Predicting 2026 Trends

January 5, 2026

Nikita Malhotra

I love giving my predictions for the year, and some of them might be wishful thinking, whereas other thoughts stem from observations. I think that we will stop saying that Gen Z is a generation that doesn’t drink wine, I think that we will continue to see a decline in “natty” wines, but the importance of sustainable practices will still dictate a good amount of the conversations, and I think we will continue to open amazing wines at our events!

Let’s drink red wine again!

I am always drinking red wine, but I have seen a shift in how people are ordering wine, especially when out for dinner with friends or family. More are opting for white wine or champagne, and if they want red wine they ask for “chill-able reds” - meaning easy to drink ‘glou-glou’ type wine. But as steakhouses are coming back in vogue (did they ever truly go out of fashion?) - we should all revisit the red wines that have been poured for decades and centuries around a dinner table. I have a fierce love of Grenache and recently a 1998 Clos des Papes Chateauneuf du Pape felt like a warm embrace, delicious but thought provoking as well. Maybe we need to drink wines that force us to think a bit more than the easy and ready to drink ‘chill-able’ red?

Death of traditional wine media: rise of podcasts and Substack

Would you rather see a short video of a young winemaker walking in the vineyards and explaining technical aspects of his wine in a well edited and fun medium? OR would you prefer reading through pages of points attributed to wine found in most supermarkets? Maybe I’m pulling a little too hard on the dichotomy here, but the diversity of voices found in social media and with platforms like Substack has been most beneficial. And it has allowed more of the vigneron’s perspective as well. Some saw the influx of wine writers and content on platforms such as tik tok as a threat, but wine books are still being published and I think having more voices and opinions is always a good thing. I don’t know if we need the expert reviewers anymore, with their morning sessions of tasting through hundreds of bottles, a quick sip, gurgle, and spit to evaluate a wine. Wine should be enjoyed, and wine writing and media should reflect that.

Substacks to follow:

Victoria James - Wine director and partner of Gracious Hospitality Management, she started her sommelier career quite young and has published 2 books. She has the weight of an expert with the ease of someone cool and in the know.

Raj Vaidya - Many of you know Raj from his time with our team, and I have really enjoyed keeping up with his thoughts and ideas with his Substack.

Everyday Drinking - I think Jason Wilson is one of my favorite writers out there. As I went to put the link in, I noticed he also has an In and Out list. Totally agree that dive-y wine bars will be in this year, hoping next year as well…

Aaron Ayscough - I read Aaron’s blog Not Drinking Poison in Paris years ago when I was 21, and although I am not entrenched in the natural world, Aaron’s perspective and writing style still has me checking in on this Substack. Plus, he has a very cool wine bar in Burgundy - in Chagny! He also translated essays by Jules Chauvet, and anyone who loves Beaujolais will know just how cool that is!

In terms of print, I have a subscription to Noble Rot and BYOB and I check out the digital copy of SWURL.

Château d'Yquem

Dessert wine is trendy…

I had a glass of Yquem 1990 the other day and I immediately thought, why don’t we drink more of this?! Probably because sweet and high alcohol have not been trendy for some time. But I think we all want to go back to a time where we finish a dinner with a dessert wine; it is a good conclusion to the evening, also such a delight. There are those who are pushing the boundaries with dessert wine. I did an all Tokaj pairing recently at Frevo, a tasting menu hidden behind a tiny gallery in the West Village. It was fun, the pairings worked well, and even after all the sugar I consumed I felt fine, I was concerned I would feel ill consuming 8 courses of Tokaj, but again, I left happy. I always have fortified wine on hand as well, and maybe I can convince the team that we should do a Madeira dinner fashioned after the gentlemen dinners they used to have in cities like Charleston. Maybe we have a Sherry dinner in the works as well, maybe we all remember Peter Liem’s book on Sherry. I’ll stop there before I give too much of the 2026 Pressoir calendar away.