winefeed

US wine industry lacks sustained collective marketing unlike dairy and almonds

• Gino Colangelo, founder of New York PR agency Colangelo & Partners, says US wine lacks the collective marketing bodies that support dairy, almonds and cranberries sectors.
• Come Over October, a pro-bono campaign co-founded by Colangelo and wine critic Karen McNeil, counters negative health coverage but receives inconsistent company funding and support.
• Sustained regional campaigns from Wines of Georgia, Chianti Classico, Prosecco DOC and Chile build market share; US regional groups that vanish between campaigns lose traction.
• Colangelo argues consistent marketing investment can shorten the current US wine downturn; without it, the sector risks losing share to THC beverages, RTDs and weight-loss drugs.
• Come Over October reached 3 billion media impressions and 5.6 million social media engagements despite lacking formal industry funding structure.

Endeavour Group sells Chapel Hill and four Australian wineries amid sector crisis

• Endeavour Group, owned by Woolworths, is selling physical assets of Chapel Hill Estate in McLaren Vale seven years after acquiring it, retaining only the brand.
• The restructure targets an 80% reduction in Endeavour's own grape growing, shifting to buying 99% of wine and grapes from external suppliers instead.
• CEO Jayne Hrdlicka announced the AU$300 million cost-saving strategy to focus on brands generating strongest returns and exit non-core winery assets.
• Four Australian wineries face sale: Chapel Hill, Oakridge, Josef Chromy, and Riddoch; only Cape Mentelle and Dorrien Estate remain fully owned.
• Australian wine exports hit a 22-year low and the 2026 harvest fell 25% below the decade average, intensifying pressure on all producers.

Australian wine exports hit 22-year low as global demand weakens

• Wine Australia reported exports fell 7% in value to A$2.3bn and 6% in volume to 598 million litres in the year to June 2026, the lowest volume since 2004.
• Global wine consumption has fallen to its lowest level since 1961, driven by changing consumer habits, cost-of-living pressures and competition from alternative alcoholic beverages, according to Wine Australia.
• Exports to Australia's three largest markets declined: mainland China fell 15% to A$756m; UK and US shipments hit 25-year lows, with UK weakness concentrated in lower and mid-priced wines.
• Canada emerged as a bright spot, with exports rising 20% in value to A$188m, partly due to market-share gains when US wines became scarce during trade disputes.
• Several Asian markets outside China posted strong growth, with Thailand achieving record export values and Singapore becoming Australia's largest Asian export market outside mainland China.

Younger Bordeaux vintages surge at iDealwine as buyers shift to drink-now bottles

• iDealwine, the online auction house with offices in Paris, Hong Kong, Singapore and New York, reported record turnover in 2025: €33.9 million in Bordeaux sales, up 19% in value and 9% overall.
• Bordeaux wines under 10 years old jumped to 28% of bottles auctioned in 2025, from 20% the year prior, driven by modern Bordeaux styles that are drinkable younger.
• Château Lafleur volumes more than doubled on the secondary market, though average price fell 25% to €471, possibly prompted by the estate's withdrawal from Pomerol appellation.
• Château Figeac volumes rose 72% with only a 3% price decline, reinforcing its appeal after elevation to premier grand cru classé A status.
• The 2025 en primeur campaign saw subdued futures demand despite attractive pricing, reflecting a consumer shift away from buy-and-hold cellaring toward immediate consumption.

Majestic Wine commits £4m to open four stores in 2026/27

• Majestic Wine, owned by Fortress Investment Group since 2019, will invest £4 million across its UK store network in the current financial year, opening at least four new branches.
• The first new store opened in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, stocking over 1,000 wines plus beers, spirits and other beverages, with WSET-trained staff offering free tastings and services including wedding consultations.
• Since separating from Naked Wines in 2019, Majestic has opened more than 25 stores and refurbished existing branches across England, Scotland, Wales and Jersey.
• The Trowbridge outlet will serve both retail customers and hospitality businesses through Majestic Commercial, the group's wholesale arm supplying more than 4,200 UK pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels.
• The investment reflects management confidence in experiential bricks-and-mortar retail as a growth driver despite continued pressure on the UK high street.

