Winefeed

01Wine Industry Advisor, SevenFifty Daily·

Wine directors plan holiday lists around familiar, approachable bottles and selective trade-ups

  • Six wine directors from across the US told SevenFifty Daily how to prepare inventory and guest expectations for the holiday season.
  • Directors report guests trading up one price tier, with Champagne costs rising so accessible houses like Roederer and Billecart-Salmon are favoured.
  • Directors say holiday guests want familiar wines and approachable options, while large-format bottles tend to boost sales for bigger parties.
Reported byWine Industry Advisor: Wine directors plan holiday lists around familiar, approachable bottles and selective trade-upsSevenFifty Daily: Wine directors plan holiday lists around familiar, approachable bottles and selective trade-ups
02Liv-ex·

Bordeaux leads Liv-ex trade as Burgundy share falls to 15.4%

  • Bordeaux led Liv-ex fine wine trading with a 37.4% share of purchases, with Lynch-Bages 2005 the top-traded wine.
  • Burgundy's share fell to 15.4% from 18.4% the previous week, below a September average of 24.6%.
  • US buyers, largely for California wines, rose to 9.6% share and claimed over half of Bordeaux's purchased value.
Reported byLiv-ex: Bordeaux leads Liv-ex trade as Burgundy share falls to 15.4%
03Vineyard Magazine·

Surrey funds 17 rural projects, including a vineyard bird-repelling laser

  • Surrey County Council's Farming Innovation Accelerator is giving 17 rural and farming projects grants of up to £35,000 each.
  • The grants come from a £500,000 pot funded by UK government Shared Prosperity Funding, drawn from over 50 proposals.
  • Albury Vineyard will install an automated bird-repellent laser to protect 18 acres of grapevines, adding over 1,700 bottles a year.
Reported byVineyard Magazine: Surrey funds 17 rural projects, including a vineyard bird-repelling laser
04Vineyard Magazine·

Navarra turns demanding rosé methods into a premium selling point

  • Navarra rosado producers use the Saignée method, needing up to three times more grapes than standard red production.
  • The region's Rosado Tradition designation requires Saignée and exclusively Garnacha, reinforcing premium positioning.
Reported byVineyard Magazine: Navarra turns demanding rosé methods into a premium selling point
01The Guardian·

Volcanic soils give wines a distinctive tension, importers and critics say

  • Volcanic wines span ash, basalt, obsidian, pumice and tuff soils, with little stylistic common ground between regions.
  • Importer Nic Rizzi of Modal Wines says volcanic wines carry an extra tension, which he links to hard-working growers on La Palma.
  • Victoria Torres Pecis's Las Machuqueras 2016/19, from black ash soils and very old vines, retails at £55 via Modal Wines.
Reported byThe Guardian: Volcanic soils give wines a distinctive tension, importers and critics say
02Vineyard Magazine·

Plumpton College offers Level 3 viticulture apprenticeship for UK vineyards

  • Plumpton College is recruiting its next Level 3 Viticulture Apprenticeship cohort, starting 9 November, with late joiners possibly accepted in January.
  • For eligible non-levy-paying SMEs, the Government funds 100% of training costs for apprentices aged 16 to 24, subject to funding rules.
  • The apprenticeship pairs workplace experience with college block weeks, and qualifications are endorsed by WineGB.
Reported byVineyard Magazine: Plumpton College offers Level 3 viticulture apprenticeship for UK vineyards
01Vineyard Magazine·

Oak alternatives chosen by winemaking objective, with colour gains needing oxygen

  • Enartis describes oak alternatives as precision tools, with toast level and surface area driving aroma release speed.
  • Oak chips extract rapidly, while oak tannins dissolve immediately and help bind sulphur compounds linked to off-aromas.
  • Colour stabilisation from oak works best during maturation with micro-oxygenation, since adding chips during fermentation gives little benefit.
Reported byVineyard Magazine: Oak alternatives chosen by winemaking objective, with colour gains needing oxygen
02Vineyard Magazine·

