winefeed

Seven US sommeliers reveal wine markup ranges from 60 to 76 percent of bill

• Seven beverage directors across US restaurants report markups ranging 60-76 percent of final menu price, with most allocating 35-48 percent as actual profit after operational costs.
• Kinga Mackowiak, beverage director at Apple Blossom in Denver, marks up bottles 60-70 percent but varies margins by demand and regional familiarity rather than applying uniform multipliers.
• William Jones at Deep Roots Restaurant Group in Fairhoe, Alabama reports 76 percent average markup but says tariffs and labor costs now make it harder to hit profit targets.
• Beverage directors cite glassware, labor, insurance, rent, and utilities as hidden costs justifying markups; sommelier June Rodil says guests pay for storage, temperature control, and service expertise.
• Restaurant alcohol profit contribution dropped from 60 percent of total profits to roughly 30 percent as US drinking rates fall and economic pressures reduce on-premise wine consumption.

Early harvests disrupt wine sales, tourism, and supply chains across regions

• Grape harvests in Roussillon, California, Champagne, and Germany arrived weeks or months early in 2024, with Domaine Lafage in France picking July 23 for the first time ever.
• Aaron Jackson, winemaker at Aaron Wines in Paso Robles, reports July tasting-room visits drop sharply as heat rises, and shipping blackout periods for direct-to-consumer sales are expanding.
• European producers including Šárka Betke at Lacery vineyard in Czech Moravia face delayed payments when summer heat forces shipments into fall, straining cash flow for established wineries.
• Early August harvests force wineries to refrigerate grapes during peak electricity prices instead of cool October, raising costs; label adhesion and bottling-line capacity also strain under compressed schedules.
• Wine tourism to Champagne and other regions may shift into November as fall weather improves, but earlier harvests mean fewer winemakers available to host visitors during peak summer travel season.

Federal THC limit ban upends booming hemp-drink retail market

• Art Nergaryan's four Massachusetts wine shops saw sales jump 25-35 percent after stocking THC-infused drinks, until state regulators banned them from wine stores in May 2024.
• THC-infused beverage retail sales reached $239 million in the 52 weeks prior to April 2026, a 135 percent increase, but the market faces potential collapse.
• Congress passed legislation in November 2025 capping hemp-derived THC at 0.4 milligrams per container, effective November 12, 2026, effectively banning most commercial hemp drinks.
• State rules contradict federal law: Minnesota and Georgia permit hemp beverages, while California, Washington, and Vermont ban them; the FDA calls all interstate THC drinks unlawful.
• Industry members including retailers, distributors, and manufacturers lack clarity on which products remain legal to sell, with enforcement deadlines approaching in late 2026.

American single malt ratification fails to lift struggling category

• The US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau approved a standard of identity for American single malt in December 2024 after a decade of petitioning by distillers via the American Single Malt Whiskey Commission.
• Major producers including Westland Distillery in Seattle, Balcones Distillery in Waco Texas, and Westward Whiskey in Portland have laid off staff or ceased production amid weak demand and economic headwinds.
• Ratification has helped retailers create dedicated shelf space and improved export tracking, but consumer awareness remains limited outside connoisseur circles despite releases from Jim Beam, Bulleit, and Jack Daniel's.
• Distillers are adapting by launching lower-priced cask-finished variants, blending single malt with bourbon, and diversifying into rye, tequila, and other spirits to drive growth.
• Stephen Paul of Whiskey Del Bac and other founders cite bourbon's dominance in the American whiskey market and retail shelf saturation as persistent obstacles to category expansion.

World Cup failed to lift beer sales despite $110M spending push

• Anheuser-Busch InBev spent $110 million on a global Michelob Ultra campaign around the 2026 World Cup, projecting only 0.25% volume growth for the year.
• US beer category sales fell 2.1% in dollars and 3.4% in volume for the week ending July 19, the tournament's final day, worse than pre-tournament weeks.
• Off-premise beer sales declined year-over-year through mid-2026, with the industry down 3.5 million barrels versus the first half of 2025.
• On-premise draft beer saw stronger gains, up 7.1% in dollars and 6.46% in volume during the tournament across bars tracked by BeerBoard.
• Spirits outperformed beer significantly, with the category up 4.4% in dollars and 8.4% in volume the final tournament week, led by ready-to-drink cocktails.

New York sommeliers reveal surprising high-low wine pairings

• Seventeen New York City sommeliers were asked to share high-low wine pairings, matching expensive bottles with inexpensive casual foods.
• Most elevated wines chosen were Champagne, Burgundy, and old Bordeaux paired with everyday items like french fries, dino nuggets, and halal cart lamb.
• Pairings ranged from simple carbohydrates and cheese to unexpected items: Spam musubi with Riesling, rotisserie chicken with Jura Savagnin, sardines with Taittinger.
• High-low pairings challenge the notion that fine wine requires fine dining, making wine accessible through casual occasions and everyday foods.

