2024’s Wine Trends Will Make Your Year A Sipping Success

The new year is a reset that brings a clean slate, possibilities, and a yearning for something different to take off. This is also true when it comes to wine and its trends. Remember when “Rosé All Day” lived rent-free in our heads and was a staple on every summer brunch table? Or when orange wine was the “in” varietal to order?

While the rudimentary elements of wine and winemaking have remained roughly the same throughout the years, it is by no means done evolving. There are plenty of elements that keep casual wine drinkers and connoisseurs on their toes and excited to see what’s next. Those include technological innovations in farming, harvesting and production, the rise and fall in popularity of certain regions, varietals, and ancillary elements that change and evolve with time.

If you’re wondering what the grape vines have in store for 2024, to level up your wine game, or know the “in” wines to order as a flex, your burning oenology questions will be answered. We enlisted top wine experts to give us the 411 on trends for the year.

Wine Regions

East Coast Wine Regions

When people think about wine produced in the United States, their minds usually go straight to Napa, or other places on the West Coast. But there’s another area that’s been overlooked that’s finally getting its due in 2024. Desiree Harrison-Brown is a wine educator and creator of WINO NOIRE, a lifestyle brand, and community that aims to make wine accessible to a diverse population. “The East Coast is underrated for wine, but there are interesting wines and beautiful wineries to explore,” she says. Her two current East Coast favorites are Charlottesville, Virginia, which she shares was rated the top wine region of 2023. She’s also partial to The Finger Lakes in New York, which are “gaining popularity for Riesling and Cabernet Franc.”

Australian Wine Regions

Outside of the U.S., Lucy Devlin, vice president of wine at Naked Wines, America’s largest direct-to-consumer winery, says that we can expect to see more Australian wines in 2024, especially from the Barossa region taking their hold on America. “A drastic drop in demand for wine in China and a few unexpected large harvests have caused an excess of great wines on the market,” she says. Devlin also shares that these wines will be at a reasonable price point, "provide great value for consumers,” and introduce lesser-known international wine regions in the U.S. market.

Varietals

Hybrid & American Grape Varieties

Harrison-Brown predicts that there will be another major shift that will highlight the wine grape varieties grown in America. “Most of the popular wines we know and love, like Cabernet and Sauvignon Blanc, are European grape varieties,” she says. “With the increase in production across the U.S., producers are looking for varieties that grow well in specific soils and climates rather than trying to mimic European wines and growing European varieties.” To do this, she explains hybrid wines, a crossing of French and American species of grapes is gaining traction and is particularly promising. “Chambourcin and Vidal Blanc are two hybrids being grown on the East Coast,” she notes, and forecasts both hybrid wines and American varietals will be major players. “I think 2024 will be the year people start to recognize and appreciate the shift in wine,” she predicts.

AVAs

AVA stands for American Viticultural Area and is defined as a specific grape-growing region with geographic or climactic features that distinguish it from surrounding regions and is indicated on the bottle’s label. Matt Revelette, winemaker at Siduri believes that 2024 will bring “more focus” to AVAs because the distinction “brings specific understandable value to consumers.” They are armed with additional knowledge about each bottle with an AVA. Take the recently established West Sonoma Coast AVA as an example. “While vineyards in the West Sonoma Coast AVA have long been stars of the Pinot Noir world, consumers now have a more specific name attached to these wines with the West Sonoma Coast AVA,” he says. which makes it easier to find wines with specific grapes you enjoy.

Style

Low/No-ABV

Devlin and Harrison-Brown agree that low and no-alcohol wines are staying put and gaining momentum in 2024. “Non-alcoholic wines are made the same way as traditional wines, but the alcohol is removed at the end of the process,” Harrison-Brown shares. She notes the recent focus on being more health-conscious in general and being more mindful about alcohol consumption. “Many people are vowing to drink less, so there will be a huge rise in low ABV and non-alcoholic wines,” she adds.

Packaging

Screw Caps

Expect to see a rise in wines without corks in 2024. Harrison-Brown is clear and emphatic about one thing. “Screw caps do not mean the wine is cheap,” she explains. “They are great for easy opening and for wines that won't be aged (which is most of the wines we drink daily).”

2024 Wine Trends Rules of Thumb

When it comes to procuring wines with 2024’s trends, there’s no need to panic. Our experts dole out tips to make the purchasing process easy. Harrison-Brown implores people to do a small amount of research to find a good wine shop near them with a knowledgeable staff. “You probably won’t find these trending wines at the corner store or [all-night] liquor store,” she says. “Once you find a good retailer, go in and ask the staff for help (trust me, they will enjoy helping you).” She also suggests people “keep an open mind and don’t be afraid to try something new” and “keep track of the wines you like and dislike to help inform your future selections.”

Devlin’s recommendation is also a bit of a consumer warning. “Don’t fall victim to the pricing hype. You don’t need to pay $100 for a great bottle of wine, there are good options for under $20,” she says. She also advises people “should try multiple varietals from several regions (and it doesn’t need to break the bank!), taking note of what you do and do not like with each wine. You might find that you enjoy New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc much more than French Sauvignon Blanc, or vice versa.” And no matter what, the best wine trend for 2024 is to find a wine that you enjoy. “No wine blog or reviewer will be able to tell you what you enjoy drinking.”

You heard it through the grapevine! Ahead, expert-approved picks that feature the wine trends of 2024 that are sure to become timeless.