Winefeed

Early harvests shift wine tourism, threaten regional shipping and cool-season operations

• Domaine Lafage in Roussillon began harvest July 23, and California Central Coast growers harvested six to eight weeks early, the earliest in 27 years for some.
• Winemakers report shrinking shipping windows as heat limits safe transport; Paso Robles tasting-room visits drop sharply in summer heat, and established European wineries face delayed payments when autumn shipments replace peak summer sales.
• Early harvests raise electricity, refrigeration, water, insurance, and packaging costs, while straining harvest crews and bottling facilities; extended fall tourism to Champagne and Burgundy offers partial offset.

Southern Glazer's pays $12.5 million to resolve DOJ bribery inquiry

• Southern Glazer's agreed to pay $12.5 million and entered a non-prosecution agreement with the DOJ and TTB to resolve an investigation into improper payments from 2016 to 2024.
• Former employees allegedly distributed cash, gift cards, luxury goods, and trips to California retailers in exchange for better shelf placement; the company used false invoices to conceal payments.
• Southern Glazer's committed to enhanced compliance staff, proactive auditing, and unspecified obligations over two years to prevent future misconduct.

US tariff lift and India trade deal reshape Scotch export outlook for 2026

• US lifted a 15-month tariff on Scotch in July 2026, reversing a 15 percent export decline to one of Scotland's largest markets.
• A UK-India free trade agreement signed the same month could open the world's largest whisky market to more affordable Scotch.
• Many distilleries remain in production pause after post-pandemic oversaturation, though focus is shifting from ultra-premium to sub-$100 age-stated releases.

Trump bans Canadian alcohol imports effective September 29

• President Trump announced a ban on Canadian alcohol imports, including wine, spirits, and beer, effective Sept. 29, escalating tariff disputes.
• The ban follows Canada's retaliatory levies on $20 billion of U.S. goods that began Tuesday in response to U.S. tariffs imposed Aug. 22.
• A Canadian province-wide alcohol ban in 2025 already reduced U.S. wine, beer, and spirits export revenue; negotiations between countries remain stalled.

American single malt ratification fails to boost sales as category struggles

• The TTB ratified American single malt as an official whiskey category in December 2024 after a decade of petitioning, but distillers report sales have not improved as hoped amid weak whiskey demand.
• Westland Distillery laid off staff in early 2025; Diageo shut Balcones Distillery in August 2025, cutting 17 jobs; Westward Whiskey filed for bankruptcy as its parent firm Distill Ventures wound down.
• Producers are adapting by launching lower-priced cask-finished variants, diversifying into other spirits, and creating gateway products like bourbon-single malt blends to build market share.

Eleven sommeliers pick affordable Cabernet Sauvignons worth buying again

• Eleven restaurant sommeliers across the US named Cabernet Sauvignons under $50 that they recommend to guests seeking quality without premium prices.
• Picks ranged from Bordeaux estates like Château Cantemerle (Fifth Growth, $40 retail) to Napa producers Gibbs, Faust, and Heitz Cellar, plus Sierra Foothills' Narrow Gate and Chilean Clos des Fous Grillos Cantores at $25.
• Sommeliers emphasized that affordable Cabernet Sauvignons from established regions offer the structure, balance, and aging potential of expensive bottles, making them compelling for restaurant wine programs and regular drinking.

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 in July 2025, hosting up to four artists per session with stipends, housing, materials, and studio access.
• Three cohorts have completed the program as of August 2025, with participants like Eleanor Dexter and Lucas Carlo Monasterio creating works ranging from paintings and silkscreen to stained glass and laser-cut leather sculptures.
• Artists' work is exhibited at the end of each session and selected pieces enter AriZona's permanent collection, often blending personal expression with references to the brand's Southwest design heritage.

