Life News

Cloudy, volcanic and late-night: what's changing in wine, from Britain to Hong Kong

Wine had a busy week in the papers. The Guardian says cloudy wine is 2026's take on an old practice, pointing to Marks & Spencer's organic rosé Trouble, which it calls the first cloudy still wine available in a British supermarket, following the rise of pét nat sparkling wines. A second Guardian column looks at volcanic wines, saying vines on volcanic soil are hard to grow and their grapes hard-won, but that the result is wine with a very particular sense of place.

“Ther is no newe gyse that it nas old.” — Geoffrey Chaucer, quoted by The Guardian on cloudy wine

In Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post reported from the annual Wine and Dine Festival, which returned to the Central Harbourfront with more than 340 booths, up over 10% on last year, and more than 30 countries and regions represented. Opening hours run from 1pm to 1am, but exhibitors told the paper that later hours were unlikely to boost sales by the bottle. New overseas participants said the city works as an indicator for wider trends in Asian markets.

How each outlet framed it

• The Guardian — taste trends: unfiltered, cloudy styles and wines shaped by tough volcanic terrain.
• South China Morning Post — the market: whether festival crowds turn into bottle sales, and Hong Kong as a test for Asia.

For drinkers, the Guardian offers ideas for what to try; the SCMP shows that even a growing festival does not guarantee people buy more to take home.