Not So Good Wine Trends

Yeah, there have always been trends in wine. And a lot of really dumb trends in craft beer. Hard seltzer? LOL Here's a look at what seems to be the worst in wine trends.

  Healthy Wines Usually Aren't

The jury is still out
on orange wines

This includes diet wine, clean wine, low-carb wine, low sugar wine. It's all pretty much fake. The only wine that might be considered healthier would be non-alcoholic. I have a hard time considering those to actually be wine, but if you like them, then good for you.

  Natural Wine Gets a Lot of Hate

Yes, there's no legal definition to tell you what is a natural wine. That doesn't make it fake or bad. Yes, there are the unscrupulous that use this term like others have used reserve on their bottles. But lots of people hate it just because it's not legally defined.

  Red Blends are Confusing

By U.S. law this can be pretty much anything. Sometimes it's cheap, leftover wine that that is blended together and sold for five bucks. Sometimes it's cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, and maybe some others and it's a $100 red blend. Or sangiovese and cabernet and it's a $50 blend.  As red blends are getting more popular (yay) more people are getting confused. I love red blends if I know what they are and who made them.  BTW, there are white blends, too. Often blends make more interesting wines than straight single varietals.

  Ingredient Labeling isn't Here Yet

Yeah, it would be difficult to get all ingredients on a label when things might be added near the end of processing to fix a problem. But it absolutely should be on the bottle. Did someone add water, acid, Mega Purple? I wanna know. Especially that Mega Purple shit. I'm spending my money and I'm consuming the product, so I have a right to know. Oh yeah, residual sugar, too.

  Too High Alcohol and Residual Sugar

This is still around because it sells. Whether it's $200 Napa cabernet or Gallo's Apothic. Shopping by the alcohol level printed on the label has become a thing for me (for wine and beer).

  Too Many Wines Tasting the Same

It can be because of Mega Purple (see above) or because of the continued reliance on high alcohol levels to sell wine (those fruit bombs taste great on the first sip) and by the end of the first glass they're all tasting the same to me. Boring.