winefeed

Anheuser-Busch becomes top wine marketer via BeatBox acquisition

• Anheuser-Busch InBev acquired 85 percent of BeatBox wine-based drinks for $490 million in February 2026, nine months after talks began in November 2025.
• BeatBox's growth catapulted ABI into sixth place among all US wine marketers, with seven million cases sold in 2025, accounting for roughly 40 percent of wine-based cocktails.
• In the 52 weeks through mid-April 2026, BeatBox grew around 30 percent in dollars and volume year-on-year; its Cherry Limeade flavor outsold Bud Light Lime-a-Rita.
• ABI's prior wine ventures, including Dewey Stevens (1986) and Babe Wine (acquired 2018, discontinued 2023), both failed to gain traction before discontinuation.
• BeatBox's success positions ABI to compete with Sazerac-owned BuzzBallz in a segment that reached 18 million cases in 2025, even as traditional wine sales declined.

Bordeaux wildfires halt wine tourism despite vineyard safety

• Massive wildfires in Gironde region burned 42,000 hectares in July 2024, forcing 224,000 evacuations including tourists, but vineyards remained far enough away to avoid damage.
• Wine tourism businesses reported severe income losses: Château de Bel, Château La Rame, and Château Picque Caillou all saw sharp drops in visitor numbers and restaurant sales.
• Cité du Vin museum in Bordeaux city saw visitor numbers fall 60% through late July, with 80% of revenue from guest spending, causing immediate economic impact.
• Winemakers and regional authorities confirmed no smoke taint risk to 2026 vintage; grapes at veraison stage have natural skin protection against volatile phenolic compounds.
• Tourism is now rebounding with visitor numbers recovering daily, though the crisis exposed vulnerability of Bordeaux's hospitality sector during peak season.

Wine industry ignores Africa's 500 million emerging consumers as beer and spirits invest

• African Development Bank projects Africa's middle class will exceed 500 million by 2030, with urban population doubling to 1.4 billion by 2050, generating forecast wine market of 1.8 billion litres and $8 billion by 2035.
• Diageo and Heineken have embedded manufacturing, distribution, and brand presence across African markets over decades; Heineken integrated South African operations into single multi-category platform in 2023 with phased synergies through 2025.
• Wine industry has largely remained on sidelines while spirits and beer built entrenched infrastructure; only producers such as Gérard Bertrand, Rutini and Concha y Toro have made material African commitments.
• African consumers view wine as status signal and aspiration marker for professional arrival, particularly Champagne and sparkling wines among emerging middle class, mirroring wine's historical role in developed markets.
• Wine faces infrastructure disadvantages versus beer and spirits: fragility in transit, temperature sensitivity, cold chain dependence, and higher entry-level pricing compete against established competitor loyalty in nascent markets.

Quilceda Creek takes full ownership of Washington's Champoux Vineyard

• Quilceda Creek, a Washington winery, acquired the remaining 21% stake in Champoux Vineyard in Horse Heaven Hills, raising its ownership from 79% to 100%.
• Champoux, planted in the early 1970s, was the first vineyard established in Horse Heaven Hills and supplies grapes for Quilceda Creek's signature Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon since 1986.
• The 153-acre site is known for high-quality Cabernet fruit with distinctive tannin structure; Paul Golitzin, Quilceda Creek's director of winemaking, calls the terroir unreplicable.
• Quilceda Creek, owned by the Golitzen family, also acquired a Bordeaux-planted vineyard on Red Mountain last September, renamed Ad Astra, expanding its estate holdings.
• Columbia Valley ranked ninth most-purchased region on CellarTracker in 2025 with 436,000 purchases, ahead of the Rhône Valley and close behind Champagne.

Yunnan Red shifts strategy as China's wine tastes mature beyond entry-level

• Yunnan Red, a state-owned winery in Mile founded by Hong Kong investor Wu Kegang in 1997, produces four million bottles annually from Isabella, Baco Noir and Le Pourpre grapes suited to the region's altitude and clay terroir.
• The winery introduced premium canned lower-alcohol wines and its flagship Dance in the Clouds at HK$900 per bottle, departing from its traditional entry-level positioning that introduced many Chinese consumers to wine.
• Online sales now account for approximately half of all revenue through platforms including Tmall, Red Book and WeChat, with marketing driven by KOL partnerships and ethnically-inspired label art celebrating Yunnan's 30 minority groups.
• Yunnan Red expanded on-trade presence to Hong Kong hotels and resorts in the late 2010s and is exploring Southeast Asian distribution as domestic demand absorbs all current production.
• Head winemaker Cai Jianlin, a local farmer, hand-harvests grapes in July with 200 workers and pairs wines with regional cuisines, positioning Niagara whites with spicy Asian dishes and Isabella reds with Cantonese roast meats.

