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Texas High Plains grape growers face market pressure despite quality gains

• Texas wineries gorged on High Plains fruit during pandemic sales surge from 2020 to early 2023, then pulled back sharply as inventories backed up and consumer demand softened.
• Growers now tier farming investment by contract status: fully contracted blocks receive premium care; uncontracted fruit gets minimal attention to maintain vine health only.
• Multi-year contracts have eroded in favor of spot-market purchases at harvest, forcing growers to farm without certainty and wineries to gamble on lower prices.
• A March 2025 freeze reduced yields across both regions, which some growers view as a painful reset that could rebalance supply and demand.

English estates launch prestige cuvées, challenging Champagne's premium tier

• Nyetimber released England's first prestige cuvée in 2018, the 1086 range, priced at £150, £175 per bottle, matching premium Champagne after proprietor Eric Heerema acquired the estate in 2006.
• Chapel Down's Kit's Coty Coeur de Cuvée (2017 launch, £126 current release) and Gusbourne's Fifty One Degrees North (2022 launch, £195) joined Nyetimber as pioneering super-premium English sparkling wines aged seven to eight years on lees.
• Langham's Perpetual Blanc de Blancs (June 2025, £109.95) uses solera-style multi-vintage blending inspired by grower Champagne, with 650 bottles released, and Squerryes launched Patience 2014 (July 2026) from a 300-year-old family estate.
• All prestige cuvées command prices mostly above £100, produced in small quantities from the finest vineyard parcels across Kent, Sussex and Dorset, with extended ageing and careful parcel selection as defining markers.
• These releases reflect a strategic shift by leading English estates to compete directly in the prestige sparkling wine segment rather than remain in the premium-but-accessible tier below Champagne.

Centre-Loire appellations gain traction as Sancerre prices climb above $40

• Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc prices have reached $40 to $50, while neighboring Centre-Loire appellations, Pouilly-Fumé, Menetou-Salon, Quincy, Reuilly, and Coteaux du Giennois, offer comparable quality at $20 to $30.
• Sancerre producer Clément Berthier, appellation president, confirms the region is at production capacity with no plans to expand vineyard acreage or output.
• Chad Stephens, Hawaii sales director for Chambers & Chambers importer, reports he cannot source enough Sancerre to meet customer demand.
• Neighboring appellations benefit from residual demand lift, though their export volumes remain far smaller than Sancerre's, which ships three-quarters of production with half to the US.
• Centre-Loire winemakers including Emile Balland and Paul-Henry Pellé report earlier harvests due to climate change, prompting experiments with abandoned grape varieties to preserve acidity in finished wines.

Celebrity wine launches surge from 2005 to 2025, peaking during 2020 quarantine

• Kyle MacLachlan launched Pursued by Bear in Walla Walla, Washington in 2005, marking an early entry by actors into wine ownership alongside established winemakers.
• Celebrity wine brand launches accelerated sharply in 2020, with at least six major debuts that year as quarantine drove consumption and celebrities pursued new ventures.
• Post Malone, Cameron Diaz, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, and Kylie Minogue all entered the market between June and July 2020, establishing rosé and organic wines as dominant categories.
• Kylie Minogue Wines became one of the UK's best-selling rosé brands within years, proving celebrity ownership could convert fan bases into sustained retail sales.
• The wave of launches has since moderated from its 2020 peak, but established celebrity wine brands remain consumer staples across North America and Europe.

Soju surges past shōchū in US market as Korean spirits gain mainstream traction

• Soju volume grew 133 percent between 2019 and 2025 in the US, while shōchū grew only 11 percent over the same period, according to Koryn Ternes, IWSR consulting director for the Americas.
• Green bottle soju, a mass-produced style with lower alcohol and fruity flavors, dominates US imports due to Jinro's 25-year reign as world's best-selling spirit and post-2020 category acceleration.
• Spec's in Texas, a major retailer, increased Asian spirits purchases from under $1 million in 2018 to multi-millions today, driven by younger consumers, Korean cultural interest, and soju's accessibility.
• Craft soju brands like Tokki Soju, launched in Brooklyn in 2016, are slowly gaining ground as consumers mature beyond green bottle soju, mirroring Korea's own craft soju resurgence.
• Shōchū brands like iichiko and Mizu Shōchū are targeting bartenders and on-premise venues with higher-proof expressions designed for cocktail applications, with 80-85 percent of Mizu's sales from bars and restaurants.

