Winefeed

Cruise lines emerge as experiential sales channel for US wineries

• Cooper's Hawk Winery chartered Virgin Voyages' Valiant Lady for a four-night Caribbean cruise in 2024, integrating its wines across bars and restaurants; the sailing sold out and 30 percent of members signed up for a second charter in February 2027.
• Four Feathers Wine Services, a Washington state custom-wine producer, developed a Columbia Valley brut for Holland America's fleet in 2024 that became the most-served adult beverage across the cruise line.
• Eleven Eleven Wines, a boutique Napa winery, hosted 60 guests aboard Scenic Eclipse II in a seven-day Mediterranean sailing and achieved a 33 percent conversion rate of non-wine club passengers to repeat customers.

California and Pacific Northwest grape growers idle vineyards to weather weak market demand

• A 2025 study of 19 northern Willamette Valley vineyards found idling cut average management costs by 38 percent per acre, with some sites halving expenses.
• Vineyard idling, a temporary pause in production lasting one to three years, lets growers avoid bulldozing planted acres while preserving sunk capital and future options.
• Richard Hoff at Mercer Ranches in Prosser, Washington has idled about 1,000 of 3,350 acres since 2025; proper maintenance including irrigation and pruning is critical to revive vines later.

Early harvests reshape wine tourism, shipping, and operating costs worldwide

• Domaine Lafage in Roussillon picked grapes July 23, Jean-Marc Lafage's earliest date ever; California's Central Coast harvested six to eight weeks early, the earliest Kevin Merrill has seen in 27 years.
• Aaron Jackson's Aaron Wines tasting room in Paso Robles saw July visitation plummet as heat discouraged wine tourism; direct-to-consumer shipping blackout periods lengthened as safe shipping windows narrowed across the year.
• Winemakers face new costs: higher electricity for early-harvest refrigeration during peak-price summer months, delayed cash flow when shipping is delayed until fall, and damage to bottle labels in extreme heat requiring costly reprints.

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.
• Former employees allegedly distributed cash, gift cards, luxury goods, golf trips, flights and resort bookings to California retailers from 2016 to 2024 to secure better shelf placement and other benefits.
• Southern Glazer's agreed to strengthen compliance controls and fulfil undisclosed obligations over two years; the company claims it has already increased TTB compliance staff and implemented proactive auditing.

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

• US lifted its 15-month tariff on Scotch in July 2026, after the levy contributed to 15 percent export decline to America, Scotland's largest market.
• UK-India free trade agreement signed same month may open the world's largest whisky market to more affordable Scotch imports.
• Post-pandemic oversupply persists; major distilleries including Diageo and Brown-Forman remain paused, while premiumization fatigue pushes focus to sub-$100 age-stated bottles.

Wildfires destroy 200 hectares in Sierra de Gredos wine region

• Fires between July 22 and 26 destroyed 77,000 hectares across Ávila and Madrid provinces; approximately 200 hectares of vineyards in Cebreros DO suffered fire, smoke, or both damage.
• Multiple producers including Bodegas Bernabeleva and Bodega El Reventón reported destroyed vineyard parcels, infrastructure damage, and uncertainty over grape viability for the vintage.
• Comando G's Las Iruelas single-vineyard parcel in Cebreros suffered heavy smoke exposure, likely making the wine unviable; other Comando G sites in Villanueva, Navatalgordo, Cadalso de los Vidrios, and Rozas de Puerto Real were spared.

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 faced allegations of AI use, with organizers stating the work is "not 100% AI-generated.".
• Tim Atkin argues wine writing encompasses diverse forms, journalism, criticism, and travelogue, whose definitions remain fluid and whose quality varies widely across styles.

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

• Hundred Hills winery in Oxfordshire produces Rosé de Saignée by macerating destemmed Pinot Noir on skins, then pressing to barrel when colour reaches desired level.
• The winery was harvesting Pinot Noir on the penultimate day of their 2026 vintage harvest at the time of filming.

Heading Out

• Meg Maker travels to Piemonte next week for a press tour of Roero, tasting wines alongside handmade cheese, truffle, hazelnut, and honey.
• Press tours are funded by regional consortiums, marketing agencies, and EU subsidies, positioning journalists as the product acquired to generate favorable coverage.
• Sarah Marsh MW cautioned at the Old Vine Conference that not all old vines are superior; many carry viruses and health issues affecting resilience to climate extremes.

Myths of The Douro

• Global port sales have declined 25% over the last two decades, while the Douro now produces as much table wine as port, making unfortified wine the region's economic mainstay.
• The Douro's vineyard grading system rewards sites suited to port production with high sugar, colour and tannin, creating a reputation for heavy wines that doesn't reflect the region's full potential.
• New-generation winemakers like Rita Marques, Luis Seabra, and Pedro Coelho are producing lighter, high-altitude Douro wines with acidity and classical structure, challenging the port-legacy style of earlier table wine producers.

Of Substack & wine

• Substack created a separate Wine & Spirits subsection within its Rising and Top lists, splitting it from the larger Food & Drink category to improve discovery.
• 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 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