Mouton and Lafite lead fine wine recovery as markets find support

• Fine wine indices stabilised in Q3 2025, with individual wines showing wide variation in recovery pace and floor-finding.
• Bordeaux dominates recovery: five Mouton vintages and Lafite 2015 show consistent quarterly price gains since mid-2025.
• Mouton 2015 reached its 2020 low and has stalled; Lafite 2015 at same level but with tighter spreads suggest sustained upward momentum ahead.
• Champagne non-vintage bottles, including Pol Roger Brut Réserve and Jacques Selosse Initial, posted strong upward trends despite lower overall region liquidity.
• Opus One 2013 now trades above market price at 2022 peak levels, with increasing trade frequency accompanying price rises.

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

• Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc prices have climbed to $40, $50 per bottle, with production capped and nearly three-quarters exported, half to the US.
• Five neighboring Centre-Loire appellations, Pouilly-Fumé, Menetou-Salon, Quincy, Reuilly, and Coteaux du Giennois, produce comparable Sauvignon Blancs at $20, $30, attracting cost-conscious buyers.
• Clément Berthier, Sancerre appellation president, notes the region is at capacity with no plans to expand vineyard acreage or output.
• Winemakers across Centre-Loire report harvest dates shifting earlier due to climate change, forcing experimentation with abandoned varieties to preserve acidity in finished wines.
• Matthieu Delaporte, winemaker at Domaine Delaporte in Sancerre, says regional Pinot Noir offers strong quality-to-price value compared to Burgundy alternatives.

Celebrity wine brands surge from 2005 to 2025, peaking during pandemic

• Kyle MacLachlan launched Pursued by Bear in Walla Walla, Washington in 2005, marking an early entry by an actor into wine production.
• A wave of celebrity wine launches accelerated sharply in 2020, with Kylie Minogue, Post Malone, Cameron Diaz, Snoop Dogg, and Mary J. Blige all debuting brands that year.
• Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's Château Miraval rosé, purchased in 2012 and launched in 2013, became a bestseller despite an eight-year ownership dispute settled in 2024.
• Celebrity wine brands now represent a considerable sector of the industry, with launches spanning actor Kyle MacLachlan and director Francis Ford Coppola to musicians John Legend and Jon Bon Jovi.
• Most celebrity wines focus on accessible styles: rosé dominates the launches, followed by Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Prosecco.

Rwanda shuts 101 alcohol makers over illicit drink health crisis

• Rwanda's Food and Drugs Authority closed 101 alcoholic beverage manufacturers on 3 August, revoking their production licences and ordering immediate market withdrawal.
• Eight named producers including Ingufu Gin and Sky Drop Industries were shut first, followed by the broader crackdown affecting vodka, gin, wine and banana-based spirits.
• Rwanda's health ministry reported over 500 illicit alcohol-related treatments in 2024, with 50 deaths and 100 cases of vision loss.
• National surveys show alcohol consumption rose from 41% of the population in 2013 to 48% in 2022, prompting the health ministry's "Tunywe Less" campaign.
• Daily drinkers account for 15% of men and 7% of women, while half of men aged 15-49 reported drinking in the prior month.

RNDC files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after shedding markets

• Republic National Distributing Company, formerly the second-largest US wine and spirits distributor, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Texas to facilitate sale of remaining operations and orderly wind-down.
• RNDC lists liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion against assets of $500 million to $1 billion, with over 100,000 creditors and $300 million in top unsecured claims.
• Largest creditor is Proximo Spirits at $93.92 million owed for trade debt and litigation; smaller suppliers with no market leverage face risk of uncollected debts totaling $400 million.
• Company shed most US markets since June 2024, selling operations to Reyes Beverage Group, Columbia Distributing, Martignetti Companies, and BreakThru Beverage Group while claiming to preserve 5,000 jobs.
• Approximately 1,450 workers remain employed; RNDC won court approval to continue payroll and benefits to retain staff with supplier and customer relationships critical to operations.

