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Federal THC limit ban upends booming hemp beverage retail market

• Congress passed legislation in November 2025 limiting THC to 0.4 milligrams per container, effective November 12, 2026, effectively banning hemp-derived THC beverages nationwide.
• Massachusetts retailers like Art Nergaryan saw sales jump 25-35 percent after stocking THC drinks, then collapse overnight when state regulators banned them from wine and liquor stores in May 2024.
• THC-infused beverage retail sales surged 135 percent in the 52 weeks prior to April 2026, reaching $239 million, with the total potential market valued between $9.9 billion and $14.9 billion.
• Diana Eberlein, chair of the Coalition for Adult Beverage Alternatives, says the patchwork of state laws without federal guidance makes industry legitimacy and growth impossible.

English estates launch prestige cuvées priced with premium Champagne

• Nyetimber released England's first prestige cuvée in 2018, a white and rosé priced at £150 and £175, establishing the super-premium English sparkling category.
• Chapel Down, Gusbourne, Langham and Squerryes have since launched their own prestige cuvées, all priced above £100 and aged seven-plus years on lees to match Champagne standards.
• These bottlings use the finest vineyard parcels and blend according to vintage, drawing on chalk soils across Kent, Sussex and other southern English regions.
• Gusbourne released a 2016 vintage at £195 and a magnum at £395; Langham's Perpetual Blanc de Blancs launched at £109.95 with zero dosage and no added sulphur.
• English estates position prestige cuvées with heritage narratives: Nyetimber named its range '1086' after the Domesday Book, Squerryes after a 17th-century wool merchant ancestor.

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

• Lanzarote's hoyo system, a 18th-century pit method that attracts thousands of tourists annually, has seen active vineyard area shrink 19 percent between 2000 and 2026 due to extreme labor demands.
• Alberto González Plasencia, owner of Bodegas Timanfaya on Lanzarote, warns that losing hoyos would cut tourist visits and reduce wine value; local governments have introduced subsidies to slow decline.
• Juan Glaria, winemaker at Bodegas Rubicón, notes hoyo maintenance requires constant manual pit entry and takes very long hours even per hectare, driving some producers to switch to mechanized vineyards.
• Familia Torres maintains Rías Baixas pergolas by adopting specialized machinery for ground work; regional harvest rules require manual picking anyway, making pergola training economically viable there.
• Bellussera, a 19th-century pergola hybrid near Venice once supporting silk production, declined to 9 percent of Piave DOC but may revive through wine tourism and superior climate resilience.

World Cup boost fails to reverse beer's sharp sales decline

• Anheuser-Busch InBev spent $110 million on Michelob Ultra World Cup campaign, projecting only 0.25% volume lift despite beer category down 4.5% year-to-date in the United States.
• ABI's US beer volumes fell 2.3% in the four weeks through July 12, and category-wide beer sales dropped 2.1% in dollars and 3.4% in volume for the week ending July 19.
• On-premise draft beer performed better, up 7.1% in dollars and 6.46% in volume during the tournament across BeerBoard's bar network, but tapered sharply after the US knockout rounds.
• Spirits outperformed beer significantly, with category up 4.4% in dollars and 8.4% in volume in the final tournament week, including 60% growth in ready-to-drink cocktails like Cutwater.
• Beer industry declined faster during the World Cup than before it, suggesting the tournament failed to reverse underlying structural weakness in the category.

Silver Scope Media bids $400k for bankrupt Rogue Ales' IP and Dead Guy recipe

• Silver Scope Media Ltd, a U.K. digital marketing agency, bid $400,000 for Rogue Ales & Spirits' intellectual property nine months after parent company Oregon Brewing filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
• Rogue's IP includes its website, recipes, yeast strains, trademarks, and social media accounts; Oregon Brewing valued the total IP at $2 million.
• Competing bids must exceed Silver Scope's offer by $40,000 minimum; the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon accepts offers through Aug. 21.
• Valley View Winery, an Oregon estate, filed an objection claiming a perpetual license to Rogue's wine and wine-based beverage rights dating to a 1997 settlement.
• Oregon Brewing collapsed with $17 million in debts against $5 million in assets, shuttering its distillery and taprooms with minimal employee notice.

