New grapes, old vines, lower alcohol – wine trends to watch in 2025
New grapes, old vines, lower alcohol – wine trends to watch in 2025
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Whether driven by the climate crisis, tariffs or a thirst for the new, there are shifts ahead in the world of wine. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. Although I might like to think of fashion in wine being all about style, quality and discovery, the fact is that trends are often shaped by wider economic and political factors that have little to do with taste.
![[David Williams]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2018/01/19/David_Williams,_L.png?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Take the mini boom enjoyed by Australian wine in the UK earlier in the decade. That was a side-effect of Aussie producers lowering prices to fill a gap caused by swingeing tariffs in their main export market, China. Or the rise, over the past couple of years, in wines with alcohol contents below 11.5% abv – a UK development which was at least as much about beating the threshold for new higher duty rates as it was about satisfying demand for lighter styles.
![[six wines on the up in 2025]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ee5da7e18a57bc6d54d3133555eb920ff5b60071/0_0_2560_1536/master/2560.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
We’ll be seeing even more of those wines this year, and some even lighter, since, starting next month, the new duty with a sliding scale of 11p per 0.5% abv of alcohol comes into full effect – and that’s just one of the changes which will make wine more expensive for you and me in 2025. Another factor shaping vin-flation will be the ongoing impact of the climate crisis, with France a notable victim of increasingly unpredictable weather patterns with a historically low crop in 2024 (down by 23% from 2023) likely to push up prices, while making some favourite styles harder to come by.