67 Pall Mall opens Shanghai wine club, pledges to elevate Chinese wine globally

• 67 Pall Mall, a London-based wine club, opens in Shanghai in December with memberships priced at RMB38,000-50,000 annually, the group's most expensive location worldwide.
• The Shanghai club will stock 5,000-plus wines globally and a dedicated 1,000-bottle cellar of Chinese wines from Ningxia, Xinjiang, Yunnan and other regions.
• Founder Grant Ashton says the club aims to present Chinese wine with the seriousness afforded to Bordeaux and Burgundy, not as a niche category.
• The venue opens in a century-old French Renaissance building with 1,500 capped memberships, more private dining rooms than other 67 Pall Mall locations, and a baijiu bar.
• Rival Hong Kong wine club Club Bâtard launches its Shanghai outpost one month earlier, charging RMB100,000 joining fee plus RMB1,250 monthly subscriptions.

Eight EU wine regions showcase emerging styles under quality schemes

• Neil McAndrew, wine trade veteran advising the EU's More Than Only Food & Drink campaign, led a Cardiff masterclass demonstrating how PDO and PGI certification schemes shape EU wine diversity.
• Sixty-five percent of EU wine carries Protected Designation of Origin status, requiring production within specific regions under strict guidelines that preserve local traditions and authenticity.
• Emerging consumer trends McAndrew identified include island wines with unique terroirs, Central European indigenous grapes, and climate-resistant hybrid varieties, creating commercial opportunities for UK retailers.
• Organic wine category is forecast to grow 10% annually through 2030, with Greece, Bulgaria and Romania now ranked among the world's top 20 organic regions alongside France, Spain and Italy.
• Eight featured wines demonstrated how EU regulation translates to distinctive products: Saar Riesling Sekt from 100-year-old vines, Cypriot Xynisteri, Hungarian Furmint, Greek Lagorthi, Romanian Fetească Neagră, and Slovak Frankovka.

Matthew Jukes, influential British wine writer, dies aged 58

• Matthew Jukes, a British wine writer, broadcaster and entrepreneur, died on 6 August while on holiday in Portugal, aged 58.
• Jukes spent nearly four decades introducing consumers to wine through restaurants, newspapers, books and broadcasting, beginning in 1987 at Barnes Wine Shop in London.
• He was wine buyer at Bibendum restaurant in London for 26 years, building one of Britain's most celebrated restaurant wine lists.
• Jukes wrote 14 books, presented BBC radio programmes, hosted Channel 4's Wine Hunt, and wrote weekly wine columns for the Daily Mail for 22 years and MoneyWeek for over 20 years.
• He founded JUKES Cordialities, a premium non-alcoholic botanical drinks range, which had just secured investment from Sacha Lichine, creator of Whispering Angel rosé.

Bacardí opens Puerto Rico warehouses; Clarkson pie hits 498 pubs

• Casa Bacardí in Puerto Rico opened its ageing warehouses to public visitors for the first time, offering 90-minute Maestro's Walk tours of barrel tasting and blending.
• Jeremy Clarkson's Hawkstone IPA brewery partnered with Marston's to sell a limited-edition beer and beef pie across 498 UK pubs this month.
• La Gioiosa Prosecco became Official Partner of London's inaugural Padel Week (3-9 August), hosting tastings and cocktails at five London clubs.
• Brothers Augusto and Alberto Gherardi, wine and hospitality entrepreneurs, launched AnimaTours, bespoke Italian wine and food journeys led by certified WSET educators.

Penn Station bottle shop stocks niche wines for commuter crowds

• Penn Cellars, a wine retailer opened in Penn Station in late December 2024, stocks producers from mass-market Josh Cellars to natural winemaker Frank Cornelissen in North America's busiest transit hub.
• Buyer David Bruno targets commuters seeking both quick screwcap bottles and allocated cult wines, arguing Penn Station travelers are open to recommendations beyond familiar mass-produced brands.
• The shop has become a nexus for small-yield wines into the Tri-State Area, with customers requesting access upstate, Long Island, and New Jersey, creating demand beyond the station.
• Ready-to-drink canned and boxed wines drive sales to on-the-go commuters catching evening trains; Bruno stocks cups, ice, and straws for DIY cocktails to drink immediately after purchase.
• A bar called Tracks, reopening in Penn Station after shuttering in 2019, will partner with Penn Cellars to expand into on-premise service and deepen customer engagement.

