winefeed

by Primal Wine
ArchiveSATURDAY 15 AUGUST 202615 AUG
01Decanter·

Texas High Plains growers struggle as wine sales soften after pandemic surge

  • Texas wineries saw explosive sales growth from 2020 to early 2023, then demand softened and inventories backed up, leaving High Plains growers with unsold fruit.
  • Growers now receive vastly different farm investment depending on contract status: fully contracted blocks get premium care; uncontracted fruit gets minimal maintenance to preserve vine health.
  • Multi-year contracts have become rare; wineries increasingly wait until harvest to buy cheaper fruit on the spot market instead of committing upfront to High Plains growers.
  • A March 2025 freeze reduced yields significantly, which some growers view as a painful market reset that could rebalance supply and demand.
  • Younger vineyard operators like Connor Wilmeth, 33, are building East Coast distribution networks and formal grape contracts with deposits to stabilize sales beyond local Hill Country wineries.
Reported byDecanter
02Decanter·

English estates launch prestige cuvées at Champagne prices

  • Nyetimber released England's first prestige cuvée in 2018, a white and rosé priced at £150 and £175, pioneering the super-premium segment for English sparkling wine.
  • Chapel Down, Gusbourne, Langham and Squerryes have since launched prestige cuvées between £109 and £395, each produced in small quantities from select vineyard parcels.
  • Extended lees ageing is a hallmark, with most releases aged seven to eight years, matching Champagne's prestige cuvée standards of structure and complexity.
  • These wines source from premium chalk and flint soils in Kent, Sussex and Hampshire, positioning English terroir as comparable to Champagne's growing conditions.
  • The releases span 2017 to 2026, signalling a shift toward ultra-premium positioning in English sparkling wine as the category gains domestic and export recognition.
Reported byDecanter
03VinePair·

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

  • Five neighboring Centre-Loire appellations, Pouilly-Fumé, Menetou-Salon, Quincy, Reuilly, and Coteaux du Giennois, produce similar Sauvignon Blancs and Pinot Noirs at $20, $30, gaining sales as Sancerre-frustrated buyers seek alternatives.
  • Clément Berthier, Sancerre appellation president, notes the region is at capacity with no plans to expand production, making the price gap between Sancerre and neighbors permanent.
  • Matthieu Delaporte, winemaker at Domaine Delaporte in Sancerre, says Centre-Loire Pinot Noir now offers a quality-to-price ratio competitive with Burgundy as climate change forces producers to adapt harvesting strategies.
Reported byVinePair
04VinePair·

EU quality labels guarantee sparkling wine origin and production standards

  • The EU Quality Label system uses PDO, PGI, and Organic certifications to guarantee sparkling wines meet strict standards for origin, production method, safety, and sustainability across member states.
  • PDO-labeled sparkling wines like Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, and Austrian Kamptal must be grown, produced, and aged entirely within their designated region using traditional methods.
  • PGI-labeled sparkling wines require only one production stage within a broader region, allowing greater flexibility in grape varieties and winemaking techniques than PDO wines.
  • EU Organic certification cannot appear on wine bottles sold in the US due to lack of mutual recognition with USDA, though winemakers may indicate organic grape production separately.
  • These labels help consumers identify authentic regional sparkling wines and support small producers maintaining traditional techniques and biodiversity across European wine regions.
Reported byVinePair
05VinePair·

World Cup sponsorship fails to lift declining US beer sales

  • Anheuser-Busch InBev spent $110 million on a global Michelob Ultra World Cup campaign in 2026, projecting only 0.25 percent volume growth for the full year.
  • US beer category sales fell 2.1 percent in dollars and 3.4 percent in volume in the week ending July 19, the tournament's final day, worse than prior benchmarks.
  • On-premise draft beer rose 7.1 percent in dollars and 6.46 percent in volume during the tournament across BeerBoard's tracked accounts, but faded in the final week.
  • Beer volume declined 4.5 percent year-to-date through mid-2026, far outpacing the World Cup's modest sales lift and signalling structural market weakness beyond the tournament.
  • Spirits products outperformed beer during the same period, with Cutwater rising 60 percent in the final tournament week, suggesting the event favoured premium categories.
Reported byVinePair
06VinePair·

