Winefeed

Seven US regions pursue AVA designations to establish wine identities

• Seven proposed AVAs across California, Oregon, New Jersey, and New York are in early TTB approval stages; designations take several years and aim to build regional brand recognition and market differentiation.
• Annapolis-Sea Ranch in Sonoma (26,637 acres, 651 planted) and Lake Hennessey in Napa (4,495 acres, 355 planted) emphasize Pinot Noir and Cabernet-based blends respectively, defined by fog filtering and air drainage.
• Deschutes River in central Oregon (723,760 acres, 77 planted) and Hunterdon Hills in New Jersey (200,000 acres, 12 vineyards) represent first AVA designations for their regions, experimenting with hybrids and aromatic whites suited to their climates.

Airlines upgrade wine service as premiumization strategy takes flight

• Major US airlines including Delta are expanding wine selections in premium cabins and lounges as part of broader premiumization strategies targeting high-fare passengers.
• Wine industry benefits from airline upgrades at a time when quality wines are abundant and competitively priced in the market.
• Premium wine access, including Delta One Lounges at major hubs, is being positioned as a lifestyle differentiator to justify higher ticket prices in a K-shaped economy.

Cruise lines become experiential marketing platform for US wineries

• Cooper's Hawk Winery chartered Virgin Voyages' Valiant Lady for a four-night Caribbean cruise in 2024, integrating its wines across multiple venues and selling out its wine club charter with 30 percent signing up for a February 2027 repeat sailing.
• Four Feathers Wine Services developed a custom Columbia Valley brut for Holland America's fleet launched in 2024, which became the cruise line's most-served adult beverage across all ships.
• Eleven Eleven Wines hosted 60 guests aboard Scenic Eclipse II in a seven-day Mediterranean sailing and achieved a 33 percent conversion rate among non-wine club passengers, with founders tracking repeat purchases and club memberships as primary success metrics.

Costco stocks boutique wines as producers struggle to sell

• Costco, the largest US wine retailer, stocks 100-120 wines on a rolling basis including boutique producers and its Kirkland Signature house brand, taking advantage of industry oversupply.
• Kirkland Signature wines, launched in 2003, are small lots of around 2000 cases each made by contracted winemakers and distributed across warehouses; inventory turns over frequently to drive repeat visits.
• Costco applies the British supermarket model (store-brand wines lending retailer credibility to unfamiliar producers) to the US market, contrasting with typical American reliance on producer brands.

California and Pacific Northwest vineyards idle acres to survive weak grape market

• Vineyard idling, a temporary halt to production lasting one to three years, saved northern Willamette Valley producers an average of 38 percent per acre on management costs in a 2025 study of 19 sites.
• Mercer Ranches in Prosser, Washington has idled about 1,000 of its 3,350 acres since 2025 as demand for some grape varieties collapsed; Lost Draw Vineyards in Texas High Plains used the pause to replant Pinot Grigio blocks with Picpoul Blanc.
• Proper idling requires sustained minimal irrigation, aggressive pruning, weed control, and selective fungicide application to prevent vine damage and enable rapid return to production within two years.

Jameson releases single pot still whiskey based on 1826 recipe

• Jameson, the world's largest Irish whiskey brand, launched Distiller's Batch, a single pot still expression bottled at 46% ABV, in fall 2025 at $49.99.
• The whiskey revives a recipe from an 1826 handwritten mashbill by John Jameson II, using five cask types selected by master distiller Kevin O'Gorman.
• Distiller's Batch won gold at the 2025 International Spirits Challenge and double gold at the 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

A 20 year vertical of Kumeu River’s Hunting Hill Chardonnay

• Kumeu River's Hunting Hill Chardonnay vineyard (3.7 hectares, planted 1981-1982) was replanted entirely to clone 15 Chardonnay in 2001 after virus issues; first single-vineyard release was 2006.
• Paul Brajkovich confirmed 2020 as perhaps the best vintage ever, scoring 97/100; 2013 frost-affected vintage yielded only 300 cases versus typical 1500.
• Winemaking uses whole-bunch pressing, 100% malolactic fermentation, French oak (25% new, except 2010 and 2023 with none new), and aging on lees until January then four months in tank before May bottling.

Meet Your Robo-Somm

• Tim Atkin tested multiple AI wine-pairing apps and found most confuse rosés with reds, ignore vintage variation, and recommend generic brands over appropriate choices.
• SommPal, a new food and wine pairing app, ranks up to five wine recommendations per dish with explanatory notes on pairing logic, designed for novice drinkers where sommeliers unavailable.
• Developer Marc Lewin stated SommPal is not intended to replace sommeliers but to serve inexperienced wine drinkers in venues lacking expert staff.

Wine News: What I’m Reading the Week of 9/27/26

Hello and welcome to my weekly roundup of the wine stories that I find of interest on the web. I

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 from Vadio winery in Bairrada, Portugal reported that 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 herbicide-free certifications (Organic, Biodynamic, Sustainable Austria) to select wines for tasting.

Heading Out

• Meg Maker will tour Roero, Piemonte next week tasting wines and handmade foods including cheese, truffle, hazelnut, and honey with seven other American journalists.
• Press tour funding mechanics: EU consortiums subsidize regional marketing agencies that contract publicists to identify and invite journalists, making journalists the product acquired for desired press coverage.
• Sarah Marsh MW cautioned at the Old Vine Conference that old vines are not universally superior; many carry viruses in scion or rootstock, making blanket preservation advocacy oversimplified.

Of Substack & wine

• Substack created a separate Wine & Spirits subsection within its Rising and Top lists, breaking it out from the larger Food & Drink category to improve discovery.
• Miquel Hudin updated the Wine Substack List (WineStack), now requiring paid subscriptions in active use and human-written text only, removing publications like 'Thirst Behavior' by Bodhi Landa for AI-generated content.
• Matthew Jukes, a traditional wine media figure, passed away last month.

What I Learned at a Conference on Drinking

From the invention of moderation to the return of temperance