Australian Vintage launches Poco Vino single-serve wines for convenience-seeking drinkers

• Australian Vintage, part of Endeavour Group, launched Poco Vino last year targeting Zillennials seeking convenience, moderation and quality in smaller formats.
• Consumer research across 3,000 people in seven markets found 75cl bottles discourage exploration, lock drinkers to one style, and complicate portion control.
• Poco Vino addresses these barriers with stackable single-serve bottles in seven classic varieties with colour-coded labels designed for quick retail decisions.
• The brand sold roughly 12,000 bottles daily around the world after launch, with repeat purchase driven by wine quality beneath the marketing appeal.
• Small-format wine existed before, but Poco Vino's approach packages it for modern lifestyles through bold branding and social-media-ready design.

Korean sommelier produces wine for Hong Kong, not home market

• Ted Ko, Korea-born sommelier and wine merchant, moved to Hong Kong in 2019 and found local restaurants paired Korean food poorly, mostly with riesling or light pinot noir instead of umami-forward wines.
• Ko launched Koyberpunk in 2019, producing cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay-semillon and muscat bailey-A from a 1.5-acre vineyard near Seoul, aged in American and Korean oak.
• His wines are sold exclusively on-trade in Hong Kong at restaurants including O'RM and Brut, where both bottles sell for HK$980; he withdrew muscat bailey-A after sommeliers rejected the hybrid grape's brand positioning.
• Ko does not sell in Korea, saying most Korean consumers believe good wine comes from Napa, Bordeaux or Burgundy, and local winemakers lack techniques to compete globally.
• Korean wine production remains experimental with unknown microclimates and no local oenologists, unlike Japan's geographically-indicated wines, Ko says.

English estates launch prestige cuvées to rival premium Champagne

• Nyetimber pioneered England's prestige cuvée category in 2018 with two bottlings priced at £150 and £175, named 1086 after a Domesday Book reference and aged seven years on lees.
• Chapel Down's Kit's Coty Coeur de Cuvée (2017 launch, currently £126) uses heart-of-press Chardonnay from a 40-hectare chalk vineyard in Kent, aged in French oak and on lees for seven years.
• Gusbourne's Fifty One Degrees North (launched 2022, £195 for 2016 vintage) blends Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with 80 months of lees ageing, sourced from chalk and clay soils across Kent and Sussex.
• Langham's Perpetual Blanc de Blancs (£109.95, released June 2025) uses a solera-style blend aged in Slavonian oak, combining fruit from 2017 to 2020 vintages to express multi-vintage character.
• Squerryes launched Patience 2014 in July 2026, a near-equal blend of three Champagne varieties from 21 hectares of chalk vineyards on the North Downs near Westerham, Kent.

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

• Alberata vines in Italy, hoyos in Lanzarote, bellussera in Veneto, and other historical training methods face extinction due to high manual labor costs and pressure to mechanize.
• Lanzarote's hoyo vineyards lost 437 hectares between 2000 and 2026 as growers abandoned labor-intensive pits, despite their role in the island's tourism economy.
• Tourism and wine quality support some systems: Lanzarote introduced subsidies recognizing hoyos' economic value; Familia Torres uses adapted machinery to maintain Rías Baixas pergolas; climate adaptation may revive bellussera.
• Loss of these systems erodes rural heritage, local know-how, and viticultural diversity, traits now vital to climate resilience, while reshaping landscapes that once drew visitors and defined regions.
• Survival depends on region-specific adaptation: flat terrain and vanished industries doomed bellussera in Veneto, while tourism demand and DO harvest rules protect pergolas in Galicia.

NYC public housing complex installs pathways from 450,000 recycled wine corks

• Cork Collective, launched by Rockwell Group and cork maker Amorim in 2024, ground 450,000 wine bottle corks and mixed them with adhesive to pave walkways and playgrounds at Marlboro Houses, a NYCHA complex in Brooklyn.
• The $500,000 project, part of a $3.2 million renovation by the Public Housing Community Fund, sourced corks from NYC restaurants and recycled them at a Wisconsin facility.
• Children at Marlboro Houses designed the playspaces; Center for Justice Innovation, The Urban Conga design studio, and the resident association incorporated their mockups into the final layout.
• Cork surfaces absorb stormwater, reduce ambient temperature by 20 to 30 percent, and are non-toxic, an alternative to plastic, rubber, or asphalt that typically cover public housing playgrounds.
• Less than one percent of the roughly 13 billion corks manufactured annually are recycled; three billion are discarded yearly in the US.

