Winefeed

New Zealand wine tariffs in India cut from October 2026, but steep barriers remain

• New Zealand, India Free Trade Agreement takes effect October 20, 2026, reducing India's 150% wine import tariff to 25% or 50% based on bottle value, though wines under US$5 per 750ml stay at full duty.
• Full tariff reductions will take a decade to phase in, with immediate cuts followed by smaller annual steps depending on cost, insurance and freight value.
• State-level taxes, excise duties and outright alcohol bans across Indian states mean New Zealand exporters must navigate separate regulatory systems in each region to reach consumers.

Seven US regions pursue AVA status to define terroir and market identity

• Seven regions across California, Oregon, New York, and New Jersey are seeking American Viticultural Area status from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, a process that can take several years.
• Annapolis-Sea Ranch in Sonoma County, 26,637 acres with 651 planted acres, is known for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir shaped by coastal fog filtration and Ohlson Ranch sandy loam soil.
• Deschutes River in central Oregon, 723,760 acres at 1,500 to 3,500 feet elevation, will be the first recognized AVA in the region and includes growers experimenting with cold-hardy hybrids alongside traditional varieties.

Chinese wine buyers trade up to premium labels as Mid-Autumn prices fall

• Wine lost ground in corporate gifting during China's Mid-Autumn Festival, with merchants reporting customers choosing mooncakes alone instead of wine gifts, particularly in Fujian and Guangdong provinces.
• Falling retail prices let buyers upgrade to prestigious Bordeaux estates within unchanged budgets; Penfolds Bin 389 and Bin 407 and classified-growth Bordeaux dominated purchases at RMB1,000-1,500 price points.
• Supply restrictions by Treasury Wine Estates on Penfolds Bin 407 raised distributor margins but failed at retail, where instant-delivery platforms and parallel imports kept prices down and compressed seller profits.

ASC Fine Wines expands Los Vascos exclusivity across Greater China

• ASC Fine Wines, a Chinese importer founded in 1996, has expanded its exclusive distribution agreement for Los Vascos beyond mainland China to all of Greater China, building on its April 2026 appointment as mainland importer.
• Los Vascos, owned by Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite, returns to single-distributor control after working with multiple importers as China's wine market restructures.
• ASC and DBR Lafite will coordinate channel planning, distribution guidelines and trade education to create a more stable market environment and sustainable returns for trade partners.

Henry Tang auctions 800 bottles from five-decade collection at Christie's Hong Kong

• Henry Tang, former Hong Kong financial secretary who cut wine duty from 80% to 40% in 2007, is selling over 800 lots at Christie's Asia Pacific on October 10, expected to fetch at least HK$26 million.
• Highlights include a magnum of Henri Jayer Vosne-Romanée Cros Parantoux 1996 estimated at HK$180,000 to HK$260,000 and a magnum of DRC Romanée-Conti 1995 estimated at HK$160,000 to HK$220,000.
• Tang's 2013 Christie's sale of 809 lots from his collection achieved HK$48.05 million, with six magnums of DRC Romanée-Conti 1995 selling for HK$1.21 million against a HK$700,000 to HK$1 million estimate.

South Korean convenience chain CU discounts budget wines for Asian Games

• CU, operating 18,711 South Korean stores, is cutting wine prices 20-30% from Sept. 15-30 to coincide with the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, featuring G7 bottles at 7,500 won and Yellow Tail at 14,000 won.
• CU's sales of wines under 30,000 won rose 13.5% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2025, and its private-label brand 음mmm! surged 60.3% over the same period since launch in 2021.
• CU sources affordable wines mainly from the United States, Italy, Spain and New Zealand at around 10,000 won per bottle, positioning wine as an everyday drink alongside beer and soju.

Carruades de Lafite 2023 sells out in China as importers curb restocking

• Li Yajun, CEO of Shanghai-based Merveille Business, attributed the shortage partly to the 2023 en primeur pricing below RMB 2,000 per bottle, which drove demand but discouraged restocking when international prices rose afterward.
• Chinese importers have reduced en primeur purchases over two years due to margin compression from e-commerce competition and prior inventory gluts, leaving supply gaps when attractive vintages sell through.

