Winefeed

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

• A 2025 study of 19 Willamette Valley vineyards found idling reduced management costs by an average of 38 percent per acre, with some cutting costs in half.
• Vineyard idling, a temporary pause in production lasting one to three years, allows producers to avoid removal and preserve assets while awaiting market recovery.
• Idled vines require careful management including minimal irrigation, aggressive pruning, weed control, and selective spraying to survive dormancy and resume quality production.

Early harvests shift wine tourism, logistics, and costs across global regions

• Domaine Lafage in Roussillon began harvest on July 23, weeks or months ahead of traditional fall schedules; California's Central Coast started six to eight weeks early, the earliest Kevin Merrill has seen in 27 years.
• Wineries face shrinking safe-shipping windows due to heat, delayed payments from fall-delayed sales, rising electricity costs during peak summer demand, and higher insurance and water fees linked to climate pressure.
• Wine tourism to hot regions like Paso Robles drops sharply in summer when visitors avoid tasting rooms; European regions like Champagne see tourism extend into November as fall weather improves, offsetting some losses.

Devastating Spanish wildfires damage 200 hectares in reviving Gredos wine region

• Between July 22 and 26, wildfires destroyed 77,000 hectares across Ávila and Madrid provinces; about 200 hectares of vineyard in Cebreros DO, roughly 40 percent of registered area, suffered fire, smoke, or both damage.
• Multiple producers including Bodegas Bernabeleva and Bodega El Reventón sustained significant losses: destroyed infrastructure, equipment damage, and uncertain grape yields heading into harvest.
• Comando G's slate parcel in Cebreros likely lost its 2024 Las Iruelas bottling to smoke exposure; producers including Daniel Landi and Juanan Martín are drafting proposals to regional authorities for firebreak subsidies and land-clearance support.

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

• Southern Glazer's, the largest alcohol distributor in the US, reached a non-prosecution agreement with the DOJ and Alcohol and Tobacco Trade Bureau on Thursday, resolving a bribery investigation.
• From 2016 to 2024, former employees allegedly provided cash, gift cards, luxury goods, golf trips, and resort bookings to retailers in California to secure better shelf placement and other benefits, using false invoices to hide payments.
• Beyond the $12.5 million penalty, Southern Glazer's must strengthen compliance and auditing systems over the next two years under obligations not fully disclosed.

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

• US lifted its 15-month tariff on Scotch in July 2026, ending a barrier that had cut exports to the country by 15 percent.
• UK-India free trade agreement signed in July 2026 aims to open the world's largest whisky market to more affordable Scotch.
• Post-pandemic oversupply persists at major distilleries including Diageo and Brown-Forman; some operations like Clynelish closed visitor centers due to weak tourism.

Trump announces ban on Canadian alcohol imports effective September 29

• President Donald Trump announced a ban on Canadian imports of wine, spirits, and malt beer, effective September 29, escalating months of tariff disputes.
• The ban follows Canada's retaliatory levies on $20 billion of U.S. goods that began after U.S. tariffs took effect on August 22.
• Canada's alcohol import ban in 2024 and 2025 significantly reduced U.S. wine, beer, and spirits export revenue.

E&J Gallo's Apothic releases blood-bag wine with Heidi Klum for Halloween

• E&J Gallo's Apothic wine partnered with TV personality Heidi Klum on limited-edition blood-bag packaging dropped online Thursday at 10:31 p.m., priced at $10.31 for two reusable bags in a cooler.
• Gallo vice president Marshall Dawson framed the release as a usage vehicle for adult party spaces, targeting Millennials and younger Gen-X consumers who overlap with Klum's Halloween audience.
• The campaign coincides with Apothic's rollout of 200-milliliter TetraPak cartons, part of Gallo's broader alternative packaging strategy to recruit new drinkers during the season.

Four candidates pass rigorous Master Sommelier exam in Houston

• Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas held its final exam rounds September 8-10 in Houston, where 30 candidates sat for the test and only four passed, bringing the global Master Sommelier count to approximately 305.
• Alex Mares, wine director at Bourbon Steak New York, scored highest in the cohort after multiple attempts, crediting mental preparation and open-label tasting practice alongside traditional study methods.
• Kaysie Rogers at SingleThread Farms in Healdsburg and Steven Washuta of Denver Wine Merchant also passed after multiple attempts, with Rogers and Washuta each emphasizing self-trust and individualized preparation over standardized study approaches.

