Fifty years ago, although wine certainly was being made elsewhere, fine wine–that is, wine valued for more than just calories or escape–was almost exclusively produced in select places in Europe, primarily in France. Then came what many commentators have dubbed “the wine revolution.” In less than two generations’ time, everything changed.
First, in the 1970s and 1980s, Australia and California burst onto the scene. The former made the biggest impact with exports, the latter in 
the American market. Both, however, introduced a fruit-forward, varietally-focused style that in short measure became emulated the world over.
In the 1990s, it was Chile’s and New Zealand’s turn. Then in the 2000’s, Argentina and South Africa took the stage. Meanwhile, other parts of the United States began to challenge California’s dominance, just as other European countries were challenging France’s. While the challenge sometimes took the form of imitation, consumers ended up being flattered more than anyone else. A wave of exciting wines, some made in a similar style but others more individualistic, flooded store shelves and restaurant lists, giving wine lovers ever more delectable choices.
So what’s next? As in so many areas of contemporary life, the pace of change has been dizzying. While it may slow down, it may also continue or even accelerate. So where are new fine wines apt to come from a generation from now?
While it’s always dangerous to try to predict the future, a few things do seem fairly clear. One is that few non-European countries not already part of the wine revolution have much of a wine culture. Thus if new parts of sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, or South America are to embrace the grape, attitudes about why wine matters will have to change there. That’s precisely what happened in New Zealand twenty years ago, so it could happen in, say, Brazil or Zimbabwe, but it does remain a proverbial tall order.
There’s a lot of talk these days about China, and to a lesser extent India, becoming significant wine-producing countries. It’s worth remembering, though, that both have massive domestic markets that likely will drink up anything and everything made there. If either country ever produces its own version of Château Lafite, odds seem good that you would have to go there to taste it.
The only places in the world not now fully part of the wine revolution that do have histories of serious wine production are Eastern Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. My guess, and it’s only a guess, is that they’ll come next.
Wine already is a regular part of life from Hungary south into the Balkans and east into Ukraine. Though some exceptions exist, most of the wine exported today from countries like Bulgaria, Moldova, and Romania is of fairly ordinary quality. The ongoing global economic crisis hasn’t helped matters improve, but I suspect we’ll see real changes there in the years to come. There already are some very classy wines coming our way from Croatia, Hungary, and Slovenia. Look for more.
For both political and ideological reasons, it’s difficult to be as sanguine about North Africa and the Near East, where in many places all alcohol remains contraband. Yet some of the world’s oldest wine cultures came in Egypt, Iran, Turkey, and the Transcaucasian countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. And sixty years ago, Algeria was one of leading wine exporters in the world. Who knows what will happen sixty, thirty, or even ten years from now? Cultural conditions will have to change, but then no other parts of the world seem to be changing faster these days.
To echo an old cliché, the only thing we can be sure of is that things will in fact change. And with wine, if the recent past can serve as prelude, that change should be full of delicious promise, especially in places that few consumers now know much about….
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