winefeed

Vineyard idling gains traction as producers navigate weak demand

• A 2025 study of 19 northern Willamette Valley vineyards found idling cut management costs an average of 38 percent per acre, with some sites halving expenses.
• Vineyard managers advise idling only if producers expect to resume within one to three years; longer timelines may justify removal instead.
• Proper idling requires maintained irrigation, severe pruning, and careful nutrient management to prevent vine damage and enable future quality production.

Record Spanish wildfires damage Sierra de Gredos vineyards as revival region rebuilds

• Fires between July 22-26 destroyed 77,000 hectares across Ávila and Madrid provinces, damaging approximately 200 hectares or 40 percent of registered vineyards in Cebreros DO.
• Major producers including Bodega El Reventón, Bodegas Bernabeleva, and Comando G's Las Iruelas parcel suffered significant losses; El Reventón estimates 80-90 percent vine recovery in San Gregorio.
• Producers have proposed firebreak subsidies and land-clearance support to regional authorities, framing vineyard maintenance as critical rural fire prevention alongside climate and firefighting efforts.

Southern Glazer's pays $12.5M to resolve DOJ bribery investigation

• Southern Glazer's, the largest alcohol distributor in the US, reached a non-prosecution agreement with the DOJ and TTB on Thursday after a federal investigation into misconduct from 2016 to 2024.
• Former employees allegedly distributed cash, gift cards, luxury goods, golf trips, and resort bookings to California retailers to secure better shelf placement; the company used false invoices to conceal the payments.
• Southern Glazer's will pay $12.5 million and reinforce compliance measures over two years, including expanded staff and proactive auditing, to prevent future misconduct.

US tariff lift and India trade deal reshape Scotch whisky market in 2026

• US lifted 15-month tariff on Scotch in July 2026, reversing a 15 percent export decline to one of Scotland's largest markets.
• UK-India free trade agreement signed July 2026 aims to open the world's largest whisky market to more affordable Scotch imports.
• Post-pandemic oversupply persists as some major distilleries like Diageo and Brown-Forman remain on production pause; premiumization fatigue shifts focus to sub-$100 age-stated releases.

Trump announces ban on Canadian alcohol imports effective September 29

• President Donald Trump announced a ban on Canadian alcohol imports, including wine, spirits, and malt beer, effective September 29, escalating an ongoing tariff dispute.
• The ban follows Canada's retaliatory 50 percent tariffs on $20 billion of US goods that began Tuesday, in response to US tariffs imposed August 22.
• US wine, beer, and spirits industries lost export revenue in 2025 after Canada's April 2024 province-wide ban removed American alcohol from retail and bar shelves.

Eleven sommeliers pick affordable Cabernet Sauvignons worth their price

• Eleven restaurant and retail sommeliers identified Cabernet Sauvignons under $50 that deliver quality matching wines at double the price, citing producers including Heitz Cellar, Château Cantemerle, Narrow Gate, and Gibbs.
• Recommendations span regions: Bordeaux estates like Château Latour-Martillac and Cantemerle, Napa producers including Heitz and Faust, Sierra Foothills' Narrow Gate, and international picks from Chile and Washington State.
• Sommeliers praised bottles for dark fruit, balanced structure, and approachability without over-extraction or heavy oak, making them suitable for both everyday drinking and pairing with grilled meats and steaks.

New wine directors share tactics for inheriting established restaurant programs

• Seven wine and beverage directors who took over existing programs in recent years prioritized auditing inventory, pricing, and sales data before making changes to avoid alienating staff and guests.
• Charlotte Marshall at Nic + Junior's Tavern in Chicago and Tira Johnson at We All Gotta Eat venues created bin systems and corrected pricing gaps in inherited spreadsheets to establish financial control.
• Kenny Koda at The National in Telluride, Colorado analyzed product mix and sales volume to align wine selections with customer spending habits and restaurant food offerings rather than pursuing trophy bottles.