Soju surges in US market while shōchū lags behind, driven by Asian food and younger drinkers

• Soju grew 133 percent between 2019 and 2025 in the US, while shōchū grew only 11 percent over the same span, according to Koryn Ternes, IWSR consulting director for the Americas.
• James Barlow, fine wine and Asia portfolio manager at Spec's in Texas, said the chain's Asian spirits purchases jumped from under $1 million in 2018 to multi-millions today, driven by supply expansion and younger consumer demand.
• Green bottle soju, the mass-produced style dominant since a 1965 rice ban, became the category's dominant US export due to its low alcohol, fruity flavors, and affordability.
• Premium soju brands like Tokki Soju, launched in Brooklyn in 2016, faced resistance from green bottle loyalty but later experienced year-on-year volume doubling, signaling potential category maturation.
• Shōchū brands iichiko and Mizu focus on on-premise sales through bartenders, with higher-proof expressions designed to compete with craft spirits and appeal to cocktail-driven venues.

DISCUS Pursues U.S. Spirits Exports as Tariffs Wall Off Key Markets

• The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), backed by a $900,000 USDA grant, is pushing to expand U.S. spirits sales abroad as domestic consumption falls and Canadian sales dropped 81 percent after tariff retaliation.
• New 50 percent tariffs on Canadian whisky, beer, and wine take effect August 19; Brazil faces 25 percent tariffs; India's 100 percent tariff on U.S. spirits undercuts competition from EU and U.K. products now taxed at 40-75 percent.
• India, the world's largest whiskey consumer by volume, presents growth potential if tariffs fall; Melwyn Kuriakose, bar manager at Four Seasons Bengaluru, says luxury venues still seek boutique U.S. bourbons despite high costs.
• Vietnam's cocktail scene is expanding, but the market is dominated by Scotch collectors and high-end bottles; Rich McDonough, founder of Workshop14 in Hanoi, notes strong collector demand for premium whisky there.
• DISCUS is funding staff training and consumer education in target markets to build awareness of bourbon and Tennessee whiskey, betting tariff reductions and education can unlock sales in Brazil, India, and Vietnam.

Breweries capitalized on 2026 World Cup to drive bar traffic and sales

• Draft beer sales jumped 6.46 percent during the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, with Monday and Tuesday games driving volumes up 16 and 12 percent respectively, according to BeerBoard data.
• Headlands Brewing in California partnered with Cabin Brewing in Canada and Rey Árbol in Mexico on Common Ground, a West Coast Mexican lager; initial 90-barrel production doubled to 180 barrels as bars and grocers depleted stock within weeks.
• Boulevard Brewing in Kansas City upgraded its taproom with new televisions, outdoor patio, and bar, achieving 25 percent foot-traffic growth and increased beer hall sales since mid-June.
• Bitburger's on-premise sales surged 130 percent in June; the German pilsner also sponsored a 30-day German House of Soccer popup in New York City that drew 700 people during Germany matches.
• Newport Craft Brewing's It's Called Soccer ale, rebranded as an American golden ale for the tournament, expanded from 30-barrel plan to 300 barrels with distribution across 315 retail locations, with the brewery now planning year-round production.

