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Mouton and Lafite lead Bordeaux recovery as fine wine market stabilizes

• Fine wine market stabilized in Q3 2025 after sustained decline, with individual wines showing divergent recovery patterns.
• Bordeaux dominated recovery among traded wines, with Mouton 2015, 2005, 2010, 2018 and 2008 all posting gains from their 2020 lows.
• Lafite 2015 shows stronger upward momentum than Mouton 2015 despite similar current prices, suggesting continued appreciation potential.
• Champagne's Pol Roger Brut Réserve and Jacques Selosse Initial posted impressive gains, signaling the region as a recovery watch.
• Napa's Opus One 2013 trading volume and prices both rose, reaching 2022 peak levels with sustained longer-term upward trend.

Endeavour Group to divest most Australian wineries, shifting to purchased grapes

• Endeavour Group, Sydney-based owner of 1,700+ liquor stores and pubs, announced plans to sell most Australian wineries including Chapel Hill and Oakridge, retaining only Cape Mentelle and Dorrien Estate.
• CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said the group will reduce own grape growing by 80% and shift to 99% purchased bulk wine and grapes, a major sourcing model change.
• Restructuring charges of AU$311m will cut reported profit from AU$426m in 2025 to AU$52m in 2026, reflecting asset writedowns on wineries, vineyards and technology systems.
• Treasury Wine Estates and Vinarchy are also divesting assets as Australian wine exports fell to a 22-year low and the 2026 harvest shrank 19% from 2025.

London wine merchant Friarwood closes after 59 years in administration

• Friarwood Fine Wines and Spirits, founded in London in 1967 by Peter Bowen, entered administration on 3 July and closed permanently.
• Ben Carfagnini, a Canadian-born former intern, took over the business in February 2015 and modernised it with e-commerce, a second store, and expanded ranges beyond Bordeaux and Burgundy.
• Debts rose from £1.79 million to £2.22 million in the year to March 2025, while assets fell from £675,491 to £319,352.
• The retail operation, which had grown to two London locations by 2017, contributed roughly one-third of revenue, with the balance from wholesale to hotels, restaurants and private clubs.
• The business ceased accepting new orders after closure, though existing orders were fulfilled from its Parsons Green store through 7 August.

British buyer acquires Vignelaure as Provence vineyard market heats up

• Neil Utley, British buyer, acquired Vignelaure, a 276-hectare Provence estate with 56 hectares under vine known for high-altitude reds and rosé.
• Vignelaure, founded in modern form by Georges Brunet in the 1960s, was previously owned by Swedish couple Mette and Bengt Sundstrøm; winemaker Philippe Bru remains.
• Provence vineyard prices centre on the €5m to €10m bracket; Sancerre in Loire Valley reaches €250,000 to €350,000 per hectare, while Loire overall remains cheaper.
• Utley plans to replant existing vineyard and add new vines, plus launch cosmetics business Maison Minu, plant olive trees, install bee hives, and build a spa.
• Loire Valley is emerging as fashionable alternative to Provence; climate change and consumer interest in white wines drive buyer interest northward from traditional red regions.

Rwanda shuts 101 alcohol makers over illicit production and health toll

• Rwanda's Food and Drugs Authority closed 101 alcoholic beverage manufacturers on 3 August and revoked their production licences, citing public health concerns over illicit alcohol.
• The facilities produced vodka, gin, flavoured wines and banana-based drinks; the regulator ordered immediate removal of all advertising and withdrawal from retail.
• Health minister Sabin Nsanzimana reported over 500 people treated this year for illicit alcohol complications, with approximately 50 deaths and over 100 cases of vision loss.
• Rwanda's Ministry of Health launched the 'Tunywe Less' campaign after surveys showed alcohol consumption rose from 41% of the population in 2013 to 48% in 2022.

Yalumba releases six-wine Rare & Fine Collection from four vintages

• Yalumba, Australia's oldest family-owned winery, launches its 2026 Rare & Fine Collection exclusively through The Wine Society from 19 August.
• Six wines span four vintages from 2021 to 2024, sourced from Barossa and Coonawarra, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, and Grenache blends.
• Sam Wigan, head winemaker, said the collection only releases when viticulture and winemaking conditions align, making each vintage non-obligatory.
• The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2023 enters The Wine Society's in-bond First Release programme, a direct-to-consumer distribution model.
• Robert Hill-Smith, fifth-generation owner, framed the release as part of the Hill-Smith family's 175-year legacy of fine wine craftsmanship.