Seven volcanic wine regions rival Mount Etna's mineral complexity

• Volcanic soils worldwide create wines marked by high acidity, salinity, and savory rather than fruity flavors, distinct from non-volcanic regions.
• Santorini's Assyrtiko and Tokaji Aszú showcase how volcanic minerality elevates wines: Santorini produces unmatched depth and acidity; Tokaji gains saline edge that distinguishes it from other sweet wines.
• Canary Islands winemakers revived indigenous grapes like Listán Blanco and Listán Negro from the 1980s onward, preserved because phylloxera never arrived and volcanic isolation shielded native varieties.
• Oregon's Willamette Valley volcanic Jory soils yield red fruit Pinot Noirs, contrasting marine sediment's darker expression; Jory was named Oregon's state soil in 2011.
• Lake County, California and Auvergne, France show volcanic terroir favors organic and natural winemaking: Lake County's high elevation produces grippy Cabernet Sauvignon; Auvergne's Gamay d'Auvergne yields darker, spicier wines than other French Gamays.

VinePair names 30 best Sauvignon Blancs for 2026 across regions

• VinePair's tasting panel scored hundreds of Sauvignon Blancs on a 100-point scale based on aroma, flavor, texture, and regional typicity to compile this year's best-buy list.
• Virginia emerged as a thriving Sauvignon Blanc region in 2026, with producers like Dogwood & Thistle and Emily Hodson's winery making wines that punch above their price point.
• Loire Valley Sauvignon Blancs now show more texture and depth than the flinty styles of past years, as seen in Vignobles Berthier's Coteaux du Giennois expression.
• Friuli, Italy remains a best-kept secret for Sauvignon Blanc, with producers embracing stainless steel tanks to create bright, mineral-driven wines.
• Unexpected terroirs including Colorado, Oregon, and Slovenia's Goriška Brda region are now producing expressive Sauvignon Blancs worthy of serious consideration alongside traditional sources.

Sommelier ditches formal pairings for sensation-driven wine with kebabs

• Daria Volokitina, sommelier at Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris, paired Austrian Furmint with grilled kebabs by focusing on desired sensations rather than traditional food-wine rules.
• Liszt's Minimaliszt 2022, a natural wine from Burgenland, delivered refreshing citrus and palate-cleansing acidity that complemented both meat and tomato pasta on a warm day.
• Weingut Liszt, family-farmed for generations in Burgenland, converted to organic and Demeter-certified biodynamic viticulture under Bernhard Liszt from 2003 onwards.
• Wine is shedding its reputation as exclusive to fine dining and people who 'understand' it, though most younger drinkers still lack knowledge of natural wine as a category.
• Liszt hand-harvests into 8kg crates, ferments on lees in amphora with no added sulphur, and bottles by gravity unfiltered; the wine costs €26.

AriZona Iced Tea launches artist residency at New York headquarters

• AriZona, the beverage brand founded in 1992 by Don and Ilene Vultaggio, launched an artist residency program at its Woodbury, New York headquarters in July 2025, hosting up to four artists per six-week session.
• Residents receive stipend, housing, materials, and access to The Lookout studio and rooftop workspace; three cohorts have completed the program as of August 2025.
• Artists including Eleanor Dexter and Lucas Carlo Monasterio developed new work on-site, from paintings and silkscreen to stained glass and laser-cut leather projects.
• AriZona exhibits resident work at end-of-session shows, shares pieces on social media, and invites artists to contribute to its permanent collection.
• The residency extends the founders' design-first philosophy and positions creative community as a competitive differentiator for the brand, alongside its trademark 99-cent can pricing.

Massive Spanish wildfires devastate Sierra de Gredos vineyard revival

• Fires between July 22 and 26 burned 77,000 hectares across Ávila and Madrid provinces, with approximately 200 hectares of Cebreros DO vineyards damaged by fire or smoke.
• Comando G's one-hectare Las Iruelas slate parcel in Cebreros suffered heavy smoke exposure, likely eliminating the single-vineyard wine for this vintage.
• Bodega El Reventón, owned by Adrianna Catena and Alejandro Vigil, lost its San Gregorio vineyard parcel but expects to recover 80 to 90 percent of vines.
• Bodegas Bernabeleva owner Juan Diez Bulnes lost vineyard land, office buildings, tanks, and equipment, with uncertainty about grape quality and yield remaining.
• Wine producers including Daniel Landi of Comando G and Juanan Martín of Rico Nuevo have proposed forest clearance subsidies and firebreak creation to regional authorities to prevent future fires.

Pierce's Disease Spreads in Europe as Climate Warms; California Offers Hard-Won Lessons

• Pierce's disease, caused by bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, killed large blocks of Barbera, Chardonnay, and Riesling in California's Temecula Valley from the late 1990s onward, costing growers over $48 million annually.
• The bacterium was detected in European grapevines in Mallorca, Spain in 2016 and in continental Europe in Portugal in 2023, with cases now managed in regulated zones across Spain, Italy, Portugal, and France.
• A 2025 climate study found 41.2 percent of European vineyards face climate risk of Pierce's disease, up from 21.8 percent in previous models, with river basins and valleys especially vulnerable as winters warm.
• California researchers including Olakunle Olawole at UC Riverside advise Europe that early detection, vector management, and genomic surveillance can slow spread once eradication becomes infeasible at scale.
• European growers and policymakers lack coordinated reporting and communication systems, risking concealment of infections; California's decades-long response shows coordination and early action minimize long-term damage.