Domaine Lafage acquires majority of Banyuls and Collioure production

• Domaine Lafage, a Roussillon producer, completed acquisition of the Collioure Banyuls Winegrowers' Group after court approval, controlling 60% of output across both appellations.
• The restructured business, renamed Terrasses Vermeilles, unites nearly 500 growers farming 500 hectares and producing roughly one million bottles annually from the 2025 vintage.
• Lafage pledged to preserve historic Les Templiers site, established brands, and appellation identity while combining distribution networks and improving returns for producers.
• The company plans to transfer climate adaptation and regenerative viticulture research from its own vineyards to Banyuls and Collioure's steep Mediterranean slopes for long-term sustainability.
• Lafage retained GICB's workforce through transition, describing employee expertise as essential to the business's future stability and growth.

Champagnes & Châteaux adds Brokenwood Wines as first Australian producer

• Champagnes & Châteaux, UK wine importer founded in 1989, will distribute Brokenwood Wines from 1 August, marking its first Australian producer.
• Brokenwood Wines, a Hunter Valley producer founded in 1970, is known for its Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz and ageworthy Semillons, plus wines from Margaret River, McLaren Vale and Yarra Valley.
• Charles Taverner, managing director of Champagnes & Châteaux, cited the deal as part of the importer's growth strategy to expand beyond its French heartland.
• The UK trade can taste the range at a Champagnes & Châteaux portfolio tasting in London on 9 September, with Brokenwood's Nathan Hughes in attendance.
• Champagnes & Châteaux, owned by French parent Arvitis, is simultaneously pursuing aggressive expansion plans for its own Champagne and Bordeaux brands.

Bordeaux wildfires force tourist evacuation; smoke taint risk for 2025 harvest emerges

• Wildfires in France's Gironde region forced 220,000 evacuations and destroyed 240 homes; the French government advised tourists to avoid Bordeaux.
• Edouard Le Grix de la Salle, winemaker, said wine tourism was Bordeaux's only growing sector until the fires halted it mid-summer.
• Peggy Plouhinec, general director of Château Picque Caillou, closed her estate temporarily due to smoke and warned hospitality will suffer from lower tourist numbers.
• Smoke taint risk looms: compounds from wildfire smoke can give red wines smoky or ashy flavours if grapes absorb smoke during véraison, though proximity and wind direction determine actual exposure.
• Thomas Duroux, director general of Château Palmer, said vines face water stress and climate change now demands urgent focus on water resources and vineyard resilience.

Ancient vine-training systems decline as labor costs and mechanization reshape European vineyards

• Alberata vines once widespread across Italy, especially near Naples, now survive on only a handful of hectares, displaced by efficient mechanizable systems like Guyot and vertical shoot positioning.
• Lanzarote's hoyo system, a volcanic-ash pit method developed after 1730s eruptions, shrunk from 2,326 active hectares in 2000 to 1,889 by 2026 despite drawing thousands of tourists annually to the island.
• Alberto González Plasencia, owner of Bodegas Timanfaya on Lanzarote, warns that loss of the hoyo landscape would reduce tourist visits and devalue local wines.
• Familia Torres maintains pergola training for its Albariño at Pazo Torre Panelas by adopting specialized machinery for ground work, offsetting labor costs in regions where hand-harvesting is already mandatory.
• Bellussera, a 19th-century hybrid pergola system near Venice and Treviso, now covers nine percent of Piave DOC but may revive as climate change increases its resilience and wine tourism offers economic value.

1811 Forster Ungeheuer Riesling from Bassermann-Jordan offered at Catawiki

• Catawiki, an Amsterdam online marketplace, is auctioning a bottle of 1811 Forster Ungeheuer Riesling from Weingut Bassermann-Jordan in the Pfalz region, estimated at €10,000, €13,000.
• The bottle is believed to be the oldest full-size German Riesling from a documented single vineyard ever offered at a European auction, held in the winery's cellar for over 200 years.
• The bottle was recorked in April 2026 exclusively with wine from the same 1811 vintage, with no younger wine added to preserve its original character.
• The 1811 vintage was a celebrated European comet vintage following poor harvests earlier in the 19th century; master sommelier Anne Krebiehl described it as remarkably fresh and balanced in 2018.
• The auction runs from 24 July to 3 August; it is one of eight remaining bottles from this vintage known to exist.

Chapel Down reports 19% sales growth, US expansion accelerates

• Chapel Down, England's largest winemaker, posted net sales revenue of £9.4 million in H1 2026, up 19% year-on-year.
• International sales jumped 66% to £0.8 million, driven by US partnership with Jackson Family Wines now in 31 states and 250 Whole Foods locations.
• Off-trade domestic sales grew 18% to £4.4 million, with the group extending its lead in English sparkling wine category.
• The company extended its credit facility from £20 million to £25 million to support growth, with net debt rising to £14.0 million.
• Chapel Down expects full-year 2026 net sales revenue of £22.1 million and adjusted EBITDA of £3.7 million, in line with board guidance.