AriZona Iced Tea launches artist residency at New York headquarters

• AriZona Iced Tea opened a six-week artist residency program at its Woodbury, New York headquarters, hosting up to four artists per session with stipends, studio space, materials, and rooftop access.
• Three cohorts have completed the program since July 2025, with resident artists like Eleanor Dexter and Lucas Carlo Monasterio collaborating on paintings, silkscreen work, and mixed-media projects inspired by the brand's Southwest aesthetic.
• Artists' work is exhibited after each session and some pieces enter AriZona's permanent collection, including Anna Fleury's stained-glass window with cactus and cow skull motifs now displayed in the workspace.

Seven volcanic wine regions beyond Mount Etna showcase complex terroir

• Volcanic soils from ancient eruptions in Soave, Santorini, Hungary, Oregon, France and California create distinct mineral and savory flavors; volcanoes inactive for millions of years still shape wine character today.
• Volcanic terrain's natural pest resistance enables organic farming and preserves old indigenous grape varieties; Santorini vines over 200 years old survive in one of the world's most volcanically active zones.
• Winemakers adapt viticulture to harsh volcanic landscapes: Santorini trains vines in basket shapes; Lanzarote hand-digs individual holes called hoyos with rock walls to protect against heat and wind.

Pierce's disease bacteria detected in European vineyards as climate risk zone expands

• Xylella fastidiosa, bacterium causing Pierce's disease, was detected in continental European grapevines in Portugal in 2023 and now persists in regulated zones across Spain, Italy, Portugal, and France.
• High-resolution climate modeling shows 41.2 percent of European vineyards now face climate risk from Pierce's disease, up from 21.8 percent in previous models, with river valleys and microclimates especially vulnerable.
• California growers and researchers are sharing three decades of management strategies with Europe, emphasizing early detection and vector control over eradication alone, as the pathogen becomes established.

Going to the football? Like good wine? A tasting trip through Islington’s wine bars pairs well with tickets for a north London matchday

• The Draper's Arms in Islington offers one of London's best wine lists with diverse, fairly-priced selections and full dining options.
• Yield is a small natural wine bar in Islington with relaxed atmosphere and attractively-priced low-intervention wines.
• Trullo, an acclaimed Italian restaurant near Yield, features an excellent wine list but requires reservations due to high demand.

Vinography Unboxed: Week of 9/6/26

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

Do the Right Work

• The 67 Pall Mall Global Wine Communicator Awards faced criticism for selecting a winning piece apparently written by machine, prompting debate about AI use in wine writing.
• Dan Petroski paired regional Italian summer pastas with wines from Sicily, Tuscany, and Campania, finding that wine's regional origin matters less than its sensory behavior with food.
• Spanish dining has shifted one hour earlier since the pandemic, with restaurant booking data showing the trend continues away from traditional 10:00 PM dinners.

Raising Standards

• Montpeyroux became France's 369th AOC last week with stricter controls on red grapes and 45 hectolitres per hectare maximum yields; around 80% of its vineyards are certified organic or sustainable.
• Muscadet rebuilt its reputation through site-specific crus created from 2011, better winemaking, and natural selection that reduced producers from 700 to fewer than 300 since the early 1990s.
• Soave created 33 crus (UGAs) in 2020 and a DOCG tier in 2001, but declassified only 1,300 of 7,000 hectares and many producers remain confused about the designations.

Of Substack & wine

• Substack created a Wine & Spirits subsection within its Rising and Top lists, separating wine writing from the broader Food & Drink category to improve discovery.
• Miquel Hudin updated the Wine Substack List (WineStack) to require paid subscriptions and human-written text only, removing AI-generated content like Bodhi Landa's "Thirst Behavior.".
• Wine writing on Substack has grown significantly enough that Substack staff created dedicated categorization to help readers find wine newsletters among the platform's expanding content.

Remembering Branko Čotar

• Branko Čotar, pioneering natural winemaker from Slovenia's Karst region, died aged 78 on 27 August following a short illness.
• Čotar began with 500 vines for his restaurant in 1974, started commercial bottling in 1990, and built a winery producing around 30,000 bottles annually by 2002.
• He pioneered skin-fermented orange wines with no added sulphites in the 1980s, two decades before Radikon and Gravner publicized the style in the late 1990s.

What I Learned at a Conference on Drinking

From the invention of moderation to the return of temperance