The Future of Wine

Will China, India and large parts of Eastern Europe become internationally recognized and powerful wine producers by the middle of the 21st century? Britain's oldest wine and spirit merchants, Berry Brothers & Rudd, certainly think so. Although they are still selling from the same London shop they launched more than 300 years ago, the company is also known for being groundbreaking. They launched the first wine Web site, have received more Master of Wine awards than any other wine company and now they are looking ahead in their Future of Wine Report, which examines different areas of the wine industry and how they may change by 2058.

In their analysis of the future of viticulture, the company points out that global warming will cause significant changes in the wine industry. One example of this affect, it speculates, would be the reduction of available water to nourish Australia's bulk wine production. And while Canada is currently too cold for much wine production, southern Ontario and southern British Columbia, which already have several large vineyards, could increase their output if global warming continues to raise temperatures.

Other top picks for emerging wine producers are India, whose market for wine has been growing at more than 25 percent per year, and large parts of Eastern Europe, which sits on the same latitude as some of France's top wine-producing regions, allowing countries like Ukraine, Moldova, Croatia, Slovenia and Poland to feature more prominently in the future. China is already positioned well, as it is currently the world's sixth-largest producer of wine, and with the necessary technical expertise, the country's current 400 vineyards could multiply tenfold.

Filling Your Cellar
Ask your local wine merchant about wines coming out of these regions or shop online for wines from Eastern Europe (unfortunately Indian and Chinese wines don't have much of a presence yet). If you're looking to explore what's being offered, you can find a number of varietals from Eastern Europe on Web sites like winespecialist.com.

Here's what to look for:
Croatia: Try a Bibich Mantra Grenache
Eastern Georgia: Look into Teliani Valley Mukuzani Kakheti
Hungary: Check out a traditional Tokajo or a Craftsman Kiralyleanyka.
Romania: Sample a Sauvingnon Blanc or Chardonnay.
Transylvania: Enjoy a Sauvingnon Blanc.

Other websites to explore:
bbr.com
wine.com
winespectator.com
winezap.com

--Denise Shoukas

Denise Shoukas is a regular foodspring.com contributor and is the author of foodspring’s food forager blog.