After spending more than 20 years working with wine every day, I’ve come to realize that my perspective on just how important wine is in most people’s lives might be a little… skewed.
As we gear up for another busy holiday season, one of my favorite annual traditions is almost upon us: predicting Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year—and being spectacularly wrong.
Naturally, I assumed the rest of the world was just as invested in the outcome as I am. But after a little research this morning, I discovered that neither Kalshi nor Polymarket offers a prediction market for Wine of the Year. Apparently, you can bet on just about anything these days—except which bottle will take home the wine world's biggest bragging rights.
Clearly, there's a gap in the market.
Now, I’m not about to launch my own wine prediction platform, but I have absolutely no problem putting my reputation (or what's left of it after years of questionable predictions) on the line.
So, once again, I’m throwing my hat into the ring with a handful of wines I think have a legitimate shot at claiming Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year—or at least cracking the coveted Top 10.
Will I finally get one right? Or will this be another year of confidently missing the mark?
Either way, there’s some pretty spectacular wine involved. And that's a bet I'm always willing to make.