Silver Scope Media bids $400k for bankrupt Rogue Ales' recipes and trademarks

  • Silver Scope Media Ltd, a U.K. digital marketing agency, bid $400,000 for Rogue Ales & Spirits' intellectual property nine months after parent Oregon Brewing filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
  • IP assets include Dead Guy IPA trademark, website domain, recipes, yeast strains, manufacturing specs, and social media accounts; Oregon Brewing valued them at $2 million.
  • U.S. Bankruptcy Court for District of Oregon accepts competing bids through Aug. 21; offers must exceed Silver Scope's by $40,000 minimum.
  • Valley View Winery, an Oregon estate that claims perpetual license to Rogue wine products under a 1997 settlement, objected to the IP sale.
  • Rogue shuttered operations citing $17 million debt against $5 million assets; equipment sold at liquidation auction five months prior.
Reported byVinePair
07SevenFifty Daily·

Soju surges in US market while shōchū lags behind, driven by Asian cuisine boom

  • Soju grew 133 percent in US spirits volume between 2019 and 2025 to less than 1 percent of total market, while shōchū rose only 11 percent to a tiny fraction of 1 percent, according to IWSR consulting director Koryn Ternes.
  • Growth of Asian cuisine in the US, K-pop and K-drama popularity, moderation-minded drinking, and lower ABV have driven younger consumers toward soju, particularly since 2023.
  • Spec's wine retailer in Texas increased Asian spirits purchases from under $1 million in 2018 to multi-millions today, with soju far outpacing shōchū demand, says James Barlow, fine wine and Asia portfolio manager.
  • Premium craft soju producers like Tokki Soju, founded by Douglas Park in Brooklyn in 2016, have gained traction as drinkers mature beyond mass-market green bottle brands like Jinro.
  • Shōchū brands iichiko and Mizu focus sales on bars and bartenders at 40 percent ABV or higher to compete with craft spirits like tequila, with 80 to 85 percent of sales from on-premise venues, says Mizu cofounder Jesse Falowitz.
Reported bySevenFifty Daily
01VinePair·

Eight Grenache alternatives to pricey Château Rayas across Southern Rhône

  • Château Rayas, a family-owned Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate, commands four-figure prices by focusing exclusively on Grenache from three vineyard sites blended into a structured, elegant wine.
  • Delas Frères produces a Grenache-forward Châteauneuf at roughly $63, aged 12 months in large oak then concrete tanks, yielding only 10,000 to 12,000 bottles annually.
  • Domaine Balme, founded by its owner at age 23 using old-vine Grenache up to 70 years old, crafts a fresh expression in concrete for around $24.
  • Sébastien Clément's L'Amista, 100 percent Grenache from 1954 vines using biodynamic methods, retails near $30 against Rayas's premium pricing.
  • Vieux Télégraphe's La Crau cuvée, planted in 1898 and prized for aging, sells for about $136; Pegau's Cuvée Réservée at $70 offers similar Grenache-forward depth at half Rayas's typical cost.
Reported byVinePair
02VinePair·

Eight sommeliers name Sancerre bottles worth fifty dollars and up

  • Eight US restaurant and wine-shop professionals were asked which Sancerre bottles justify the region's elevated prices above fifty dollars.
  • Vincent Gaudry's biodynamic wines, especially Le Tournebride at around fifty dollars, won multiple recommendations for minerality and food pairing range.
  • Domaine Vacheron's Guigne-Chèvres and Gérard Boulay's Chavignol wines earned praise for expressing terroir and offering value relative to price.
  • Sommeliers warned that mid-range bottles between thirty and forty-five dollars often command inflated prices without quality gains since 2020.
  • Recommended bottles share traits: bright acidity, mineral notes from limestone soils, herbal or citrus profiles, and age-worthiness that justify premium pricing.
Reported byVinePair
03Decanter·

Decanter World Wine Awards 2026 sees record quality across regions and styles

  • Decanter World Wine Awards 2026 received 16,631 entries judged by 245 experts, including 106 women and 36 newcomers; a Resident Co-Chair position rotated leadership for the first time.
  • Medal distribution expanded significantly: 196 Platinum awards (59 more than 2025), 924 Golds (191 extra), and 6,193 Silvers (578 extra), suggesting judges found higher overall quality.
  • Cool-climate regions gained prominence: Germany's top medal went to Pinot Blanc rather than Riesling; English counties Oxfordshire, Shropshire and Rutland earned medals for the first time.
  • Spain's top-medal count surged 52.4% year-on-year, including new Platinum awards from Jumilla, Castilla-La Mancha and Priorat; New Zealand took two Best in Show and eight Platinums.
  • Best in Show featured wines from Margaret River, Dundee Hills, Stags Leap, Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage, Pomerol, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Carmignano, Santorini, Rías Baixas, Bierzo, Maury Sec and Croatian island Hvar.
Reported byDecanter
04SevenFifty Daily·