EU quality labels guarantee origin and method for European sparkling wines

• EU Quality Labels, PDO, PGI, and Organic certifications guarantee sparkling wines' origin, production method, and environmental standards to consumers.
• PDO sparkling wines like Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, and Austrian Kamptal require all production steps within a designated region using traditional methods.
• PGI wines allow more flexible production rules; grapes come from broader areas and winemakers may use varied techniques, enabling diverse regional styles.
• Austrian Kamptal PDO sparkling wines use traditional method aging on steep slopes with cool nights, producing crisp apple and pear notes with vibrant acidity.
• EU Organic certification cannot appear on U.S. wine labels due to lack of mutual recognition with USDA, though European organic farming practices still apply.

Independent wine shop wins inaugural sustainable buyer award

• Di Camillo, owner of Wine & Such, a one-person independent shop, won the inaugural Sustainable Wine Buyer award from Decanter's Wine Buyers Awards in 2025.
• Judges found her entry compelling because sustainability shaped her entire sourcing model, producer relationships, and daily operations, not just isolated initiatives.
• Majestic won the parallel Sustainable Drinks Buying Team of the Year award, showing major retailers also embedding sustainability into core strategy.
• A significant proportion of entrants to the competition omitted the sustainability section entirely, suggesting many buyers still do not prioritize it.
• The Sustainable Wine Buyer category was introduced in 2025 to recognise buyers embedding sustainability at the heart of their business and influence on consumer trends.

Chile's 2026 harvest shows distinct regional profiles across leading valleys

• Viña Concha y Toro's 2026 harvest report documents how winter rainfall and spring conditions created divergent ripening cycles across Chile's major regions.
• Limarí's coastal fog and persistent morning cloud cover slowed ripening evenly, yielding wines with aromatic precision, tension and mineral definition.
• Maipo's warmer spring and stable summer temperatures promoted steady ripening, concentrating fruit and developing refined tannins consistent with the valley's Cabernet Sauvignon identity.
• Peumo benefitted from March rainfall that moderated late-ripening variety development, achieving balance between technological and phenolic maturity in its Carmenere.
• Marcelo Papa, technical director at Viña Concha y Toro, stated the vintage proved that quality depends on understanding each origin's distinct expression rather than single climatic factors.

Sicily's 2026 harvest begins under improved weather after devastating drought

• Sicily's 2026 harvest started this week in the west and will run roughly 100 days across the island, longer than any other European wine region.
• The island endured its worst drought in nearly two decades in 2024, prompting a state of emergency; climate change was identified as a key driver by researchers.
• A rainy winter and spring restored soil moisture, allowing vines to withstand July heat peaks and produce high-quality fruit with good aromatic balance, says Assovini Sicilia.
• Most Sicilian viticulture is dry-farmed, a centuries-old practice now attracting international interest from regions like Bordeaux and Napa facing water stress.
• UNESCO-inscribed techniques like Pantelleria's vite ad alberello bush vines use 20cm ground hollows to shelter plants and retain moisture without irrigation or energy inputs.

Vineyards deploy shading nets to cool fruit zones as heat intensifies

• Growers in California, Argentina, Italy, and Italy are testing vineyard netting to lower cluster temperatures and preserve color and acidity during heat events, moving beyond traditional bird and hail protection.
• A 2022 UC Davis study on Cabernet Sauvignon found shaded clusters retained 27 percent more anthocyanins than unshaded fruit when temperatures exceeded 35°C, the threshold for color degradation.
• At Petra estate in Tuscany, Merlot clusters shaded with nets measured 40-41°C versus 50°C unshaded; sunburn fell from 41 percent to three percent under 90 percent shade in one trial.
• Net performance depends on color and placement: white and green nets outperform black ones, and contact with heated fabric can burn grapes; in Barolo, one estate reduced peak fruit-zone temperature from 49.2°C to 43°C with an open net on south-facing rows only.
• The strategy requires balance: filtered light preserves phenolic development and site character, but excessive shade can trap heat, limit airflow, alter spray penetration, and increase disease pressure.