UK fine wine distributors lose £20m annually amid structural consolidation

• The top 15 UK fine wine merchants lost nearly £20 million combined in the past year, with £210 million in annual admin costs against £850 million in sales revenue.
• Jeremy Howard, CEO of Cru World Wine, attributes losses to fragmented distribution chains with duplicated costs, masked during the Covid demand surge but now unsustainable.
• Industry consolidation is inevitable as smaller merchants cannot afford technology infrastructure and administrative overhead; Helen Miller of Goedhuis Waddesdon cited shared infrastructure as essential to survival.
• Brett Fleming of Armit Wines expects consolidation to accelerate and intensify across distribution and hospitality, citing inflation, geopolitical tension, and fiscal policy as persistent headwinds.
• Howard proposes a technology-driven marketplace owned collectively by producers, merchants and collectors to reduce duplicated costs and allow smaller companies to operate with lower overheads.

Bibi Graetz exits La Place de Bordeaux after négociants refuse commitment

• Bibi Graetz, Tuscan winemaker, joined La Place de Bordeaux in 2018 via a négociant partnership and rapidly built two flagship brands, Testamatta and Colore, into major global successes.
• By September 2025, financial pressure forced La Place négociants to shift from buying stock to acting as agents, refusing to commit to non-Bordeaux wines like Graetz's offerings.
• Graetz departed La Place rather than accept uncommitted distribution, triggering his direct partners to step in and take exclusive representation of his portfolio.
• He now pursues exclusive distribution and quality-focused production, sourcing all grapes from vineyards above 400 metres from the 2022 vintage onward to enhance freshness and acidity.
• Graetz's exit reflects wider strain in La Place de Bordeaux as the channel evolves and fine wine demand softens.

Italian food group Compagnia del Gusto acquires UK wine merchant Jascots

• Compagnia del Gusto Holding, an Italian food and beverage investment group founded by the Cosulich family in 2025, has acquired Jascots Wine Merchants from Freixenet Copestick.
• The group operates three divisions including Compagnia delle Vigne, its wine arm, and aims to reach €200 million turnover within five years through strategic acquisitions.
• Jascots will leverage Compagnia del Gusto's Italian wine and food portfolio to expand premium distribution across UK on-trade venues, while retaining relationships with brands including Bolney Wine Estate and Champagne Alfred Gratien.
• Jascots staff dedicated to the business will transition to the new owner; Omar Raafat remains head of Jascots and Freixenet Copestick will continue working closely with both parties.

Ancient vine-training systems face extinction as labor costs and mechanization spread

• Alberata vines, once common around Naples, now survive on only a handful of hectares, displaced by efficient mechanizable systems like Guyot and vertical shoot positioning.
• Lanzarote's hoyo pits, dug after 1730s volcanic eruptions to reach soil beneath ash, shrunk from 2,326 hectares in 2000 to 1,889 by 2026 as labor costs and manual work demands pushed growers toward conventional irrigated vineyards.
• Alberto González Plasencia, owner of Bodegas Timanfaya in Lanzarote, warns that losing hoyos will cut tourism visits and reduce wine value; local subsidies aim to slow the decline.
• Familia Torres maintains pergola training at Pazo Torre Panelas in Rías Baixas by adapting machinery for ground tasks; hand-harvesting remains mandatory across the region regardless of system.
• Bellussera, a 19th-century hybrid pergola in Veneto, fell from dominance to nine percent of Piave DOC as the silk industry collapsed and subsistence farming ended; climate resilience and wine tourism may offer revival.

Centre-Loire appellations gain traction as Sancerre prices soar past $40

• Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc now commands $40 to $50 per bottle, while neighboring Centre-Loire appellations, Pouilly-Fumé, Menetou-Salon, Quincy, Reuilly, Coteaux du Giennois, offer comparable quality at $20 to $30.
• Clément Berthier, Sancerre appellation president, confirmed Sancerre is at capacity with no plans to expand vineyard area or production volume.
• Nearly three-quarters of Sancerre production is exported, half to the U.S., while exports from neighboring appellations remain significantly smaller despite growing availability.
• Centre-Loire producers report earlier harvests driven by climate change, with 2024 projected to begin around August 20, forcing experimentation with abandoned acidic varieties to preserve freshness.
• Pinot Noir from the region is emerging as an alternative to Burgundy at better value, though Sauvignon Blanc dominates all five appellations alongside smaller volumes of Gamay.