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

  • Alberata vines intertwined with poplars in Naples, once widespread across Italy, now occupy only a handful of hectares, replaced by mechanizable systems like Guyot.
  • Lanzarote's hoyo pits, created after volcanic eruptions buried fertile soil, draw thousands of tourists annually and drive the island's tourism economy, yet labor demands threaten survival.
  • Between 2000 and 2026, Lanzarote's active vineyard surface shrank 19 percent as growers abandoned hoyos for conventional irrigated vineyards; local subsidies aim to slow decline.
  • Familia Torres maintains six hectares of traditional pergola-trained Albariño in Rías Baixas using adapted machinery, while the bellussera hybrid in Veneto covers only 9 percent of Piave DOC.
  • Climate resilience and wine tourism offer historical systems new economic value, but their survival depends on region-specific adaptation balancing heritage, topography, and labor economics.
Reported bySevenFifty Daily
05VinePair·

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

  • Public Housing Community Fund and Cork Collective, launched by Rockwell Group and cork maker Amorim in 2024, completed a $500,000 renovation of Marlboro Houses in Brooklyn using upcycled wine corks.
  • Cork Collective collected over 450,000 corks from NYC restaurants, ground them, mixed with adhesive, and laid them as playspace and pathway surfaces for the NYCHA community.
  • The Center for Justice Innovation and The Urban Conga gathered design ideas from Marlboro Houses children to shape the final layout, making it resident-led.
  • Cork surfaces absorb stormwater, reduce ambient temperature by 20 to 30 percent, and offer non-toxic alternatives to plastic and asphalt.
  • Globally, 13 billion cork stoppers are made yearly; fewer than one percent are recycled, while three billion are discarded annually in the US alone.
Reported byVinePair
01SevenFifty Daily·

Light exposure in vineyard controls green-aroma compound levels in wine grapes

  • Methoxypyrazines (MPs), nitrogenous compounds causing bell pepper and grass aromas, accumulate early in grape development then sharply decline at veraison, possibly to deter animals before seeds mature.
  • Light exposure is the primary driver of MP concentration: shoot removal and leaf thinning that increase cluster sunlight reduce MPs, a finding established by Dominique Roujou de Boubee at University of Bordeaux in 1995.
  • Rootstock choice affects MP levels indirectly through vigor, which determines canopy density and shade; eight Cabernet Sauvignon rootstocks showed significant MP variation in grapes and stems, says David Jeffery, associate professor at University of Adelaide.
  • Soil type influences MPs via water retention: well-drained gravel soils produce lower MP Cabernet Sauvignon than clay-silt soils in Bordeaux, while irrigation timing can mimic low-water effects in managed vineyards.
  • Temperature appears correlated with lower MP intensity in cool-climate Cabernet Francs and Loire wines, yet the mechanism remains unclear, as vineyard heat alone cannot chemically degrade MPs.
Reported bySevenFifty Daily
02SevenFifty Daily·

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

  • PIWI grapes, hybrids bred for powdery and downy mildew resistance, require two to three fungicide sprays per season versus eight to 15 for traditional Vitis vinifera varieties.
  • Modern genetic testing technology rhAmpSeq, pioneered by the US VitisGen initiative in 2019, lets breeders identify exact locations of disease-resistance genes instead of general regions, accelerating development.
  • A 2026 Luxembourg study found PIWIs delivered twofold economic savings and up to threefold environmental benefit versus traditional varieties, mainly through reduced spraying costs and lower soil and water toxicity.
  • Germany leads PIWI adoption with 4,000 hectares planted in 2025, four percent of national vineyard area and 10 percent growth year-on-year; France is developing regional ResDur varieties to retain Bordeaux signature.
  • Direct-to-consumer sales dominate PIWI market share at 71 percent in Germany, with retail expanding as supermarket chains begin stocking them, though consumer awareness remains low.
Reported bySevenFifty Daily
03SevenFifty Daily·