US spirits exports face tariff barriers in key growth markets

• DISCUS, the US distilled spirits trade body, is pursuing export growth in Brazil, India, and Vietnam with $900,000 in USDA funding, but tariff wars complicate access to all three markets.
• India cut its tariff on US spirits from 150 percent to 100 percent last year, yet now faces competition from EU and UK imports at 40 percent and 75 percent respectively, putting American whiskey at a disadvantage.
• Vietnam's cocktail bars and whiskey collectors are driving strong spirits demand, but the market remains dominated by Scotch rather than American brands despite growing connoisseur interest.
• Argentina signed a free trade agreement with the Trump administration in 2025, yet local importers have long marketed American whiskey as a cocktail ingredient rather than a premium spirit, limiting category growth.
• US producers lost 81 percent of Canadian sales after Canada removed American alcoholic beverages from most provincial shelves in response to US tariffs, shrinking a traditionally major export market.

RNDC files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after shedding US markets

• Republic National Distributing Company, the second-largest US wine and spirits distributor, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Texas yesterday to wind down remaining operations and seek buyers for residual markets.
• 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 led by Proximo Spirits' $93.92 million trade debt.
• The distributor sold off most of its nationwide markets in recent months to Reyes Beverage Group, Columbia Distributing, Martignetti Companies, and BreakThru Beverage Group after withdrawing from California last June.
• Roughly 1,450 workers remain at RNDC; the company seeks court permission to continue payroll and benefits to prevent further staff departures during the reorganization process.
• Small suppliers holding unsecured claims face major risk of nonpayment, lacking the leverage larger vendors have to demand cash upfront; recovery hinges on RNDC crossing half a billion dollars in asset value.

Decanter World Wine Awards 2026 sees record medal count across regions

• Decanter World Wine Awards 2026 judged 16,631 entries with 245 judges including 106 women, a record, and 36 new panellists.
• Platinum medals rose to 196 (1.2% of entries), Gold to 924 (5.6%), and Silver to 6,193 (37.2%), all significantly higher than 2025.
• Cool-climate regions gained ground: UK's Oxfordshire, Shropshire and Rutland won medals for the first time; New Zealand took two Best in Show and eight Platinums.
• Spain's top-medal tally jumped 52.4% year-on-year, with new winners in Jumilla, Castilla-La Mancha and Priorat alongside debuts from Croatian Hvar and French Maury Sec.
• Germany's top award went to Weisser Burgunder from Pfalz instead of Riesling, signalling shifts in what judges reward as climate warms.

Beaujolais Chardonnay emerges as affordable alternative to white Burgundy

• Beaujolais, famous for red Gamay wines, produces small amounts of white Chardonnay gaining recognition as an underrated option.
• Only 3 percent of Beaujolais vineyards grow Chardonnay due to clay-limestone soils being rare; granite soils favour Gamay.
• Beaujolais Blancs typically cost $20 to $30, versus $30 to $50 for comparable white Burgundies from Mâcon.
• Most white Beaujolais are produced in the south, labeled Beaujolais or Beaujolais-Villages; Pierres Dorées bottlings from yellow-limestone areas rank among the best.
• The wines are fresh and fruity with moderate oak use, suited to informal summer drinking and often made by organic or biodynamic producers.

Ancient vine-training systems fade as labor costs and mechanization reshape European wine regions

• Italy's alberata system, once widespread around Naples and requiring custom ladders to harvest, survives on only a handful of hectares today, replaced by mechanizable methods like Guyot and vertical shoot positioning.
• Lanzarote's hoyo pits, engineered after 1730-1736 volcanic eruptions to shield vines and trap moisture, attract thousands of tourists annually; vineyard area shrank 19 percent between 2000 and 2026 as labor demands mounted, spurring local subsidies.
• Spain's Rías Baixas pergola emparrado for Albariño persists partly because specialized machinery now handles ground tasks and regional rules ban mechanized harvesting regardless of training method, equalizing labor across systems.
• Veneto's 19th-century bellussera hybrid, which supported silk production and subsistence farming, fell to nine percent of Piave DOC coverage as those industries vanished; climate change and wine tourism now offer potential revival.
• Loss of historic training systems erodes distinctive landscapes, local economies dependent on tourism, cultural heritage, and viticultural diversity needed for climate adaptation.

NYC housing complex installs 450,000 recycled wine corks in playgrounds

• Public Housing Community Fund partnered with Cork Collective, Rockwell Group, and Amorim to pave pathways and playgrounds at Marlboro Houses in Brooklyn with upcycled wine corks.
• Cork Collective sourced over 450,000 corks from NYC and other restaurants, ground and mixed them with adhesive, then laid them on-site as walkway and play surfaces.
• Children at Marlboro Houses submitted playground designs that were incorporated into the final layout by Center for Justice Innovation, The Urban Conga, and the Resident Association.
• Cork surfaces absorb stormwater to reduce flooding, are non-toxic compared to plastic or asphalt, and lower ambient temperatures by 20 to 30 percent.
• Globally, 13 billion corks are made yearly but less than one percent are recycled; three billion are discarded annually in the US.