UK vineyards hit by 2026 frosts, then record heat that stalled Bacchus ripening

  • Fifty-four Met Office stations broke all-time daily maximum records this summer, including 38.2°C in Gloucestershire in August.
  • Older vines with deep roots coped better than young vines carrying heavy crops, and early fruit thinning helped.
  • Harvest came 10-14 days early, but Bacchus struggled as sugar development stalled while acidity kept falling.
Reported byVineyard Magazine: UK vineyards hit by 2026 frosts, then record heat that stalled Bacchus ripening
03Vineyard Magazine·

UK vineyards face early, hot 2026 harvest after frost and drought

  • The 2026 season began with severe frost events, then turned warm and dry, with rapid ripening across English and Welsh vineyards.
  • Harvest came several weeks early at some sites, and dry weather kept disease pressure low, so fruit reached wineries in good condition.
  • Growers now say no typical season can be planned for, so resilience must be built through soil health, water management and monitoring.
Reported byVineyard Magazine: UK vineyards face early, hot 2026 harvest after frost and drought
04Sustainable Wine Roundtable·

Domaine Bousquet details organic and water-saving practices at Mendoza winery

  • SWR Membership Manager Ilva Fridenberga visited Domaine Bousquet in Mendoza, at the foot of the Andes, in February.
  • The winery is trialing biodiversity corridors, closed to protect vegetation, and garden corridors growing vegetables between vine rows.
  • It switched to high-pressure hoses to clean harvest boxes and is committed to bottles under 420g via the Bottle Weight Accord.
Reported bySustainable Wine Roundtable: Domaine Bousquet details organic and water-saving practices at Mendoza winery
05IVES Open Science·

MODIS satellite data validated for mapping vineyard water use in Italy

  • Researchers at the University of Padova used MODIS satellite data to estimate evapotranspiration across a 25-hectare Italian vineyard.
  • Estimates were calibrated on two years of eddy-covariance measurements and validated against two independent years of data.
  • Results showed good consistency with in situ observations, suggesting MODIS can monitor vineyard water use at regional scale.
Reported byIVES Open Science: MODIS satellite data validated for mapping vineyard water use in Italy
06IVES Open Science·

Portuguese trial finds ethephon and manual thinning cut Vinhos Verdes yields

  • A 2007 trial in two Vinhos Verdes vineyards tested ways to reduce yield in Loureiro and Borraçal vines.
  • Ethephon and manual bunch thinning significantly reduced crop, with Borraçal yields falling about 41% against control under thinning.
  • Ethephon at berry buckshot size raised sugar and lowered acidity in Loureiro, while Borraçal showed no quality gains.
Reported byIVES Open Science: Portuguese trial finds ethephon and manual thinning cut Vinhos Verdes yields
07IVES Open Science·

Grenache rootstocks and irrigation trials show water-use gains in Spain

  • A three-year-old Grenache vineyard in NE Spain was grafted onto three rootstocks, 110-R, 41-B and 161-49C, and tested irrigated versus non-irrigated.
  • Non-irrigated vines had higher water use efficiency, and 110-R and 41-B outperformed 161-49C on this measure.
  • Stomatal conductance differences from irrigation persisted through the season, with a positive leaf water potential link only in non-irrigated vines.
Reported byIVES Open Science: Grenache rootstocks and irrigation trials show water-use gains in Spain
08IVES Open Science·

Italian researchers outline viticulture strategies for climate change and biodiversity

  • Pisa University researchers argue climate change may extend viticulture to higher latitudes and altitudes, requiring more resilient genotypes.
  • They say local Italian grape varieties are at risk of erosion, and some regions have started projects to recover them.
  • The paper reports viticultural and economic research on Latium's Malvasia, Cesanese d'Affile and Cabernet Sauvignon grown under Cordon Spur of Conegliano training.
Reported byIVES Open Science: Italian researchers outline viticulture strategies for climate change and biodiversity
09IVES Open Science·

Conegliano pruning trials on Lazio grape varieties assess yield, quality and value