EU quality labels guarantee sparkling wine origin and production standards

• EU Quality Labels (PDO, PGI, Organic) certify that sparkling wines meet strict standards for origin, production methods, safety, and sustainability across member states.
• PDO sparkling wines like French Champagne, Italian Prosecco, and Spanish Cava require all production steps within a designated region and use traditional methods with mandatory aging.
• PGI wines allow more flexibility than PDO: grapes sourced from broader regions and diverse winemaking techniques, enabling producers like Tuscan wineries to make premium styles outside strict provincial rules.
• Austrian Kamptal PDO sparkling wines, made by small family-owned biodynamic wineries, showcase regional terroir through traditional method production with extended lees aging and crisp acidity.
• US importers cannot display the EU Organic Label on bottles due to lack of USDA recognition, though organic grapes grown under European standards may still be noted by producers.

Southern Glazer's acquires Eagle Rock's Colorado distribution business

• Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits completed acquisition of substantially all assets of Eagle Rock Distributing's Colorado operations, expanding its beer, spirits and non-alcoholic portfolio.
• Transaction grants Southern Glazer's distribution rights to Anheuser-Busch brands in Colorado including Budweiser, Michelob ULTRA and Bud Light, plus spirits and seltzer lines.
• Jeffrey Gerali, formerly senior commercial director at Anheuser-Busch, appointed senior vice president and general manager of Southern Glazer's Beverage Company of Colorado.
• Acquisition exemplifies ongoing consolidation in US wholesale drinks sector as distributors pursue greater scale and broader product portfolios to compete.

China redefines luxury wine with heritage storytelling, spurning French imports

• Chinese wine imports fell 10.6% in early 2026 as affluent consumers increasingly choose domestic bottles over French, viewing Chinese wine as patriotic and culturally relevant.
• LVMH plants in Yunnan at 2,600 metres and Ningxia estates beat Bordeaux in competitions, signalling China's rise as fine wine producer rather than bulk-wine maker.
• Chinese wineries use packaging, calligraphy, naming and symbolism rooted in local heritage and landscape rather than copying European luxury codes to appeal to young affluent consumers.
• Wine tourism exploded in Ningxia (200+ registered wineries) and Yantai (63 wineries) with immersive vineyard experiences, glamping and paired dining becoming social currency among wealthy Chinese travellers.
• President Xi Jinping pledged in 2020 that Chinese wine would become 'a marvel of the world', politically backing domestic producers' shift from French-influenced to distinctly Chinese luxury positioning.

Sommeliers embrace Jurançon Sec as affordable dry white alternative

• Jurançon Sec, made from Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng grapes in France's Pyrenees, delivers tropical fruit and bright acidity at a fraction of the cost of mainstream dry whites.
• The AOC only recognized dry wines in 1975, spending centuries focused on dessert production, but now produces more sec than sweet.
• Ray Sholes at Michael's Genuine in Miami and Eitan Spivak at Kabawa in New York cite affordability crisis and wine quality as reasons to feature Jurançon on prestigious wine lists.
• Sommeliers including JT Garczyński at Maxwell Park in Washington, D.C. use Jurançon Sec to fill gaps on rotating lists without repeating wines, finding guest acceptance high after initial tasting.
• The region spans fewer than 2,500 acres with little name recognition, making it ideal for sommeliers seeking undervalued bottles that reward curious drinkers without intimidation.

English estates release prestige cuvées priced above £100 per bottle

• Nyetimber released England's first prestige cuvée in 2018, the 1086 range, priced at £150, £175 per bottle, pioneering the Champagne model of limited, aged sparkling wines on the country's estates.
• Chapel Down's Kit's Coty Coeur de Cuvée (2017 release, £126 current vintage) and Gusbourne's Fifty One Degrees North (2022 launch, £195 for 2016 vintage) followed, each spending seven to eight years on lees and sourced from single vineyard parcels.
• Langham released its Perpetual Blanc de Blancs in June 2025, priced at £109.95, using a solera-inspired multi-vintage blend in a single large oak vessel, expressly designed to evolve beyond any single vintage.
• Squerryes launched Patience 2014 in July 2026, a decade-old sparkling wine named after a 17th-century family ancestor, marking the estate's entry into the prestige cuvée category nearly 300 years after the family acquired the Kent property.
• These bottlings are produced in small quantities, typically 250-650 bottles per release, and rest on extended lees ageing, fine-parcel selection, and narrative tied to the estates' histories or terroir.

