The hottest wine trends for 2024

From chilled reds to varietals you’ve never heard of or tasted, here are the wines that are tipped to be big this year. SEE THE FULL LIST

Move over pet nats and pinot gris, there’s a new breed of wines you’ve probably never heard of or tasted sure to be the talk of the table in 2024.

As wine lovers broaden their tastebuds and great importers continue to try to distinguish themselves by finding unique, small-batch wines, a fresh pouring of varietals and styles are set to make their way onto bottle shop shelves and restaurant drinks lists this year.

And is great news for the cost-conscious there are plenty of affordable options among the mix.

Here is our experts’ guide to what you will be drinking in the next 12 months.

TIMORASSO

From the Piedmont region in the northwest of Italy, comes this food-friendly white wine with plenty of character.

“It’s got charisma, minerality and drive,” says Cameron Votan, co-owner of one of Brisbane’s best wine bars, Snack Man, known for its diverse list of unusual styles and varietals.

“They’ve taken it on as that age-able white grape and it alludes to some of the top chenins (chenin blanc) or chards (chardonnay) with a bit of age on it.”

Jordan and Cameron Votan at inside their restaurant and bar Snack Man. Picture: Peter Wallis

Mr Votan says the grape’s high acidity means it can hold up to richer dishes when paired with food, such as flavourful dumplings, chow mein, soy and ginger prawns or duck agnolotti.

PELAVERGA

While pelaverga won’t become ubiquitous because its grapes are quite rare, we can expect to see this light red from Italy’s Piedmont region at top wine bars.

“It produces this light, crisp, savoury wine with just an allusion to strawberry but a

little bit more complex,” Mr Votan says.

He serves it chilled at Snack Man, at about 14C or 15C, and says it pairs beautifully with their duck pancakes and chicken bao, as well as charcuterie, but nothing too heavy.

“It’s like a light pinot [noir] just with a little bit more fruit interest and the rustic tannins the northern Italians are known for,” he says.

GROWER CHAMPAGNES

Unlike champagne from the big houses, these bubbles from the Champagne region in France are grown and made on the same farm using only the grapes from the property.

“These guys are making tiny quantities, super cool, super small production stuff,” Mr Votan says.

“You can be drinking something that’s so of the moment because after you finish that bottle, there’s no more left – that’s it.”

Mr Votan says many of these growers produce between only 150 and 1000 bottles per vintage, with each vintage completely unique.

While he says they will be some of the most exciting sippers you might try this year, their rarity means they will not be cheap.

CHILLED REDS

Ghost Rock Supernatural Summer Skins.

When it’s 34C outside, nobody wants to be drinking a warm red wine.

That’s why the owner of boutique Brisbane bottle shops Half Moon Wine Stores, Jordan Shertock, believes chilled reds will be a huge trend his year.

“It makes total sense in the climate we’re in and I think a lot of the younger drinkers are leaning towards freshness and an easy drinking style,” he says.

He recommends trying the likes of Ghost Rock Supernatural Summer Skins and Bandicoot Run Floraison, with the latter a great pairing with charcuterie thanks to its high acidity.

“It’s a snacking wine, not a heavy meal wine – it’s good to pick and sip,” he says.

SYRAH

While Syrah is certainly not new, Mr Shertock believes we’ll see plenty of new interpretations of the red wine, usually known as shiraz, this year from young, boundary-pushing winemakers.

“I think we’ll see Syrah that’s lower in alcohol and moving away from the jammy, high octane profiles and making more savoury, balanced, lower alcohol and more elegant wines,” he says.

MUSCADET

This bone-dry, light-bodied white wine from the Loire region in France produced from the Melon de Bourgogne grape, will find a following in 2024, predicts Mr Shertock.

“They’re easy drinking and very food friendly,” he says.

“Their classic match is oysters, because it’s a big oyster producing region in France and, as they say, what grows together, goes together.”

Muscadet is known to have strong citrus notes and high acidity and is also a good pairing for chicken and fish dishes.

FRENCH SPARKLING

We’re not talking about champagne here, this is sparkling produced in France outside the region of Champagne.

Following the same process of champagne making, but not able to call itself such because of geographical reasons, these top-notch bubbles can offer all the spark and exciting fizz of champers but at a much cheaper price point, says Mr Shertock.

“They have a bit more restraint [than Australian sparlings] and they’re a bit more subtle and a bit different,” he says.

Caitlin Dempsey and Georgia Kelly drinking a selection of wines at Snack Man in Brisbane. Picture: Steve Pohlner

He says they can be paired with everything from oysters and seafood to count cheese, and will set you back around $50 less than champagne from the big houses, selling for around $50-$70 a bottle.

GREEK WINES

With popular Greek restaurants like Hellenika and Greca in Brisbane introducing many Queenslanders to Greek wine, it is tipped to become more popular this year.

However, it won’t just be easy drinking whites like assyrtiko, but great reds, too, such as agiorgitiko and xinomavro.

“There is that perception that the reds are a little bit rough around the edges but there are a lot [of winemakers] working over there using more modern techniques and styles with

traditional grapes that is making for some really great wines,” Mr Shertock says.

LEBANESE WINES

From roses and pet nats to carignan and merwah, expect to be drinking much more wine from Lebanon in 2024.

Mr Shertock says there are plenty of different styles to try from the wild and freaky to the unique and interesting, with many of them great on their own, as well as a pairing to Lebanese style meats, salads and dips.