Scotland's 154 distilleries span five official regions plus emerging Islands category

• The Scotch Whisky Association counts 154 malt and grain distilleries across Scotland as of 2026, organized into five official regions: Highlands, Lowlands, Speyside, Islay, and Campbeltown, plus an informal Islands designation.
• Speyside, technically a subregion of the Highlands, hosts more than 50 distilleries and is recognized as the world's most densely populated whisky region, celebrated for sweet, fruit-forward expressions.
• Campbeltown, once home to roughly 30 distilleries in the late 1800s and called the Whisky Capital of the World, now operates just three: Springbank, Glen Scotia, and Glengyle.
• Islay, home to 11 modern distilleries including Ardbeg, Lagavulin, and Laphroaig, is famed for heavily peated smoky malts but also produces unpeated styles from producers like Bunnahabhain.
• The Islands category, an informal grouping across Arran, Jura, Orkney, Skye, and other islands, has seen rapid growth; Torabhaig opened on Skye in 2017 as the first new legal distillery there in nearly 190 years.

Hungary's red wines, Brazilian sparkle, and Georgian orange win DWWA 2026

• Hungary earned its first-ever Platinum for a red wine at Decanter World Wine Awards 2026: Heumann's La Trinità Cabernet Franc from Villány, signalling Cabernet Franc's emergence on the Pannonian plain alongside traditional sweet Tokaji.
• Brazil achieved record Gold and Silver medals, including a first Gold for sparkling Moscato and a breakthrough red Gold, marking the country's strongest DWWA showing as its wines move beyond its neighbours' shadow.
• Bosnia and Herzegovina's indigenous Žilavka white grape claimed a 96-point Gold via Vino Milas's Mostarsko Vinogorje 2024, with Dr Caroline Gilby MW noting the wider Balkans region as a hotspot for top medals.
• Skin-contact orange wines expanded globally: Georgia led with 28 awards including two Golds, while Oregon and Argentina each earned their first orange-wine Gold, cementing the style as a movement beyond natural-wine novelty.
• Pico in Portugal's Azores won its first-ever DWWA Gold for Tarelo's Monumental 2018 Arinto, a 100% white from hand-built basalt enclosures on a UNESCO Heritage site, demonstrating distinctive terroir in unlikely corners.

Queens restaurant rebuilds wine program after basement fire destroys cellar

• A basement refrigerator fire in early August destroyed Rolo's wine room in Ridgewood, Queens, ruining nearly the entire carefully curated collection despite smoke remediation efforts.
• Leo Bayless-Hall, beverage director at Rolo's, chose to discard all basement inventory rather than risk serving heat-damaged bottles that had maderized or exploded during the fire.
• Offsite storage acquired at the year's start for premium East Coast and older American wines became the restaurant's lifeline, allowing wine service to resume within days.
• Rolo's is now selling from the backup collection at markups one-third to one-half their typical rate, with premium bottles priced near cost, to keep wine accessible while rebuilding.
• The restaurant opened a nightly special-pour program featuring rare bottles like 2002 Robert Ampeau Burgundy and 2013 Thomas Perseval natural wine, testing whether guests will embrace the temporary model.

Wine buyers champion classical natural wines as Gen Z demand surges

• Five US wine buyers selected classical natural wines spanning regions and price points, countering the perception that natural wine must taste funky or extreme.
• Adam Lapierre, Master of Wine at Total Wine & More, chose Haut-Bages Libéral from Bordeaux, made by Claire Villars-Lurton, the first Grand Cru Classé producer to release a sulfite-free wine.
• Younger drinkers are the primary growth engine for natural wine; the global market valued at $2.8 billion in 2025 is forecast to reach $6.1 billion by 2034.
• Anna-Korine Hada at dokidoki in Brooklyn chose Common Wealth Crush Ghost in the Scene 2024 from Virginia, a chilled red focused on ecological and cultural producer practices.
• Jerry Chandler, sommelier at The Exchange CLT in Charlotte, now dedicates entire sections to natural and sustainable wines after minimal demand five years prior.