Bordeaux launches chilled, low-tannin Claret to attract younger drinkers

• Syndicat des AOC Bordeaux et Bordeaux Supérieur created Bordeaux Claret, a regulated style of light, fruit-forward red for the 2025 vintage, targeting younger consumers and reversing falling red wine consumption.
• Wines must meet strict sensory standards: ruby to light-purple colour, short two-to-four day maceration, no oak, 11-13% ABV, served chilled at 5°C, with up to 7g/l residual sugar for the chillable expression.
• About 40 producers including major brands Calvet and Mouton Cadet made roughly two million bottles in the first vintage, exceeding expectations and signalling serious industry backing.
• The union recommends labelling as 'Bordeaux Claret' or 'chillable red', with marketing targeted at on-trade venues in France, Belgium, Germany and the UK to build awareness through by-the-glass service.
• UK merchants resist losing the 'claret' name for traditional Bordeaux, prompting the union to emphasise the broader 'chillable red' descriptor in UK messaging rather than compete for the historic term.

London train station grows first Bacchus vintage, banned from selling it

• Denmark Hill train station in south London is producing its first vintage of Bacchus white wine, with 30 vines expected to yield around 22 bottles in 2026.
• Nick Mair, a French and Spanish teacher, and Tony Coleman, a construction worker, co-founded the vineyard as a Camberwell Society initiative to transform the station from a neglected area into an engaging community space.
• The pair selected Bacchus because it grows successfully in south-east England and is forgiving for beginners, testing soil viability with sunflowers before planting vines in 2024.
• Network Rail granted a Community License to the Camberwell Society on condition that no wine is sold; the project operates as a passion venture with volunteer support from local growers and wine professionals.
• A prolonged British heatwave has stressed the young vines, though Mair reports the plants are flourishing and notes that more rain would help ahead of the 2026 harvest.

WHO warns alcohol is carcinogen; NHS advises moderation instead

• WHO classifies alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen alongside asbestos and tobacco, citing no safe consumption level.
• UK NHS recommends a more moderate threshold: 14 units weekly for both sexes, roughly 10 small glasses of lower-strength wine.
• A 175ml glass of 12% ABV wine contains up to 158 calories; low-alcohol alternatives often compensate with residual sugar.
• Laura Catena, winemaker and physician, argues peer-reviewed studies show moderate drinkers have lower all-cause mortality than abstainers.
• The debate reflects competing framings: wine as toxic substance versus wine as cultural and social cornerstone tied to pleasure and health.

Heatwaves shift European drinkers toward rosé, whites, and away from wine entirely

• During a June heatwave in France, wine sales fell 25% while water jumped 36% and soft drinks rose 18%, suggesting extreme heat drives people away from alcohol altogether.
• UK fine-wine buyers increasingly favour white wines and lighter reds; iDealwine's prior survey found 45% seek more whites in future and 74% prefer older vintages as temperatures rise.
• Chile and Bordeaux have uprooted nearly 30,000 hectares each over three years and now promote chillable styles: Chile positions Pacific-region Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir; Bordeaux revives lightweight 'claret' under brands like Calvet.
• Producers including Trivento and Changyu Moser XV have shifted to making white wines from red grapes, while some replant red vineyards with white varieties to match demand.
• Global red wine share has fallen below 50% for the first time; sparkling, white, rosé and orange wines, all served cold, now outpace reds combined, though one UK supermarket reported a spike in warm red wines after a brief heatwave ended.

Brooklyn public housing complex paves pathways with 450,000 recycled wine corks

• Public Housing Community Fund, Rockwell Group, and cork manufacturer Amorim partnered to install recycled cork pathways and playgrounds at Marlboro Houses, a NYCHA complex in Gravesend, Brooklyn.
• Cork Collective collected over 450,000 wine bottle corks from NYC restaurants and beyond, ground them in Wisconsin, mixed with adhesive, and laid them across the $500,000 project.
• Less than one percent of 13 billion cork stoppers made yearly are recycled globally; 3 billion corks are discarded in the US annually.
• Cork surfaces absorb stormwater to reduce flooding, stay non-toxic unlike plastic or asphalt, and lower ambient temperatures by 20 to 30 percent.
• Marlboro Resident Association, Center for Justice Innovation, and The Urban Conga incorporated children's design mockups into the final playground layout.