Centre-Loire appellations gain traction as Sancerre prices soar past fifty dollars

• Sancerre bottles now command $40 to $50 or more, pushing buyers toward neighboring Centre-Loire appellations: Pouilly-Fumé, Menetou-Salon, Quincy, Reuilly, and Coteaux du Giennois, most priced $20 to $30.
• Sancerre producer Clément Berthier notes the appellation is at capacity with no plans to expand production, constraining supply as demand remains high globally.
• Neighbouring appellations produce similar Sauvignon Blancs and Pinot Noirs with comparable minerality and soil character but lack Sancerre's global brand recognition and export scale.
• Winemakers including Emile Balland and Paul-Henry Pellé at Domaine Pellé report climate change is pushing harvests earlier, forcing experiments with abandoned grape varieties to preserve acidity in their wines.
• Matthieu Delaporte at Domaine Delaporte sees Centre-Loire Pinot Noir as a value alternative to Burgundy, with improving quality at lower prices attracting renewed attention.

Rutini Wines' Decanter awards put Mendoza sub-regions on fine wine map

• Rutini Wines' Gualtallary Malbec won Best in Show at Decanter World Wine Awards in 2025 and 2026, establishing the Uco Valley sub-region as a serious fine wine source.
• Gualtallary, a narrow high-elevation strip with limestone soils, is developing a distinctive style of elegant fruit-forward Malbec that has caught international buyer attention.
• Santiago Ribisich, CEO of Rutini Wines, says Argentina's sub-regions must acquire meaning in international markets the way European regions do, with wine professionals recognizing Gualtallary as a specific profile.
• Uco Valley spans 27,000 hectares and contains five distinct sub-regions; producers are pursuing formal Geographical Indication status to clarify terroir boundaries and build market recognition.
• Rutini Wines' two consecutive awards from different vintages signal terroir consistency rather than exception, validating Mendoza's maturity as a fine wine region to collectors worldwide.

Fortnum & Mason launches curated chilled reds collection as trend surges

• Google searches for 'chilled reds' surged between February and June 2026, with UK consumers asking which reds suit chilling rather than whether it is appropriate.
• Fortnum & Mason, luxury UK department store, launched a curated 'Chilled Reds' collection this week with own-label bottles priced £13.95 to £29.95, spanning Beaujolais, Valpolicella, Garnacha, Monastrell, Dão and Tempranillo.
• Edwina Watson, Fortnum's senior wine buyer, said serving temperature is about style not quality, recommending 10-14°C to enhance freshness and aromatics in lighter-bodied reds with bright acidity and supple tannins.
• Bordeaux launched a new 'Claret' category from the 2025 vintage featuring lightly coloured, low-tannin unoaked reds made with two to four day maceration, designed to be served chilled and aimed at younger consumers.
• Watson attributed the shift to warmer UK summers and central heating, noting that chilled reds are traditional in Mediterranean countries but have been seen as unorthodox in the UK trade until recently.

Independent wine merchant wins inaugural sustainable buyer award

• Di Camillo, owner of Wine & Such independent shop in London, won the first Sustainable Wine Buyer award at the Wine Buyers Awards, judged by sustainability consultant Anne Jones, writer Chris Losh, and Decanter sustainability editor Natalie Earl.
• Judges found Camillo's sourcing model integrated sustainability into every decision: wine selection, producer relationships, and daily shop operations, rather than treating it as a single marketing initiative.
• Majestic won the Sustainable Drinks Buying Team of the Year award in the same inaugural category launched in 2025.
• A significant portion of entrants to the competition omitted the sustainability section entirely, suggesting many buyers still view it as peripheral rather than central to their role.
• The Wine Buyers Awards, established in 2020, recognise how buyers shape trends and values across wine ranges; the new category signals industry momentum toward embedding sustainability as core business practice.

Groove Armada and Signature Brew launch lager using regenerative barley

• Signature Brew, a London brewery and music venue, has released Do It Right, a Czech-style lager brewed with malted barley from Wildfarmed, a regenerative farming network co-founded by Groove Armada musician Andy Cato in 2018.
• The 5% ABV lager retails at £3 per 440ml can at Waitrose nationwide, with additional availability in pubs, bars and venues from this week onward.
• Wildfarmed growers use practices that improve soil health, increase biodiversity, reduce water pollution and lower carbon emissions, allowing brewing and nature recovery to coexist.
• Tom Bott, Signature Brew co-founder, framed the collaboration as uniting music, beer and regenerative farming to remind drinkers that doing the right thing need not sacrifice enjoyment.
• Andy Cato said the partnership bridges worlds he once kept separate: DJing and experimental grain farming both aim to unite people around a shared mission.