VinePair names 30 best Sauvignon Blancs, spotlights Virginia and emerging regions

• VinePair's tasting panel scored over 100 Sauvignon Blancs submitted by producers and distributors, evaluating aromas, flavors, structure, balance, and regional typicity on a 100-point scale.
• Virginia emerged as a major producer this vintage, with Dogwood & Thistle Sauvignon Blanc from owners Sandy and Erin Robertson showing crisp lemon, white pepper, and river rock minerality.
• Established regions are evolving: Loire Valley Sauvignon Blancs now show more texture and depth than the angular, flinty style of past years; Friuli, Italy continues mastering the variety in stainless steel.
• New terroirs gaining recognition include Colorado, where sommeliers-turned-winemakers Steve Steese and Jayme Henderson produce Sauvignon Blanc with guava, apricot, and distinct minerality.
• Unconventional producers featured include Slovenian Domaine Vicomte de Noüe-Marinič and Oregon's CHO Wines, signaling drinkers now seek Sauvignon Blanc beyond traditional Napa and Loire sources.

Young wine workers pitch approachable bottles to reshape who drinks wine

• Daria Volokitina, sommelier at Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris, paired Austrian Furmint with barbecue to show wine suits informal gatherings, not just fine dining.
• Alex Padilla at Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa recommends a €36 Sonoma Gamay as approachable California wine that works with nearly any food or alone.
• Both workers say younger drinkers and friends assume wine requires expertise to enjoy, but see their role as demonstrating it is accessible to everyone.
• The shift moves beyond traditional food-wine pairing rules toward sensations and emotions, matching wine to the mood and occasion rather than formal guidelines.
• Young wine professionals cite social media and direct customer engagement as tools to normalize wine as part of everyday life rather than special occasions.

Pierce's Disease Threatens 41% of European Vineyards as Climate Warms

• A bacterium called Xylella fastidiosa causes Pierce's disease by blocking water transport in grapevines, killing them within years; it was detected in European grapevines in Spain's Mallorca in 2016 and Portugal in 2023.
• A 2025 study using high-resolution climate data found 41.2 percent of European vineyards are now at climate risk, up from 21.8 percent in previous models, with river valleys and basins acting as hotspots.
• Warming winters allow the pathogen to survive in regions where cold previously suppressed it; California's experience shows early detection and vector management slow spread once eradication becomes infeasible.
• European countries lack coordinated communication strategies between regional bodies and growers, creating risks of concealment if vineyard destruction is the only mandated response.
• California winegrowers and researchers are sharing decades of experience with the disease to help Europe develop tailored management strategies beyond eradication alone.

Disease-resistant hybrid grapes cut fungicide sprays by 80 percent across Europe

• PIWIs, hybrid grapes bred to resist powdery and downy mildew, require two to three fungicide sprays yearly versus eight to 15 for traditional varieties, cutting chemical inputs by up to 80 percent.
• German breeders developed PIWIs in the late 20th century by backcrossing American disease-resistant vines with European Vitis vinifera; modern PIWIs now contain up to 95 percent vinifera genetic material.
• Rapid genetic testing technology rhAmpSeq, deployed since 2019, allows breeders to pinpoint resistance genes with precision and stack multiple layers of protection in new varieties within days instead of months.
• Germany leads PIWI adoption with 4,000 hectares planted in 2025, a 10 percent increase; France is developing ResDur varieties that retain regional character, with Bordeaux crossing PIWI stock with Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
• A 2026 Luxembourg study found PIWI cultivation delivered twofold economic savings and threefold environmental benefits versus traditional varieties, chiefly through reduced spraying and lower soil and water toxicity.

Vineyards test netting to cool grape clusters amid intensifying heat

• UC Davis 2022 trial on Cabernet Sauvignon found shaded clusters retained 27 percent more anthocyanins than unshaded fruit when temperatures exceeded degradation threshold of 35 degrees Celsius.
• Luis Reginato, head of viticulture at Catena Zapata in Mendoza, uses canopy management to deliver filtered light pulses rather than direct sun exposure, with 90 percent of vineyards under hail netting.
• Marco Simonit's 2025 trials at Petra estate in Tuscany showed 90 percent shade nets reduced Merlot sunburn from 41 percent to 3 percent and lowered cluster temperature from 50 to 40-41 degrees Celsius.
• Net color and positioning matter: white and green nets perform better than black, and fabric must stay away from clusters to prevent heat transfer that acts as a secondary burn source.
• Achille Boroli at Barolo's Boroli estate found an open net dropped maximum fruit temperature from 49.2 to 43 degrees Celsius, but denser netting backfired, suggesting optimal shade requires calibration per site and vintage.