Independent wine shop owner wins inaugural sustainable buyer award

• Di Camillo, owner of Wine & Such independent shop in London, won the first Sustainable Wine Buyer award from the Wine Buyers Awards, judged by sustainability consultant Anne Jones and writer Chris Losh.
• Judges found Camillo's sustainability approach was embedded throughout her sourcing, producer relationships and daily operations, not limited to single initiatives like cork recycling.
• Majestic won the separate Sustainable Drinks Buying Team of the Year award, showing major retailers now compete on sustainability credentials.
• Many award entrants skipped the sustainability section entirely, suggesting portions of the trade still view it as peripheral rather than core to their role.
• The Sustainable Wine Buyer category launched in 2025 as part of the Wine Buyers Awards, established in 2020 to recognize buyer influence on trends and quality.

Vineyards deploy shade netting to cool grape clusters and preserve quality

• Shade netting, traditionally used to block hail and birds, is now being tested as climate adaptation to lower cluster temperature and preserve color compounds during heat spikes.
• UC Davis research on Cabernet Sauvignon at Oakville showed shaded clusters had 27 percent more anthocyanins than unshaded controls when temperatures exceeded 35 degrees Celsius, the degradation threshold.
• Catena Zapata in Mendoza practices filtered light through canopy management rather than full cluster exposure, relying on nets that intercept roughly 15 percent of radiation in their high-altitude vineyards.
• Petra estate in Tuscany found Merlot clusters under 90 percent shade nets measured 40-41 degrees Celsius versus 50 degrees in controls; white and green nets outperformed black nets by absorbing less heat.
• Boroli in Barolo discovered nets must be positioned away from fruit to avoid direct contact burn and that open nets reduce peak hours above critical thresholds better than dense shading.

Grape sunburn spreads beyond hot climates as heat waves arrive earlier

• Joanna Gambetta, wine scientist at University of Newcastle Australia, identifies sunburn as a stress response when berry surface temperatures exceed 104-109°F under high light, causing chlorophyll and polyphenols to degrade.
• Sunburned grapes produce sensory defects including flattened fruit, oxidized bitterness, rubber and asphalt notes, detectable in finished wine by winemakers across Spain, California, France and Oregon.
• Traditional leaf removal during midsummer now increases sunburn risk; defoliation at flowering builds photoprotective compounds in berries, while removal at veraison or before heat waves causes damage.
• Producers including Tyrrell's in Hunter Valley and Chêne Bleu in Ventoux have abandoned summer defoliation or shifted to kaolin clay sprays and canopy management to keep fruit shaded.
• Steve Matthiasson and other winemakers emphasize vineyard sorting of damaged fruit is essential, as sunburned grapes degrade wine quality even in small quantities.

Mourvèdre Struggles as Southern France Heat Exceeds Its Tolerance

• Mourvèdre, traditionally bred for heat in Bandol and Jumilla, now faces temperatures and drought severity beyond its adaptation limits, threatening vine survival and wine quality.
• Jean-François Ott at Domaines Ott and producers across Bandol are adopting canopy management techniques, higher pruning, and ground cover crops to shade grapes and retain soil moisture.
• A three-year drought from 2022 to 2024 killed old Mourvèdre vines in Jumilla; Carolina Martínez Origone, general secretary of Jumilla Consejo, says irrigation may now be essential for vine survival.
• Bandol's cooler parcels, traditionally reserved for rosé, are shifting to red wine as producers abandon the most vulnerable sites; Olivier Colombano, director of the Bandol appellation, monitors climate impacts region-wide.
• The 2019 vintage produced structured, age-worthy rosés despite extreme heat; the drier 2021 vintage showed juice concentration and lower phenolic ripeness, signalling style changes ahead.

Global alcohol deaths fall 26 percent since 2010, analysis shows

• Alcohol-attributable deaths fell 26 percent worldwide between 2010 and 2024, according to analysis by the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking using Global Burden of Disease data.
• Disability-adjusted life years linked to alcohol use fell 23 percent over the same period, while measured alcohol exposure declined 10 percent.
• The International Alliance for Responsible Drinking attributes the trend to combined effects of changing drinking patterns, healthcare improvements, public health initiatives, and economic development, not a single intervention.
• The 26 percent reduction exceeds the UN target of 20 percent harm reduction by 2030, though the alliance notes gains vary significantly by country and region.

