On-trade wine trends for 2019

By Clinton Cawood

Published: 07 December, 2018

It’s time to brush up on your obscure grape varieties and lesser-known wine regions. According to a recent report from Bibendum, 2019’s vinous on-trade trends are all about diversity, as well as all things indigenous.

To start with, indigenous white wines from Italy are ones to watch – think Garganega and top-end Fiano. From further afield, the indigenous varieties from South America worth considering for your list include País from Chile and Bonarda from Argentina.

Cabernet Franc might be a better-known variety – and usually for the examples that we see from France – but that’s changing, according to Bibendum. Its report predicts that we’ll see varietal Cabernet Franc from producers in Chile, South Africa, California and even Canada on as many as half of all premium wine lists.

Back in France, the regions to keep an eye on are Jura and Savoie, with the latter already having begun to establish itself in the UK.

To really get ahead of the curve though, the report suggests that Croatia is a must-have on your list – consider indigenous varieties like Malvazija Istriana and Refosco.

If lesser-known South America is more your thing, then you’ll need some wines from Uruguay.

While you’re diversifying your wine offering with all of these underappreciated wine regions and varieties, there’s the wider and ever-growing trend towards vegan-friendly products to consider.

According to the Vegan Society there are now 600,000 vegans in the UK, so it’s worth ensuring you have something to offer them. Make sure you highlight these wines on your list too.

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