Spätburgunder: a deep dive into Germany’s Pinot Noir, with a tasting of 77 wines from top vineyard sites

• The VDP Grosses Gewächs tasting in Wiesbaden featured 77 Spätburgunder wines from top German vineyard sites, all from VDP member estates.
• VDP has 198 member producers; Grosses Gewächs wines must be dry (under 9 g/l residual sugar) from top-tier Grosse Lage vineyards.
• German Spätburgunder quality has improved significantly due to warming climate trends, with regions like Ahr, Franken, and Rheingau producing exceptional examples.
• Top-scoring wines included August Kesseler's Assmannshausen and Rüdesheim bottlings (96/100 each) and multiple 95-point releases from Meyer-Näkel, Rudolf Fürst, and others.

Vinography Images: On the Rocks

• ArmAs winery in Armenia's Aragatsotn region features creative stonework that continues local architectural traditions.

Re-entry

• Open Wine Map sources published data from INAO, French cahiers des charges, Italian disciplinare, and other appellation datasets coupled with mapping data.
• The tool allows filtering by region, grape, and wine style, enabling direct comparisons between regions like Barolo, Barbaresco, and Côte de Nuits.

Burgenland Winery Guide, Part 1

• Burgenland is one of Austria's warmest regions with serious red wine culture, famed for progressive viticulture and Blaufränkisch.
• Boris Kovacic relocated to Sankt Margareten in 2021 after stem cell research, farming 12 plots with old vines and no added additives except sulphites.
• Georg Prieler produces terroir-focused Blaufränkisch from Marienthal and Goldberg sites, increasingly using amphora aging instead of oak.
• This guide covers only northern Burgenland (Leithaberg, Rust, Neusiedlersee), excluding Mittelburgenland and Sudburgenland sub-regions.

The taste of stone

• Jako Andabak founded Stina (formerly Jako Vino) on Brač island in 2009 after purchasing an ailing cooperative in Bol.
• Stina produced big, bold wines while modernizing the winery and planting new vineyards starting around 2012.
• Andabak, a hotel owner on Brač, had capital backing and a ready market through his hotels to support the wine project.
• Stina was part of a wave of 'Hrvatski Vrh' high-quality Croatian wineries that emerged in the early 2010s with outside capital and vision.

Michelin And The Death Of The Wine Guide

• Michelin's Wine Selection Burgundy 2026 awarded nine producers three grapes, 20 two grapes, 33 one grape, and 32 were merely 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 specific cuvées.
• Michelin owns 100% of Wine Advocate (acquired entirely in 2019 after purchasing 40% stake in 2017), raising questions about the guide's editorial independence.
• Consumer wine guides emerged in the 1970s-1980s with Decanter, Wine Spectator, Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book, and Parker's Wine Advocate, but print guides became obsolete as the internet expanded access to current information.

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

• Coram Collective, founded in 2023 with 2024 production, co-ferments rice wine with Chardonnay and Merlot while innovating huangjiu, an ancient Chinese fermented beverage.
• Co-founder Alex Yuanzhu Wang's Chardomi blend is 80% Chardonnay grapes and 20% glutinous rice; production requires separate preparation processes before co-fermentation begins.
• Coram's products are already listed in over 100 restaurants and bistros across Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Chengdu since launching last June.
• Common huangjiu misconceptions: it is not cooking wine, peak quality occurs between three to eight years of aging (not older), and modern styles are fresher than historical sweeter versions.

What I Learned at a Conference on Drinking

From the invention of moderation to the return of temperance