South Korean men drink less; women over 30 drink more

• The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's 2025 Community Health Survey of 230,000 adults found high-risk drinking fell across all male age groups between 2016 and 2025, but rose in every female age group except those in their 20s.
• High-risk drinking is defined as seven-plus shots of soju or five-plus beers for men, five-plus shots or three-plus beers for women; men still drink at higher rates on all measures.
• Middle-aged men remain the heaviest drinkers, with half of those in their 30s, 40s, and 50s binge drinking and over one in five in their 40s and 50s engaging in high-risk drinking.
• Analysts attribute the rise in older women's drinking to expanded social activities, more drinking alone at home, and shifting social attitudes toward women's alcohol use.
• Broader market data shows soju shipments fell 13.4% between 2019 and 2025, household alcohol spending hit a seven-year low, and non-alcoholic beer sales rose 30% in three years.

Vineyards deploy shade netting to protect fruit from heat damage during ripening

• Shade netting, traditionally used to block hail and birds, is now being tested as a climate tool to lower fruit-zone temperatures and preserve color and acidity during heat events.
• UC Davis research on Cabernet Sauvignon found shaded clusters retained 27 percent more anthocyanins than unshaded fruit when temperatures exceeded 35 degrees Celsius, the threshold for color degradation.
• At Catena Zapata in Mendoza, filtered light through canopy leaves is preferred over full sun exposure; trials compare nets providing 17 percent, 50 percent, and no shade to measure effects on vine physiology and wine quality.
• At Petra in Tuscany, Merlot clusters under 90 percent shade nets measured 40-41 degrees Celsius versus 50 degrees in unshaded controls, reducing sunburn from 41 percent to three percent in one trial.
• Net color, placement distance from fruit, and row orientation all affect cooling efficacy; darker nets absorb more heat than white or green ones, and nets touching heated fruit can cause burn instead of preventing it.

Grape sunburn shifts winemaking as heat waves reach new regions

• Chris Tanghe, MS and director of education for GuildSomm, identified sunburned grapes by their sensory signature: flattened fruit, oxidized bitterness, and notes of asphalt, rubber, and creosote.
• Sunburn degrades chlorophyll, polyphenols, carotenoids, and terpenes that produce floral and citrus notes, while reducing tartaric acid and anthocyanins in red varieties, according to UC Davis research.
• Producers including Tyrrell's in Hunter Valley and Chêne Bleu in Ventoux are abandoning mid-summer leaf removal and now use kaolin clay film or limit defoliation to early flowering, when berries can build photoprotective compounds.
• Steve Matthiasson, winemaker at Matthiasson Wines in Napa Valley, emphasizes vineyard design, canopy architecture, and sorting sunburned grapes as critical defenses as heat waves arrive earlier and further north.

Mourvèdre struggles to stay balanced as southern France grows hotter and drier

• Mourvèdre, a late-ripening Spanish-origin variety long suited to Bandol's coastal heat, now faces extreme temperatures and drought that threaten even its heat tolerance in southern France.
• Producers including Jean-François Ott at Domaines Ott and Pauline and Clément Gueissard are using shade-promoting canopy techniques and ground cover to help grapes ripen without sunburn and retain soil moisture.
• A three-year drought from 2022 to 2024 in Jumilla killed old bush vines despite their deep roots, forcing growers to irrigate and abandon hotter southern parcels in favor of higher-altitude sites.
• Bandol's cooler sites, traditionally reserved for rosé production, are now being considered for red wine as growers shift to parcels with better water retention and temperature stability.
• The 2021 vintage showed lower juice-to-skin ratios and earlier harvests than normal, signaling how drought stress is altering ripening patterns and wine composition in the region.

Is Old Aussie Shiraz Cool Again? Ehhhh Maybe, Maybe Not.