Grape growers idle vineyards to cut costs amid 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, or mothballing production for one to three years, allows growers to preserve vines and capital rather than remove acreage when grape sales dry up.
• Proper idling requires severe pruning, minimal but consistent irrigation, weed control, and selective pest spraying to ensure vines survive and return to quality production within one to two years.

Nine sommeliers pick value Chardonnays under $35 retail

• Nine US sommeliers named Chardonnays they consider best value, ranging from unoaked Sonoma Coast styles to Burgundian expressions in Oregon's Willamette Valley, priced $25, $35 retail.
• Gregory Wilson of Beckon in Denver favours Lioco Sonoma Coast Chardonnay at $25 for its Chablis-like acidity; Cameron Dellinger of Jungsik in New York City recommends On Wine Hill Millerandage 2024 from Oregon for textural complexity.
• François Grosso of Ai Fiori in NYC and Lindsey Geddes of Carversteak in Las Vegas both name Oregon wines as closest US alternatives to Burgundy's Meursault at a fraction of the cost.

Cruise lines become experiential marketing channel for US wineries

• Holland America developed a custom Columbia Valley brut sparkling wine with Four Feathers Wine Services, launched fleetwide in 2024, now the most-served adult beverage across the cruise line.
• Eleven Eleven Wines, a Napa boutique winery, sailed 60 guests aboard Scenic Eclipse II in the Mediterranean and achieved a 33 percent conversion rate of non-members to repeat purchasers or wine club joiners.

Jameson releases single pot still whiskey inspired by 1826 recipe

• Jameson Distiller's Batch, a single pot still Irish whiskey at 46% ABV, launches this fall at $49.99, departing from the brand's grain-forward blend.
• Master distiller Kevin O'Gorman at Jameson drew the recipe from a handwritten mashbill dated 1826 by John Jameson II, held in the company's Midleton archive.
• The whiskey won gold at the 2025 International Spirits Challenge and double gold at the 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, matured in five cask types.

Viña González Bastías, Maule Valley, Chile: exciting naturally made wines from an amazing old vineyard

• José Luís Bastías and agronomist Daniela Lorenzo manage a six-hectare Maule Valley vineyard planted in the early 19th century, with bush vines over 200 years old, mostly País variety.
• The vineyard flooded in 2023 but recovered; winemaking is natural, using traditional wooden Zaranda de Coligüe for destemming, concrete fermentation with no additions, and amphora or Raulí oak maturation.
• Viña González Bastías produces naturally fermented wines from old vines including País, Moscatel Negra, Semillon, and Torontel, with minimal sulfite additions before bottling.

The Road to Great Wine With Eben Sadie

When one of the world’s most talented and ambitious winemakers decides to lay out what sounds like a grand unified

Boycott Wines Grown With Herbicides

• Adam Huss launched a campaign in August to boycott all wines produced with herbicides, arguing they degrade soil health and decrease wine quality.
• Luís Patrão (Vadio) from Bairrada, Portugal reported his parents' generation's herbicide use turned vineyards into barren wastelands and eliminated local ladybird, eel, and salamander populations.
• The author attended the Austrian Single Vineyard Summit in Grafenegg and used producer certifications (Organic, Biodynamic, Sustainable Austria) to implement the herbicide boycott.

The Pluralism Of Wine Writing

• A winning entry in the Pall Mall awards' short-form writing competition faced allegations of AI use; organizers defended it by stating the work is 'not 100% AI-generated.'.
• Tim Atkin argues wine writing encompasses journalism, criticism, and travelogue, but most wine journalists lack investigative rigor compared to mainstream journalism.

Heading Out

• Editor Meg Maker travels to Roero, Piemonte next week with seven other American journalists on a press trip tasting wines and handmade foods.
• European press tours are substantially subsidized by the EU and structured so journalists become the product acquired to generate favorable wine coverage.
• Sarah Marsh MW challenges the assumption that all old vines are superior, noting many carry viruses and young vines can match them in health and climate resilience.

Of Substack & wine

• Substack created a separate Wine & Spirits subsection within its Rising and Top lists, breaking it away from the larger Food & Drink category to improve discovery.
• Miquel Hudin updated the Wine Substack List (WineStack), now requiring writers to use paid subscriptions and produce 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