The Future of Wine

The global wine map could look very different in 2058, according to Berry Bros & Rudd. The amount of vineyard land in England could potentially rival that of France by 2058. What’s more, if English sparkling wine becomes popular with drinkers and has sufficient demand to bring prices down, it might one day rival Champagne. Pictured to the right is an English Vineyard.  

If other Berry predictions come to pass by 2058, the wine bottle will become virtually obsolete, replaced by plastic or reinforced cardboard containers. And only a very small fraction of wine will continue to be corked, with screw caps becoming the norm. The most obvious visible change could be the manner in which wine is labelled and marketed. Country and grape-specific derivations such as Shiraz or Merlot could disappear in favour of brand-oriented versions as spirits producers and supermarkets become major wine owners.

"In 50 years, consumers will ask for wine by the brand name or flavour and won't know, or care, where it has come from," says Jasper Morris, responsible for buying Berry's Burgundy wines. And regarding India specifically, Berrys believes, if the increasing number of vineyards planted in parts of western and southern India are any indication, India will soon be taken seriously as a fine wine-growing nation.