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

• PIWIs, fungus-resistant hybrid grape varieties bred by crossing non-vinifera and vinifera vines, reduce fungicide sprays from 8-15 times yearly to 2-3 times for powdery and downy mildew.
• Rapid genetic testing technology rhAmpSeq, pioneered by VitisGen in 2019, identifies precise disease-resistance genes and enables marker-assisted selection, reducing breeding time from months to days.
• Germany leads adoption with 4,000 hectares of PIWI vines in 2025, representing 4 percent of national vineyard area and 10 percent annual growth.
• A 2026 Luxembourg study found PIWIs delivered twofold economic savings and up to threefold environmental benefit reduction, primarily through lower spraying costs and reduced soil toxicity.
• France is developing ResDur varieties, crossing PIWIs with Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot to retain Bordeaux character while adding fungal resistance for experimental planting.

Canada’s Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys (14) Nostalgia

• Gina Fernades Harfman owns and makes wine at Nostalgia Wines on Black Sage Bench, Okanagan Valley; she bought the winery in 2012 at age 32.
• Nostalgia Wines lost 35% of production in December 2022 and 30% in 2024 due to freezes; purchased 5000 litres of Washington State juice to compensate.
• Harfman operates 17 acres of vines on-site and purchases grapes from her father Ken Harfman's 16-acre vineyard in Osoyoos; 85% of sales are direct-to-consumer.
• Her label designs reflect her background in fine art and airbrush work on hot rods and motorcycles; the pin-up series features six blend wines.

Remembering Branko Čotar

• Branko Čotar, pioneering natural winemaker from Slovenia's Karst region, died aged 78 following a short illness on 27 August.
• Čotar began with 500 vines planted to supply his restaurant in 1974, then started professional bottling in 1990 and now produces around 30,000 bottles annually.
• He made naturally vinified orange wines with no added sulphites or additives since the 1980s, two decades before Radikon and Gravner popularized the style in the late 1990s.
• Čotar joined Luca Gargano's Triple A portfolio in 2003 and signed with US importer Louis Dressner that same year.

M is for Method

• Traditional method sparkling wines undergo second fermentation in bottle with sugar and yeast, then are disgorged and dosed; they're nutty and complex from aging protocols.
• Ancestral method sparkling wines ferment in bottle before drying, retain lees, and remain fully dry and lightly cloudy; the method predates traditional method winemaking.
• Tank-method sparkling wines ferment in pressurized tanks with added sugar and yeast, producing clean and direct styles with limited lees contact.
• Skin-contact wines macerate white grapes with skins, seeds, and pulp during fermentation, creating color, tannin, and flavor; the tradition originated in the Caucasus.
• Botrytis cinerea fungus concentrates grape sugars by shriveling berries, creating honeyed and lightly savory flavors in still white wines.

Wine News: What I’m Reading the Week of 8/30/26

Hello and welcome to my weekly roundup of the wine stories that I find of interest on the web. I

The taste of stone

• Jako Andabak founded Stina winery (initially called Jako Vino) on Brač island in 2009 after buying out a cooperative in Bol village.
• Stina modernized the winery and planted new vineyards as part of a major investment project starting around 2012.
• Andabak, a hotel owner on Brač, brought capital and an existing market for wines through his hotel business.
• Stina represented the 'Hrvatski Vrh' movement of new Croatian wineries with foreign experience and financial backing, emerging despite the Global Financial Crisis.

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 merely "selected.".
• Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux publicly demanded removal from Michelin's guide after receiving one-grape rating, claiming they weren't visited and stopped submitting wines years ago.
• Michelin rates producers based on vineyard management and consistency rather than individual wines, differing from competitor Guide Hachette des Vins which rates specific cuvées.
• Consumer wine guides emerged in the 1970s-80s with publications like Decanter, Wine Spectator, Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book, and Parker's Wine Advocate, but internet access from mid-1990s onward made print guides obsolete.
• Michelin owns Wine Advocate entirely since 2019 (purchased 40% share in 2017), raising questions about potential influence on Burgundy selections.

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 peaks in quality between three and eight years of aging; most examples lose freshness after 10 years, contrary to the assumption that older always means better.
• Chardomi blends 80% Chardonnay grapes with 20% glutinous rice through a multi-step process: rice is soaked, steamed, saccharified, fermented separately, then co-fermented with pressed grape juice.
• A common misconception wrongly conflates huangjiu with cooking wine; quality huangjiu is a complex fermented beverage meant for drinking, while cooking wine uses lower-grade huangjiu with salt added.

What I Learned at a Conference on Drinking

From the invention of moderation to the return of temperance