Wildfires destroy 200 hectares of vines in reviving Sierra de Gredos region

• Fires between July 22-26 destroyed 77,000 hectares across Ávila and Madrid provinces, with approximately 200 hectares of Cebreros DO vineyards damaged by fire or smoke, representing around 40 percent of registered vineyard area there.
• Local winemakers including Comando G's Daniel Landi and Juanan Martín of Rico Nuevo have proposed regional policies including forest clearance subsidies, firebreaks, and vineyard restoration to prevent future disasters and maintain rural land management.

Seven volcanic regions beyond Etna produce distinctive wines from ancient lava soils

• Volcanic soils from past eruptions in Soave, Santorini, the Canary Islands, Hungary, Oregon's Willamette Valley, Auvergne, and Lake County create complex terroir shaped by lava composition and layering.
• Volcanic soils naturally resist pests and disease, enabling organic farming and preserving old vines; they impart signature high acidity, salinity, and savory flavors rather than fruit-forward profiles.
• Unique growing conditions in these regions, from Santorini's basket-trained vines protecting against wind to Lanzarote's hand-dug holes in black volcanic terrain, shape both viticulture practices and final wine character.

Pierce's Disease Detected in Europe; 41% of Vineyards Now at Climate Risk

• Xylella fastidiosa bacterium, which causes Pierce's disease in grapevines, was detected in continental European vineyards for the first time in 2023 when one infected vine appeared in Portugal; cases now persist across Spain, Italy, Portugal, and France.
• A 2025 study using high-resolution climate data found 41.2 percent of European vineyards face climate risk from Pierce's disease, up from 21.8 percent in previous models, with river basins and valleys identified as especially vulnerable microclimates.
• California researchers and growers are sharing decades of experience managing the disease with European counterparts, emphasizing early detection, vector management, and surveillance; California growers cost over $48 million annually managing the disease.

Drinking Quite Well

• Tim Atkin's father, a wine merchant, purchased 1950s Château Lafite for less than £2 per bottle in the 1960s; adjusted for inflation, that equates to roughly £25 today.
• Top Bordeaux and Burgundy wines once affordable to middle-class professionals in the 1960s-1980s are now accessible primarily to wealthy financiers and tech entrepreneurs due to increased demand and wealth inequality.
• Atkin personally purchases wines in the £12-£30 range from Spain, Argentina, Portugal, Loire, Southern Rhône, and cru bourgeois Bordeaux rather than expensive cru classé or Burgundy.

Wine News: What I’m Reading the Week of 9/13/26

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

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 diversity and fair pricing, plus dining and a wine-focused bar.
• Yield specializes in low-intervention and natural wines at attractive prices in a relaxed setting near other Islington wine venues.
• Trullo, an acclaimed Italian restaurant nearby, features an excellent wine list but requires reservations due to high demand.

Do the Right Work

• The 67 Pall Mall Global Wine Communicator Awards drew criticism for selecting a winning piece suspected to be AI-generated; organizers defended the choice.
• Wine writing requires human sensory experience and memory to convey authentic insights about wine; AI-generated text mimics cadence but lacks the sensory foundation essential to the craft.
• Winemaker Dan Petroski explored regional wine pairings with Sicilian, Tuscan, and Campanian summer pastas, finding that wines need behavioral compatibility with food, not merely geographic matching.

Of Substack & wine

• Substack created a dedicated Wine & Spirits subsection within its Rising and Top lists, separating wine writing from the broader Food & Drink category.
• Miquel Hudin updated the Wine Substack List (WineStack), now requiring paid subscriptions and human-written text only, removing 'Thirst Behavior' by Bodhi Landa for AI-generated content.
• Matthew Jukes, a wine writer in traditional media, passed away last month.

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 bottling professionally in 1990, and built the winery to produce around 30,000 bottles annually.
• Čotar was among the first to practice skin-fermented white grapes and no-added-sulphur winemaking in the 1980s, decades before Radikon and Gravner publicized the approach.

What I Learned at a Conference on Drinking

From the invention of moderation to the return of temperance