The Anti-Aesthetics of Tinto de Verano

• Tinto de verano, Spanish wine mixed with gaseosa (carbonated lemon-sugar water), offers an antidote to performative wine drinking driven by social media and status signaling.
• Art director Zoë Yasemin argues that internet-driven taste has become purely performative recognition, where people repeat validated opinions rather than forming authentic preferences.
• The author drank unlabeled vino de mesa mixed with gaseosa during pandemic lockdown in Spain and found authentic pleasure in the drink despite its humble quality.
• Wine expertise carries more power when rooted in personal joy and discovery rather than performance for clout, according to the author's observation of knowledgeable wine drinkers.

Beaumes-de-Venise exploration: a big tasting of the reds and the Muscats

• Domaine Saint Roch Epyminia 2024 (90% Syrah, 10% Viognier) and Domaine des Bernadins 2024 scored 95/100, the highest ratings in this Beaumes-de-Venise red tasting.
• Most 2024 reds ranged 14-15.5% alcohol; Grenache and Syrah dominate blends, often with peppery, cherry-fruit profiles and fresh acidity.
• Organic certification appears across multiple producers including Domaine des Garances, Domaine La Ligière, and Domaine Saint Amant.
• Domaine de la Ferme Saint-Martin Les Terres Jaunes 2023 (13% alcohol, 70% Grenache/20% Syrah) achieved 95/100 despite the lowest alcohol in the lineup.

Sta. Rita Hills Wine & Fire Celebration: Aug 13-16, Lompoc

No one, including me, pays enough attention to Santa Barbara Wine Country. It’s frankly one of the greatest sources of

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 selections; Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux publicly demanded removal after receiving one grape.
• Michelin rates producers based on vineyard management and consistency rather than individual wines, unlike competitor Guide Hachette des Vins which rates specific cuvées one to five.
• Michelin owns 100% of Wine Advocate (purchased 40% in 2017, acquired entirely in 2019), raising questions about Wine Advocate Editor-in-Chief William Kelley's involvement in selections.
• Consumer wine guides emerged in the 1970s with Decanter, Wine Spectator, Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book, and Parker's Wine Advocate; print guides became obsolete as the internet provided real-time information.
• Michelin's Burgundy guide focuses exclusively on France with unclear expansion timeline beyond the country, limiting its utility for consumers accessing diverse global wine selections.

Six Wines That Stopped Me in My Tracks

• Charly, a Burgundy native, moved to Lower Austria a decade ago and produces wines under his own label and Côtes Danubiennes sub-brand.
• Charly owns one hectare and sources grapes from friends farming organically or biodynamically, crafting Austrian varieties with French winemaking sensibility.
• His 2023 Blauer Portugieser from Christoph Hoch grapes shows ripeness, vivid fruit, and creamy texture unusual for the variety.
• Charly's Grüner Veltliner 2022, Blaufränkisch 2023, and Zweigelt 2023 are available from Gute Weine for €27 per bottle.

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, concrete, qvevri, or stainless steel.
• Applegate Valley's high latitude brings long summer days and heat, with overnight temperature drops from Siskiyou Mountain winds.

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

• Coram Collective, founded in 2023 with production from 2024, co-ferments rice wine with grape varieties like Chardonnay and Merlot, and innovates huangjiu (yellow wine).
• Co-founder Alex Yuanzhu Wang's products are already listed in over 100 restaurants and bistros across Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Chengdu.
• Huangjiu typically shows its best between three and eight years of aging; most examples lose freshness after 10 years, contrary to the assumption that older is better.
• Coram's Chardomi blends 80% Chardonnay grapes with 20% glutinous rice; rice undergoes soaking, steaming, and saccharification before co-fermenting with pressed grape juice.
• Common misconceptions about huangjiu include that it is cooking wine, always improves with age, and inherently causes hangovers, modern styles are fresher and cleaner than historical versions.

A wine of straw

• Dessert wine consumption has declined for approximately 75 years, with no expected recovery amid concerns over sugar and alcohol content.
• Raül Bobet, co-owner of Ferrer-Bobet in Priorat, Catalunya, released a dessert wine requiring 20 years of aging, driven by personal passion for the style.