Winefeed

California and Pacific Northwest vineyards idle acreage to cut costs amid weak demand

• Vineyard idling, a temporary halt to production lasting one to three years, saved northern Willamette Valley producers an average of 38 percent per acre in 2025, with some cutting costs by half.
• Viticulture managers including those at Mercer Ranches in Washington and Lost Draw Vineyards in Texas are idling selected blocks while evaluating replanting options, as weak grape sales have made older plantings unviable.
• Proper idling requires sustained irrigation, aggressive pruning, and light disease management to prevent long-term vine damage; vines left unattended risk years of recovery work.

Early harvests strain wine supply chains as climate shifts peak season to summer

• Domaine Lafage in Roussillon began harvest on July 23, Jean-Marc Lafage's earliest date ever, while California's Central Coast started six to eight weeks early, Kevin Merrill's earliest in 27 years.
• Wineries face higher electricity and refrigeration costs as peak harvest demand now coincides with summer heat instead of cool fall; shipping windows narrowed, delaying payments and limiting direct-to-consumer sales.
• Early ripening strains crews, bottling facilities, and glass suppliers, while wine tourism in regions like Paso Robles drops sharply in July heat, though fall bookings to Champagne and European regions are rising.

Devastating Spanish wildfires threaten Sierra de Gredos wine revival

• Fires between July 22-26 destroyed 77,000 hectares across Ávila and Madrid provinces, damaging approximately 200 hectares of vineyards in Cebreros DO, roughly 40 percent of its registered vineyard area.
• Major producers including Bodegas Bernabeleva and Bodega El Reventón suffered significant infrastructure losses; El Reventón expects to recover 80-90 percent of vines in one parcel but lost another entirely.
• Comando G's single-vineyard Las Iruelas bottling in Cebreros suffered heavy smoke exposure, likely writing off this vintage, while their primary vineyards in other municipalities were spared.

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

• Southern Glazer's, the US alcohol distributor, reached a non-prosecution agreement with the DOJ and TTB on Thursday, paying $12.5 million to resolve a bribery investigation.
• From 2016 to 2024, former employees allegedly gave cash, gift cards, luxury goods, golf trips, and resort bookings to California retailers for better shelf placement and used false invoices to hide the payments.
• Southern Glazer's agreed to strengthen compliance controls and face unspecified obligations over two years as part of the settlement.

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

• US lifted 15-month tariff on Scotch in July 2026, reversing a 15 percent export decline to one of Scotland's biggest markets.
• UK-India free trade agreement signed same month may open the world's largest whisky market to more affordable Scotch.
• Diageo and Brown-Forman remain paused after post-pandemic oversaturation; distilleries now pivot from premium releases to sub-$100 age-stated bottles.

Trump bans Canadian alcohol imports effective September 29

• President Donald Trump announced a ban on Canadian wine, spirits, and beer imports to take effect September 29, escalating tariff disputes between the U.S. and Canada.
• The ban follows Canada's retaliatory levies on $20 billion of U.S. goods that began Tuesday, continuing tit-for-tat measures since August 22 when U.S. tariffs on Canadian alcohol took effect.
• A Canadian province-wide alcohol ban imposed in April 2024 already reduced U.S. wine, beer, and spirits export revenue in 2025, and both nations say negotiations remain possible.

American single malt ratification fails to boost sales amid industry downturn

• The TTB ratified American single malt as an official whiskey category in December 2024, ending a decade-long push by distillers, but hoped-for sales surges have not materialized.
• Major producers including Westland Distillery, Balcones Distillery, and Westward Whiskey have laid off staff or ceased production in 2025 as broader whiskey market weakness persists.
• Distillers are adapting by diversifying into bourbon, rye, and other spirits, and by leveraging the official designation to secure dedicated retail shelf space and export tracking.

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, living space, studio access, and materials.
• Three cohorts have completed the program since July 2025, with participants creating work inspired by the brand's Southwest aesthetic and collaborating with company creatives in a shared workshop called The Lookout.
• Selected artworks enter AriZona's permanent collection and are exhibited publicly; the residency extends the founders' decades-long commitment to in-house design as a brand differentiator.

Seven volcanic wine regions beyond Mount Etna offer distinct mineral terroirs

• Volcanic soils across Soave, Santorini, the Canary Islands, Hungary, Oregon's Willamette Valley, Auvergne, and California's Lake County produce wines marked by high acidity, salinity, and savory flavors rather than fruit-forward profiles.
• Volcanic terrain inhibits pests and disease, enabling organic farming and preserving old indigenous grape varieties; Santorini and the Canary Islands retain vines over 200 years old without phylloxera damage.
• Each region's volcanic geology shapes distinct styles: Santorini's Assyrtiko gains mineral depth unmatched elsewhere; Tokaji Aszú gains saline edginess from mineral-rich soils; Oregon's Jory soil yields red-fruit Pinot Noir compared to marine-sediment darkness.

Hip-Hop Doesn’t Need Wine, But Wine Just Might Need Hip-Hop

Despite the fading evening light on Lankershim Boulevard, I had to squint a bit in the dim light of the

Myths of The Douro

• Global port sales have declined 25% over the last two decades; the Douro now produces equal volumes of table wine and port.
• The Douro's vineyard grading system historically rewarded sites suited to port production (high sugar, color, tannin), not table wine, skewing the region's reputation toward big, heavy wines.
• New-generation winemakers like Rita Marques, Luis Seabra, and Pedro Coelho are producing lighter, high-altitude Douro table wines with classical structure and acidity, challenging the region's port-driven legacy.

Drinking Quite Well

• Tim Atkin's father, a wine merchant, purchased Château Lafite 1953 and 1959 for less than £2 per bottle in the 1960s; adjusted for inflation, those same bottles cost roughly £25 today but now sell for thousands.
• Top Bordeaux and Burgundy wines 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 since the late 1980s.
• Atkin personally buys wines in the £12-£30 range from Spain, Argentina, Portugal, Loire, Southern Rhône, and cru bourgeois Bordeaux rather than relying solely on free tastings provided to wine writers.

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 selections at fair prices, combining a wine bar, pub, and restaurant.
• Yield is a small Islington wine bar specializing in low-intervention and natural wines with relaxed atmosphere and attractive pricing.
• Trullo, an acclaimed Italian restaurant on St Paul's Road in Islington, features an excellent wine list and requires reservations.

Do the Right Work

• The 67 Pall Mall Global Wine Communicator Awards faced criticism for selecting a winning piece suspected to be AI-generated, sparking debate about machine-written wine commentary.
• Wine writing's essential value lies in sensory experience and human memory, AI lacks the corporeal apparatus and lived experience required to write persuasively about wine.
• Dan Petroski explored regional wine pairings with Sicilian, Tuscan, and Campanian pastas, finding that wines belonging with food succeed through behavioral fit, not geographic origin alone.

Of Substack & wine

• Substack created a 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) to require paid subscriptions and human-written text only, removing AI-generated content like 'Thirst Behavior' by Bodhi Landa.
• Matthew Jukes, a traditional wine media writer, passed away last month.

What I Learned at a Conference on Drinking

From the invention of moderation to the return of temperance