LCBO Food & Drink Autumn 2023

WINE

TREND: DRINKS THAT TELL A STORY “The pandemic pushed us toward travelling through drinks…. I think that kind of in‑glass escapism will continue, and drinkers will seek out wines with strong stories and a sense of place”

TREND: A NEW DEFINITION OF WINE “With the upcoming impact of the climate crisis, wine will price itself out of being an everyday drink. So-called ‘fine wine’ won’t disappear, but it will be more difficult to come by. So, the notion of wine will expand. We will be happily drinking co-ferments of grapes and any other thing one can throw into the fermenter with them like apples, pears, dandelions…. We’ll be seeing more wines out of China, Japan and the Middle East” —Alice Feiring, New York-based expert on natural wine, author of The Feiring Line newsletter and several wine books, including To Fall in Love, Drink This

—Kate Dingwall, award-winning Toronto‑based

wine and spirits writer, editor and sommelier

TREND: SINGLE NO MORE “Single-vineyard wines will be beyond scarce in 30 years. Of late, we’ve seen a hyper-focus on them; I love how they allow me to dig deep into the typicity of a parcel of land in a laser-focused way. I fear, however, that climate change will impact this type of centred production. In 30 years, the skills base will be altered, and having intimate knowledge of one singular parcel of land to make an expressive wine will change to having knowledge of multiple sites, with more than just the general blenders’ notion”

—Beverly Crandon, sommelier and founder of Toronto’s Spice Food & Wine Group

150 FOOD & DRINK AUTUMN 2023