Winefeed

Cruise lines become experiential sales channel for US wineries

• Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurant chartered Virgin Voyages' Valiant Lady for wine club members in 2024, integrating their wines across bars and restaurants; the sailing sold out and 30 percent of members signed up for a February 2027 follow-up cruise.
• Four Feathers Wine Services developed a Columbia Valley brut for Holland America's fleet, launched fleetwide in 2024 and now the most-served adult beverage across their ships, representing significant revenue for Four Feathers' sparkling wine sector.
• Eleven Eleven Wines hosted 60 guests on Scenic Eclipse II's seven-day Mediterranean sailing and achieved a 33 percent conversion rate of non-wine club passengers to repeat buyers, with two referrals to the winery.

Grape growers idle vineyards to cut costs while awaiting market recovery

• A 2025 study of 19 northern Willamette Valley vineyards found idling reduced annual management costs by an average of 38 percent per acre, with some halving expenses.
• Vineyard idling, or mothballing for one to three years, lets producers preserve vines and sunk capital when they cannot sell fruit, rather than remove acreage permanently.
• Idled vines require careful maintenance including adequate irrigation, severe pruning, weed control, and selective fungicide application to survive and return to production within two years.

Massive Spanish wildfires damage 200 hectares in revived Gredos wine region

• Between July 22 and 26, wildfires destroyed 77,000 hectares across Ávila and Madrid provinces, damaging approximately 200 hectares of vineyards in Cebreros DO, or 40 percent of its registered area.
• Bodegas Bernabeleva lost vineyard land and winery infrastructure including office, facade, windows, and tanks; Bodega El Reventón's San Gregorio parcel burned but owners expect 80 to 90 percent vine recovery.
• Comando G's Las Iruelas bottling in Cebreros suffered heavy smoke exposure and likely loss; producers including Daniel Landi and Juanan Martín have submitted proposals to regional authorities for firebreak subsidies and land management support.

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

• Alcohol distributor Southern Glazer's reached a non-prosecution agreement with the DOJ and TTB, paying $12.5 million to resolve a bribery investigation spanning 2016 to 2024.
• Former employees allegedly provided cash, gift cards, luxury goods, and travel to California retailers in exchange for better shelf placement, using false invoices to conceal payments.
• Southern Glazer's agreed to strengthen compliance measures and fulfill unspecified obligations over two years as part of the settlement.

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

• The 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 new UK-India free trade agreement signed in July 2026 opens the world's largest whisky market to more affordable Scotch imports.
• Post-pandemic oversupply and declining tourist visits have forced major distilleries including Diageo and Brown-Forman to pause operations, while others shift focus from luxury releases to affordable, age-stated expressions under £100.

Trump announces ban on Canadian alcohol imports effective September 29

• President Donald Trump announced Sept. 29 ban on Canadian wine, spirits, and beer imports, escalating ongoing tariff disputes between the countries.
• The ban follows Canada's Aug. 22 retaliatory tariffs on $20 billion of US goods, itself a response to Trump's 50 percent levy imposed Aug. 22.
• Canada's April 2024 alcohol ban reduced US wine, beer, and spirits export revenue in 2025; both nations say they remain open to negotiation.

AriZona Iced Tea launches artist residency at Woodbury headquarters

• AriZona Iced Tea opened a six-week artist residency program at its Woodbury, N.Y. headquarters in July 2025, hosting up to four artists per session with stipends, housing, studio access, and materials.
• Three cohorts have completed the program as of August 2025, with participants including painter Eleanor Dexter and textile artist Lucas Carlo Monasterio creating works inspired by the brand's Southwest design language.
• Artists' finished work is exhibited and added to AriZona's permanent collection, blending personal expression with reinterpretations of the brand's visual identity, continuing founder Ilene Vultaggio's legacy of in-house design.

Early harvests from heat shift winemaking beyond the cellar

• Domaine Lafage in Roussillon picked grapes on July 23, weeks earlier than ever before, while California Central Coast harvests arrived six to eight weeks ahead of the historical norm.
• Early harvest now demands more refrigeration during peak electricity prices, strains labour and bottling facilities, and shrinks the window for direct-to-consumer wine sales due to summer heat damaging shipments.
• Heat also affects labelling adhesion, insurance costs, and irrigation fees, while reduced summer wine-tourism visits in hot regions like Paso Robles offset potential gains from autumn harvest overlaps with family travel season.

Seven volcanic wine regions beyond Mount Etna showcase compelling terroir

• Volcanic soils from past eruptions in Soave, Santorini, the Canary Islands, Hungary, Oregon's Willamette Valley, Auvergne, and Lake County create complex terroir that shapes wine flavor through high acidity, salinity, and savory notes.
• Volcanic terrain presents farming challenges including rugged heat and wind, but resists pests and disease, enabling organic viticulture and preservation of old indigenous grape varieties.
• Regional volcanic characteristics produce distinct wine styles: Santorini's Assyrtiko gains mineral intensity; Tokaji Aszú gains saline edginess; Oregon's Pinot Noir develops red fruit qualities from Jory soil; Lake County reds gain grippy tannins and acidity.

Is That the Death Rattle of Wine Writing I Hear?

The purpose of any honest writing competition can only be to support and encourage the craft and industry of writing

The Pluralism Of Wine Writing

• A winning entry in the Pall Mall awards' short-form writing competition allegedly used AI, with organizers defending it by claiming the work is not 100% AI-generated.
• Tim Atkin argues wine writing encompasses journalism, criticism, and travelogues, but most lacks investigative rigor and relies on formulaic approaches regardless of authorship origin.

Video: Vintage time at Hundred Hills, making the Rosé de Saignée cuvée

• Hundred Hills, an Oxfordshire winery, produces Rosé de Saignée by macerating destemmed Pinot Noir on skins and pressing to barrel when colour reaches target.
• The 2022 Rosé de Saignée release was tasted alongside 2026 vintage juice samples at different skin-contact periods during harvest.

Heading Out

• Meg Maker travels to Roero next week for a press trip tasting wines and handmade foods with eight American journalists in a tight itinerary from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
• Press tours are mechanically complex: European producers pay consortiums, which contract P.R. agencies that identify journalists; E.U. subsidies and grants substantially offset trip costs, making journalists the product acquired for media coverage.
• Sarah Marsh MW argues old vines deserve preservation but not unconditionally, noting many carry viruses and young vines can match them in health and climate resilience.

Myths of The Douro

• Global port wine sales have declined 25% over the last two decades, while the Douro now produces equal quantities of table wine and port.
• The Douro's strict regulations penalize wines lacking typical 'Douro character', hefty, high-alcohol, oaky styles, causing innovative lighter wines to be declassified or denied appellation status.
• New-generation winemakers like Rita Marques, Luis Seabra, and Pedro Coelho are producing lighter, high-altitude Douro table wines with classical structure and acidity, departing from the region's port-driven winemaking legacy.

Of Substack & wine

• Substack created a Wine & Spirits subsection breaking from Food & Drink, improving discovery for wine writers on the platform.
• Miquel Hudin updated the Wine Substack List (WineStack) to require paid subscriptions in active use 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.

What I Learned at a Conference on Drinking

From the invention of moderation to the return of temperance