IN BREVE
- Wine is facing a crisis of consumer trust, as people are disoriented by contradictory messages and economic uncertainties.
- The sector must communicate clearly, avoiding ambiguity, to reassure consumers and facilitate their choices.
- A return to red wines is predicted—more elegant and less extractive—along with bolder and more characteristic rosés.
- Clarity is emerging as a fundamental value in both the narrative and the style of the wines.
- Wine must offer a consistent and recognizable experience, conveying trust and confidence to the consumer.
In a global context marked by economic uncertainties, climate change, and often contradictory messages about alcohol consumption, wine finds itself at the center of a complex narrative. According to enologist Graziana Grassini, the problem is not so much a structural change in preferences as it is consumer disorientation, as they are increasingly exposed to negative and unclear signals.
CONSUMER DISORIENTED BY CONTRADICTORY MESSAGES
“Wine is bad for you, climate change is an emergency, wine is too expensive.” This is the context in which today’s consumer operates, bombarded by information that ends up generating uncertainty. A condition that translates into difficulty in choosing and a loss of reference points.
According to Grassini, the central issue is not a real evolution of tastes, but a crisis of trust: “From my point of view, we cannot speak of a change in trends on the part of the consumer. Every time I have changed in my life, it was because I felt the need and was sure of my choices. Today the consumer is not sure, they are disoriented, and they are unable to decide.”
WINE AS AN ELEMENT OF REASSURANCE
In this scenario, wine can return to playing a reassuring role, provided the message is clear and consistent. For Grassini, it is necessary for the sector to make clearer choices. Also on a production level. Avoiding stylistic and communicative ambiguities.
Today’s consumer is looking for moments of pleasure and relaxation. But they want to immediately recognize what is in their glass. Clarity therefore becomes a value. Both in the narrative and in the style of the wines.
THE RETURN OF REDS: LIGHTER AND MORE ELEGANT
Hence the prediction: we will return to drinking red wines. Not, however, in the form of the past, but in a more contemporary key. Less concentrated, less extractive reds. More elegant and vertical. Capable of expressing finesse without excess.
Also the use of wood must follow this direction: present, but not invasive, able to enrich without imposing itself. At the same time, room for rosés too, as long as they have chromatic identity and character. Bolder, less pale colors. Capable of conveying energy and recognizability.
IDENTITY AND CLARITY IN THE GLASS
In a historical moment where pressure and uncertainty prevail, consumers tend to shy away from ambiguity. Even wine, according to enologist Graziana Grassini, must therefore communicate directly, through its own style and identity.
It is in this key that a broader vision fits: wine as an experience capable of offering a fixed point, even if only for a moment. “In the glass, you must see the light of the future,” summarizes the famous winemaker. Indicating a direction that involves consistency, recognizability, and the ability to convey trust.