  • Researchers at Italy's CRA Viticulture Centre in Conegliano tested pruning systems on Malvasia di Lazio, Cesanese d'Affile and Cabernet Sauvignon.
  • Trials compared Vertical Tridimensional Minimal Pruning of Conegliano with and without DMRC, aiming to raise gross saleable product.
  • The study addresses vine fertility and over-cropping, which can lower wine quality, and water scarcity in Mediterranean vineyards.
Reported byIVES Open Science: Conegliano pruning trials on Lazio grape varieties assess yield, quality and value
01wineanorak·Jamie Goode·

Celebrating 25 years of Filipa Pato’s wines with an amazing lunch and tasting

  • Filipa Pato, daughter of Luis Pato, began making her own wines in 2001 at age 25, now labelled with husband William Wouters.
  • Filipa Pato and William Wouters farm 20 hectares across 37 plots, using pigs to help regenerate soils biodynamically.
  • Filipa Pato uses a DJI drone to spray plant-derived preparations, despite EU rules restricting drone spraying of agrochemicals.
Read the full story: Celebrating 25 years of Filipa Pato’s wines with an amazing lunch and tasting
02Tim Atkin·Tim Atkin MW·

A New White Zin

  • Tim Atkin argues the US wine industry is due a sequel to White Zinfandel, which still sold 49.2 million bottles in the US in 2024.
  • Atkin says Sutter Home's Bob Trinchero created White Zin around 1977 when fermentation stopped early, leaving an off-dry wine that became a hit.
  • Atkin proposes a field-blend style called "Relevé" of mixed red and white grapes, inspired by Will Marengo's Feudal Project wine from Walla Walla.
Read the full story: A New White Zin
04Be Wine Curious·Miquel Hudin·

A deeper look at underwater wine aging

  • Attis, the winery run by Robustiano Fariña's family in O Grove near Pontevedra, Galicia, ages its Albariño underwater in magnums.
  • The Attis Albariño 'Mar' is aged five months in the estuary at 13-16C, versus its 'Standard' bottling of about 120,000 bottles annually.
  • The Attis Albariño 'Mar' is sealed with a glass cap rather than cork, because cork failed under water despite waterproofing.
Read the full story: A deeper look at underwater wine aging
06Maker's Table·Meg Maker·

Owendee

  • Wine-related search queries slump in July but rise sharply through October, peaking on December 31, according to the author's search-trend evidence.
  • The October-to-December wine peak coincides with the Northern Hemisphere harvest, which the author says marks the start of this season.
Read the full story: Owendee
07The Morning Claret·Simon J. Woolf·

Visiting the Vineyard in the Sky

  • Domaine de Beudon, a Valais estate at 890 metres, is run by the Granges-Faiss family, reached only by a hike or a cable car.
  • Jacky Granges-Faiss bought the estate in 1971; after his death in June 2016, Marion Granges-Faiss became the de facto winemaker.
  • Beudon ferments at the estate but ages and bottles at Pierre-Antoine Crettenand's winery in Saillon, and whites carry 70-100 mg/L total sulphites.
Read the full story: Visiting the Vineyard in the Sky
08Cab Franc Chronicles·Cab Franc Chronicles·

Inside Chinon’s Lieux-Dits Project

  • Chinon's lieux-dits project, begun by the Chinon Syndicat in 2014, promotes named vineyard sites without an official hierarchy or technical criteria.
  • Seven lieux-dits have been officially recognized so far, starting with La Croix Boissée in Cravant-les-Côteaux in 2018.
  • Each recognized site requires a monograph, a collaborative study with historians, geologists and pedologists, and is marked with an engraved stone in the vineyard.
Read the full story: Inside Chinon’s Lieux-Dits Project
10shades of grape·Eveline Chartier·

400 Montepulciano Bottles for Thomas Jefferson circa 1805

  • A 1350 trade contract between the Del Pecora family and merchant Jacopo di Vanni is the oldest known document for Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, held in Florence's State Archives.
  • A 2024 Consorzio-unveiled document shows the term Vino Nobile was first used in 1766 by the Jesuit order, not 1787 as previously thought.
  • In April 1806 Thomas Jefferson wrote to Thomas Appleton requesting 400 bottles annually of Montepulciano wine from the ancient Jesuit vineyards.
Read the full story: 400 Montepulciano Bottles for Thomas Jefferson circa 1805