• Australian shiraz peaked in 1996 and dominated the 1990s wine market, scoring higher than comparable Napa Valley wines at similar price points.
• Yellowtail and bulk producers collapsed Australian wine's reputation by the 2000s, shifting collector demand to Burgundy, Bordeaux, Barolo, and Brunello.
• Aged Australian shiraz from the 1990s-2000s now sells for $30 per bottle on average, cheaper than its original release price, contradicting Robert Parker's short recommended drinking windows.
• Clarendon Hills pioneered single-vineyard, single-varietal wines in McLaren Vale; its 1998 Piggott Range and 1994 bottlings display savory profiles with herbs and tomato notes.
• Kay Brothers and Wild Duck Creek Estate shiraz from 2002 show balanced complexity at 15-15.5% abv, with fresh fruit, earth, and leather notes after two decades of aging.

Sablière: a new 0% alcohol sparkling ‘wine’ designed from first principles

• Sablière, a 0% alcohol sparkling drink made in Edinburgh, uses tea, apples, honey, and verjus as key ingredients, carbonated to 6 bars pressure like Champagne.
• Co-owners Lucy Isles and Kim Wilson developed Sablière with winemaker Bruce Jack, a Lallemand microbiologist, and an Edinburgh University physicist studying bubbles.
• Two expressions launched: a Blanc de Blancs style using white teas from Nepal and China, and a rosé with four teas including mountain oolong and da hong pao.
• Sablière chose 0.0% alcohol instead of 0.5% to access the Middle East market; verjus from Sussex provides viscosity and acidity without added sulfites.
• Blanc costs £32 and rosé £35; the brand quietly launched in January, launched its website in April, and already has 20 restaurant and retail clients.

Michelin And The Death Of The Wine Guide

• Michelin's Wine Selection Burgundy 2026 awarded nine producers three grapes, 20 vignerons two grapes, 33 one grape, and 32 'selected' status.
• Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux publicly demanded removal from Michelin's guide after receiving only one grape, claiming they weren't visited and stopped submitting wines years ago.
• Michelin rates producers based on vineyard management and consistency rather than individual wines, differing from competitors like Guide Hachette des Vins which rates specific cuvées.
• Consumer wine guides emerged in the 1970s, 80s with publications like Decanter, Wine Spectator, and Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book, but internet availability and vast wine variety have diminished their relevance.
• Michelin owns 100% of Wine Advocate, acquired entirely in 2019 after purchasing a 40% share in 2017, raising questions about potential influence on its Burgundy selections.

Wine News: What I’m Reading the Week of 7/26/26

Hello and welcome to my weekly roundup of the wine stories that I find of interest on the web. I

Six Wines That Stopped Me in My Tracks

• Charly, from Burgundy, moved to Lower Austria a decade ago and produces wines under his own label with a French sensibility.
• Charly's Blauer Portugieser sources grapes from Christoph Hoch and displays ripeness, vivid fruit, and creamy texture atypical for the variety.
• Charly owns one hectare of vines and sources additional grapes from friends farming organically or biodynamically.
• Charly's Grüner Veltliner 2022, Blaufränkisch 2023, and Zweigelt 2023 are available from Gute Weine for €27 per bottle with EU delivery.

Notable Releases from Troon Vineyard

• Troon Vineyard released 2025 Vermentino and 2023 Syrah from Oregon's Applegate Valley.
• Troon Vineyard, located in Grant's Pass, farms using certified biodynamic and regenerative organic principles.
• Troon ferments with ambient cultures, uses minimal sulfite at bottling, and ages in neutral oak or alternative vessels.
• Applegate Valley's alluvial soils, Mediterranean climate, and overnight temperature drops from Siskiyou Mountains support sun-loving grapes.

Q&8 | Wang Yuanzhu Talks Grapes, Grain & Ancient Wine

• Coram Collective, founded in 2023 with 2024 production, co-ferments rice wine with grape varieties like Chardonnay and Merlot, and innovates huangjiu (yellow wine).
• Co-founder Alex Yuanzhu Wang was inspired by a Burgundy winemaker's optimism about Chinese wine and huangjiu, leading her to build a ricery in Shaoxing.
• Coram's products are stocked in over 100 bars and restaurants across Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Chengdu within one year of launch.
• Huangjiu is commonly misunderstood as cooking wine; quality huangjiu is a complex fermented beverage best consumed between three and eight years of aging.
• Chardomi blends 80% Chardonnay grapes with 20% glutinous rice through a specialized process: rice undergoes saccharification before co-fermenting with freshly pressed grape juice.

A wine of straw

• Dessert wine consumption has declined for approximately 75 years, with no expected recovery amid concerns about sugar and alcohol content.
• Raül Bobet, co-owner of Ferrer-Bobet in Priorat, Catalunya, released a dessert wine requiring 20 years of aging despite the style's diminished market demand.