AriZona Iced Tea launches artist residency at New York headquarters

• AriZona opened a six-week artist residency program at its Woodbury, New York headquarters, hosting up to four artists per session since July 2025, with three cohorts completed by August.
• Residents receive stipends, housing, materials, and access to The Lookout studio and workshop; artists create work inspired by AriZona's Southwest aesthetic and contribute pieces to the company's permanent collection.
• The program extends AriZona's 33-year commitment to in-house design and personal creative vision, positioning artistic patronage as a competitive marketing strategy alongside its fixed 99-cent can price.

Seven volcanic wine regions beyond Mount Etna showcase terroir shaped by ancient eruptions

• Volcanic soils from ancient eruptions in Soave, Santorini, the Canary Islands, Hungary, Oregon's Willamette Valley, Auvergne, and California's Lake County create mineral-driven wines with high acidity and savory flavors.
• Volcanic terrain offers practical advantages: soils resist pests and disease, enabling organic farming and preservation of old indigenous grape varieties, while protecting vines from harsh climates.
• Wine character varies by geology: Soave's Garganega expresses orchard fruit and acidity; Santorini's Assyrtiko delivers mineral depth; Willamette's volcanic Jory soil yields red fruit Pinot Noirs; Lake County's elevation and soils produce tannic, acidic reds.

Highlights: Stesso Stesso Beulah Violetta Rosso 2024 Umbria, Italy

• Australian couple James Hird and Annie Conley established Stesso Stesso winemaking project at Beulah Violetta, a 150-year-old certified-biodynamic estate near Todi, Umbria.
• Stesso Stesso Beulah Violetta Rosso 2024 blends Merlot, Sangiovese, and Sagrantino fermented in stainless steel with minimal sulfite additions.

Vinography Images: Fog of Riesling

A wall of vines appears out of the morning fog across the Mosel River in Germany. The famously steep slate

Heading Out

• Meg Maker travels to Piemonte's Roero next week for a press tour lasting 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., tasting wines alongside handmade cheese, truffle, hazelnut, and honey.
• European wine press tours are funded by EU subsidies and regional consortiums, positioning journalists as products acquired to generate favorable coverage rather than independent guests.
• Sarah Marsh MW challenged the Old Vine Conference consensus, noting many old vines carry viruses and young vines can match their quality and resilience to climate extremes.

Myths of The Douro

• Global port wine sales declined 25% over the last two decades; the Douro now produces as much table wine as port, with table wine as the region's economic foundation.
• The Douro's strict appellation regulations penalize wines lacking typical 'Douro character' (heavy, high alcohol, oaky), causing innovative producers like Luis Seabra and Rita Marques to declassify wines that don't fit the port-legacy mold.
• New-generation winemakers including Dirk Niepoort, Luis Seabra, and Pedro Coelho are producing lighter, higher-altitude Douro table wines with classical structure and acidity, departing from the heavy Parker-style wines that dominated the 2000s.

Drinking Quite Well

• Tim Atkin's father, a wine merchant, bought Château Lafite 1953 and 1959 for under £2 per bottle in the 1960s; adjusted for inflation, these cost roughly £25 today but now sell for far more.
• Top Bordeaux and Burgundy wines affordable to middle-class professionals in the 1960s-1980s are now accessible mainly to plutocrats, a shift driven by increased demand and wealth inequality since the late 1980s.
• Atkin personally buys wines in the £12-£30 range and sources quality alternatives from Spain, Argentina, Portugal, Loire, and Southern Rhône rather than expensive cru classé or most Burgundy.

Of Substack & wine

• Substack created a Wine & Spirits subsection within its Rising and Top lists, separating wine from the broader Food & Drink category to improve discovery.
• Miquel Hudin updated the Wine Substack List (WineStack) with stricter criteria: paid subscriptions must be actively used and content must be text-only, human-written.
• Bodhi Landa's 'Thirst Behavior' was removed from WineStack after Substack's AI detection tools confirmed the majority of its text was AI-generated.

What I Learned at a Conference on Drinking

From the invention of moderation to the return of temperance