Disease-resistant hybrid grapes cut fungicide use by up to 80 percent

• PIWIs, fungus-resistant hybrid grapes bred from non-vinifera and Vitis vinifera stock, reduce fungicide sprays from 8-15 times yearly to 2-3 times for traditional varieties.
• German breeders pioneered modern PIWIs in the late 20th century; today's varieties contain up to 95 percent vinifera genetic material through backcrossing techniques.
• Rapid genetic testing technology rhAmpSeq, deployed globally since 2019, identifies disease-resistance genes with precision and enables marker-assisted selection across thousands of genetic markers in days.
• Germany leads PIWI adoption at 4,000 hectares in 2025, a 10 percent annual increase; a 2026 Luxembourg study showed PIWIs delivered twofold economic savings and threefold environmental impact reduction versus traditional varieties.
• French breeding programs develop region-specific PIWIs, with Bordeaux crossing ResDur varieties with Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot to retain local signature while building fungal resistance.

Vineyards deploy netting to cool ripening fruit as heat stress intensifies

• Vineyard netting, traditionally used for hail and bird protection, is now deployed to reduce cluster-zone temperatures and preserve color compounds during heat events.
• In a 2022 UC Davis trial on Cabernet Sauvignon, shaded clusters had 27 percent more total skin anthocyanins than unshaded fruit when temperatures exceeded the 35°C degradation threshold.
• At Petra estate in Tuscany, Marco Simonit's 2025 trials found that 90 percent shade nets reduced Merlot sunburn from 41 percent to three percent, lowering cluster temperatures from 50°C to 40°C.
• Luis Reginato, head of viticulture at Catena Zapata in Mendoza, uses netting to deliver filtered light in brief pulses rather than continuous exposure, reducing vine stress in high-altitude desert conditions.
• Net color, placement, and density all affect outcomes; black nets absorbed excess heat while white and green nets performed better, and contact between heated fabric and fruit risks burn itself.

Who's Afraid of Volatile Wines?

• EU law limits volatile acidity in wine to 1.2 g/L for reds and 1.08 g/L for whites; violations can trigger destruction orders, as happened to Sébastien David's Loire Cabernet Franc in 2019.
• The US permits 1.4 g/L for red wines and 1.7 g/L for super-ripe grape wines; the EU's 2025 exceptions list allows up to 2.4 g/L for hundreds of appellations including Amarone, Madeira, and Tokaji aszú.
• Volatile acidity becomes a health concern only above 10% concentration; the EU's 1.2 g/L limit sits arbitrarily between safe wine (1.2 g/L) and vinegar (4 g/L minimum).
• Orange wines face strict white wine VA limits (1.08 g/L) despite sharing tannin and acidity profiles with reds, creating regulatory misalignment with their production style.

Pounding Grape: the exciting wines of Chris Groenewald, from South Africa

• Chris Groenewald now leads Pounding Grape winery in South Africa, continuing to make Syrah for Terracura label through 2026 vintages.
• Groenewald uses 26 plastic eggs for fermentation and exclusively recycled, re-washed bottles to reduce environmental impact.
• The 2025 Bringing Back the Joy Sauvignon Blanc from Durbanville spent 7 days on skins in plastic egg and neutral barrel before 11 months on gross lees.

Why South Africa is the Most Exciting Wine Region on the Planet, Part I

That’s not just a headline designed to attract attention. It’s my professional opinion as someone who tastes and writes about

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 were 'selected.'.
• Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux publicly demanded removal from Michelin's guide after receiving only one grape despite being a celebrated Vosne-Romanée house.
• Michelin rates producers based on vineyard management and consistency rather than individual wines, unlike competitor Guide Hachette des Vins which rates cuvées one to five.
• Consumer wine guides began in the 1970s with Decanter, Wine Spectator, Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book, and Parker's Wine Advocate; print guides declined after internet access expanded in mid-1990s.
• Michelin acquired 100% ownership of Parker's Wine Advocate in 2019 after purchasing 40% in 2017, suggesting possible influence on wine selections.

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 avoids new oak.
• Applegate Valley's high latitude and overnight temperature drops from Siskiyou Mountain winds benefit Mediterranean grape ripening.

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's products are already listed in over 100 restaurants and bistros across Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Chengdu since launching last June.
• Huangjiu's peak aging window is typically three to eight years; contrary to misconception, it is not cooking wine but a traditional fermented beverage meant for drinking.
• Coram's Chardomi blends 80% Chardonnay grapes with 20% glutinous rice through a multi-step process: rice saccharification occurs before co-fermentation with freshly pressed grape juice.

A wine of straw

• Dessert wine consumption has declined for approximately 75 years, with no signs of recovery due to negative perceptions of sugar and alcohol.
• Raül Bobet, co-owner of Ferrer-Bobet in Priorat, Catalunya, Spain, 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, representing the peak of sweet sparkling wines.