Where to start? COVID-19 upended all our oenophile habits, shifting how we buy wine (online more than ever), how we taste and learn about it (virtually), and where we end up drinking it. (Not at parties, bars, and restaurants.)
Thankfully, many cities considered wine shops to be essential businesses. Vino has been a great connector, as we’ve shared glasses with friends virtually and traveled by proxy to regions we can’t visit.
Surprisingly, the pandemic didn’t shift what we put in our glasses all that much. Rose is still hot. So is hard seltzer, which, along with canned cocktails (both, ugh!), grew 43 percent during 2020. Bubbly is still going strong, with more countries than ever producing great examples (read: Brazil).
The earliest harvest ever in Burgundy and devastating fires in California wine country for the fourth year in a row reminded people that climate change is a truly serious issue, and inspired new wine initiatives to save the planet.