Take a look at what lies ahead for next year…

What You’ll See In 2016

Strange sounding grape varieties

As weather, pricing and availability put the squeeze on traditional varieties and regions there will be much more air time given to traditional varieties from areas you may not be familiar with. Think Assyrtiko, Gruner Veltliner and Furmint.

Sweeter wines

Sure we all like to say we drink dry wines. But one of the biggest sellers in recent year has been the Apothic Red which, if you haven’t yet tried it, sits somewhere between sickly sweet and sweet. And yes it’s a red. So hopefully we won’t end up back in the dark days of Hock, there will certainly be more sweet styles more readily available. If that means the rightful return of Riesling then it’ll all be worth it. Promise.

Restaurant special labels

There’s a trend for restaurants to have their own label wine that’s grown massively in the past year. Of course big hotels have always had their own “cru” but it’s spreading to restaurants that wouldn’t be associated with wine initially. Try the wines at the hugely popular Hoppers. It’s all their own label and works wonderfully with the spit chicken.

Celebrity wines

First Brangelina, then John Legend and Graham Norton. Who’s next? God only knows. But if there’s one thing that is guaranteed to create a bit of excitement it’s a celebrity “making” their own wine.

English wines

The unstoppable rise of English wines look set to continue. Taittinger are even getting in on the action. But with all their wines grown on Chalk slopes, 2016 will be the year for Wiston.

What you won’t see in 2016

Ice wine

This year, winemakers in Niagara and New York just about managed to harvest ice wine. Grapes need to be frozen onto the vines for it to be made. In 2015 the unseasonal warmth meant the harvest only happened by a whisker. As the world gets warmer, this style will become rarer and rarer.

Super cheap Prosecco

Who doesn’t love a bottle of Prosecco once in a while? Us Brits. This year we drank nearly 30 million bottles which was 78% more than the year before that. Like any fixed area, there’s a limit to what can be produced. Prices are already on the rise so £10 Prosecco could become the norm.

Bottles in strange shapes and sizes

When you look at the bottles that spirits come in, you wonder who’s going to break the mould with wine. Unfortunately the most imaginative will probably be another reissue of the straw Chianti bottle. I don’t know about you but I’d love to see a wine that wouldn’t fit in my rack.

An accepted system to score wines

Which do you prefer? A wine scored out of 100? 20? 5? None? Each system has its supporters but none is used consistently. Not to mention the first 60% of any measurement as that’s to denote a faulty wine. There is a way to tell people about the quality of a wine, but it won’t be agreed upon for a good few years.

Did we miss any? What do you think 2016 will hold?