Grape sunburn damage spreads as heat waves reach cooler regions

• Sunburn in grapes is a stress response to excess light and heat that degrades chlorophyll, polyphenols, and aromatic compounds, producing flavors of cooked fruit, asphalt, and creosote.
• Berry surface temperatures can spike 22 to 27 degrees Fahrenheit above air temperature in direct sun; Chardonnay shows damage within five minutes above 104 to 109°F under high light.
• Two forms exist: sunburn browning causes discoloration; sunburn necrosis kills cells, cracks skins, and shrivels berries, driven primarily by extreme heat rather than light alone.
• Defoliation timing now matters critically; removing leaves at veraison increases sunburn risk, while earlier removal at flowering allows berries to build photoprotective compounds.
• Producers in Provence and Australia are abandoning mid-summer leaf removal, applying kaolin clay films to cool canopies by up to nine degrees Celsius, and redesigning trellising to shade fruit.

Global alcohol deaths fall 26% since 2010, analysis finds

• Alcohol-attributable deaths worldwide dropped 26% 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 fell 23% over the same period, while measured high alcohol use exposure declined 10%.
• The International Alliance for Responsible Drinking attributes the improvement to combined effects of changing drinking patterns, healthcare improvements, public health initiatives, and broader social development, not single interventions.
• The 26% reduction exceeds the UN's 2010 target of 20% harm reduction by 2030, though gains vary significantly by country and region.
• Global averages mask regional differences; continued progress is not guaranteed without sustained effort, says Julian Braithwaite, president and CEO of the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking.

Vinography Unboxed: Week of 8/2/26

Hello and welcome to my weekly dig through the pile of wine samples that show up on my doorstep asking

Priorat, In Progress

• Álvaro Palacios L'Ermita 2021, Clos i Terrasses Clos Erasmus 2020, and Familia Nin-Ortiz Mas d'en Cacador 2020 are Priorat's highest-scoring wines, retailing $1,250, $300, and $180 respectively.
• Traditional Priorat powerhouses like Mas Doix and Celler Vall Llach produce concentrated reds aged 14-18 months in oak with alcohol levels between 14.5-15.5 percent abv.
• Terroir al Límit's Les Manyes (2021, $235) uses garnacha peluda from 60-year-old vines at 2,600+ feet, aged eight months in cement, at 13.5 percent abv, representing a lighter, fresher style emerging in Priorat.
• Newer Priorat producers including Sara Pérez, Ferrer Bobet, Josep Grau, Marco Abella, Hodgkinson, Clos Pachem, and Mas d'en Perí are shifting the region toward lower-alcohol, less oak-heavy wines.

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 with a French sensibility using Austrian varieties.
• Charly's Blauer Portugieser 2023, sourced from Christoph Hoch, displays 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, with delivery to selected EU countries.

Notable Releases from Troon Vineyard

• Troon Vineyard released 2025 Vermentino and 2023 Syrah from Oregon's Applegate Valley.
• Troon Vineyard farms biodynamically and regenerative organic, using ambient cultures for fermentation and minimal sulfite.
• Troon ages wines in neutral barrels, concrete, qvevri, and stainless steel, never new oak.
• Applegate Valley's high latitude and Siskiyou Mountain downslope winds create warm days and cool nights for Mediterranean grapes.

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 while innovating huangjiu, China's ancient yellow wine.
• Co-founder Alex Yuanzhu Wang's products are already stocked in over 100 restaurants and bistros across Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Chengdu within one year of launch.
• Huangjiu peaks between three and eight years of aging; most examples lose freshness after 10 years, contrary to the assumption that older always means better.
• Coram's Chardomi blends 80% Chardonnay grapes with 20% glutinous rice; the rice undergoes soaking, steaming, and saccharification before co-fermenting with pressed grape juice.
• Wang sources aged Chinese tangerine peel for her huangjiu co-fermentation, inspired by a chance experience with citrus-forward beer after a long brewing day in December 2024.

A wine of straw

• Dessert wine consumption has declined for approximately 75 years, with no signs of recovery.
• Raül Bobet, co-owner of Ferrer-Bobet in Priorat, Catalunya, released a dessert wine requiring 20 years of aging.
• Goût Russe Champagne of the 19th century contained 300g/l of sugar for the Russian market.