dinner and have it purchased and on its way to your house in a matter of seconds. Consumers are becoming more tech-savvy than ever before, especially when it comes to finding the most quality sips available.
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Vegan Wines
It’s easy to assume wine is already vegan, since it’s entirely a plant-based product. However, a number of animal-based products may be used during wine production, including egg whites, casein (a protein found in milk, and beeswax. In a response to a growing demand for production practices that reduce harm to animals, producers have started to move to vegetable-based products to refine their wine. And while many wines in reality might already be produced in a vegan-friendly manner, more retailers and producers have started to help consumers make a choice by highlighting which of their wines are indeed vegan friendly.
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