Vineyard netting emerges as climate tool to cool ripening fruit zones

  • Growers in California, Argentina, Italy, and Piedmont are using shade netting to lower cluster-zone temperatures and protect anthocyanins during heat events.
  • A 2022 UC Davis trial on Cabernet Sauvignon found shaded clusters retained 27 percent more anthocyanins than unshaded controls when temperatures exceeded 35 degrees Celsius.
  • Petra estate in Tuscany reduced Merlot sunburn from 41 percent in unshaded blocks to three percent under 90 percent shade netting in 2025 field trials.
  • Net color and placement matter: white or green nets perform better than black, and fabric must stay clear of clusters or risk becoming a heat source itself.
  • The strategy requires balance; excessive shade risks trapping heat, limiting airflow, and altering phenolic development, making calibrated exposure the real challenge.
Reported bySevenFifty Daily
01wineanorak·Jamie Goode·

Cas ‘Amaro, a growing wine tourism and winemaking project in several Portuguese regions

  • Cas 'Amaro began in 2016 with a 4.5-hectare estate in Alenquer, Lisboa, now producing organic wines and offering luxury accommodation since 2022.
  • The company owns properties across five Portuguese regions: a 70-hectare estate in Alentejo, 30 hectares in Douro's Cima Corgo, 25 hectares in Vinho Verde, and estates in Dão and Lisboa.
  • Ricardo Santos serves as part-time winemaking director for Cas 'Amaro while running his own XXVI Talhas project in Alentejo.
  • Cas 'Amaro produces wines across multiple labels including Madame Pió, Falatório, Mitologia, Implause, and Caminho from varieties like Sercial, Encruzado, Arinto, and Castelão.
Read the full story
03The Morning Claret·Simon J. Woolf·

Who's Afraid of Volatile Wines?

  • EU law limits volatile acidity in wine to 1.2 g/L for reds, 1.08 g/L for whites; violations have led to bottle destruction orders and widespread petition support.
  • US allows 1.4 g/L for red wines, up to 1.7 g/L for super-ripe grape wines; EU's 2025 exceptions list permits up to 2.4 g/L for 18 countries' appellations including Amarone, Madeira, and Tokaji.
  • The 1.2 g/L limit originated in a 1979 EEC regulation with vague consumer-protection justification; vinegar requires 40 g/L minimum, leaving a large unexplained gap.
  • Orange wines must conform to white wine's lower 1.08 g/L limit despite having tannin and VA levels similar to red wines.
Read the full story
04Tim Atkin·Tim Atkin MW·

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 a 'selected' designation.
  • 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, not individual wines, differing from competitor Guide Hachette des Vins which rates specific cuvées.
  • Michelin owns the Wine Advocate entirely since 2019 after purchasing a 40% stake in 2017, raising questions about potential influence on Burgundy selections.
  • Consumer wine guides emerged in the 1970s with Decanter, Wine Spectator, Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book, and Parker's Wine Advocate, but internet access and wine world expansion have made print guides largely obsolete.
Read the full story
05Maker's Table·Meg Maker·

Notable Releases from Troon Vineyard

  • Troon Vineyard released 2025 Vermentino and 2023 Syrah from Oregon's Applegate Valley.
  • Troon Vineyard farms using certified biodynamic and regenerative organic principles in Grant's Pass.
  • Troon ferments with ambient cultures, uses minimal sulfite at bottling, and avoids new oak aging.
  • Applegate Valley's high-latitude climate features long summer days with overnight cooling from Siskiyou Mountain winds.
Read the full story
06Be Wine Curious·Miquel Hudin·

A wine of straw

  • Dessert wine consumption has declined for approximately 75 years, with limited prospects for 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 rather than market demand.
Read the full story
07Drinks Insider·Felicity Carter·

What I Learned at a Conference on Drinking

  • Drinking studies is an interdisciplinary field treating alcohol as cultural and social practice, not merely a drink or health hazard.
  • Historical research on drinking is extremely difficult because the practice was so ubiquitous that people rarely documented ordinary drinking habits.
  • Ireland's 2018 Public Health (Alcohol) Act introduced minimum unit pricing, advertising restrictions, and cancer warning labels, though labels were delayed to September 2028 due to international trade pressure.
  • The meaning of moderation shifted in the 18th century from avoiding disgraceful drunkenness to self-regulation required by Industrial Revolution factories needing reliable, punctual workers.
  • Alcohol restrictions have historically been used as tools of social control and repression, including against Irish and Polish populations, masquerading as health concerns.
Read the full story