Winefeed

China's newest Master of Wine says trade fairs need strategy, not just presence

• Liu Weiran, China's newest Master of Wine, researched exhibitor preferences at Chinese wine trade fairs for his MW thesis, finding different exhibitor types prioritize cost, location, buyer access and promotion differently.
• China's largest drinks fair, the Tangjiuhui in Chengdu, has seen exhibitor incomes fall while stand costs remain high; fairs now function as showcases rather than venues for immediate bulk orders.
• Liu advises foreign wineries entering China to attend fairs despite lower returns, but combine attendance with social media promotion, livestreams, dinners and branded items to capture valuable buyer traffic.

New Zealand wine exports surge in Asia as U.S. sales decline

• New Zealand shipped 306.2 million liters of wine in the year through June 2026, up 6.04%, but total export revenue rose only 0.48% to NZ$2.108 billion.
• Mainland China imports jumped 71.91% by volume to 7.344 million liters, though value rose just 24.27% to NZ$69.841 million, signaling lower per-liter prices.
• U.S. exports fell 7.31% by volume and 5.39% by value despite remaining New Zealand's largest market; Britain and Australia also saw volumes outpace earnings growth.

New Zealand wine gains tariff cuts in India from October 2026

• 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; wines under US$5 per 750ml remain at full duty.
• Tariff reductions phase in over a decade with larger cuts favoring premium bottles, but NZ exporters still face state-level taxes, excise duties and alcohol bans that vary by region.
• Wine consumption concentrates in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru; Maharashtra imposes 40% VAT on wine while other states levy between 50% and 65% excise duty depending on wholesale price.

Seven US regions seek AVA status to define their wine identity

• Seven proposed AVAs across California, Oregon, New Jersey, and New York are in early TTB approval stages; the Deschutes River AVA in Oregon would be the first recognized winegrowing region in central Oregon.
• Hunterdon Hills in New Jersey (200,000 acres, 12 vineyards) and Niagara Lake Plain in New York (161,280 acres, 340 planted) focus on high-acid whites and cool-climate reds, respectively, leveraging soil and elevation to distinguish their wines from neighbors.

China's Mid-Autumn wine buyers trade up as prices fall, but gifts decline

• Wu Yonglei, general manager of Fond Wine in Fujian, reports fewer customers pairing wine with Mid-Autumn gifts; mooncakes now take priority where wine once featured by default.
• Recognizable brands like Penfolds Bin 389 and Bin 407 dominate sales, with Bordeaux classified growths capped around RMB1,500; lower prices let buyers upgrade without spending more.
• Treasury Wine Estates' supply restrictions on Penfolds Bin 407 raised distribution margins but failed to hold retail prices against instant-delivery platforms and parallel imports.

ASC Fine Wines expands Los Vascos exclusivity across Greater China

• ASC Fine Wines, a China-based importer founded in 1996, extended its exclusive distribution deal for Los Vascos from Hong Kong and mainland China into Greater China, building on its April 2026 mainland appointment.
• Los Vascos, owned by Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite, returns to single-importer representation after working with multiple importers as China's wine market restructured.
• ASC and DBR Lafite will coordinate channel planning, distribution guidelines and trade education to create a more stable market environment supporting the brand's long-term development in China.

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

• Henry Tang, former Hong Kong financial secretary, is selling over 800 lots through Christie's on October 10, expected to fetch at least HK$26 million.
• The collection spans five decades and includes Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Henri Jayer Burgundy, first-growth Bordeaux, and wines from California, Spain, Italy and Australia.
• Tang's 2007 duty cuts, which reduced wine tariffs from 80% to 40%, helped establish Hong Kong as a major wine hub and auction centre.

Lei wins best new restaurant award as wine-bar dining spreads globally

• NYC's Lei, which opened mid-2025, won the James Beard Foundation's best new restaurant award and describes itself as a wine bar, marking the trend's highest US recognition to date.
• Wine-bar branding signals casual, social dining without formal pressure, allowing guests to order one glass or multiple courses à la carte, which operators say increases seat turnover and revenue.
• The global trend emphasizes high-quality small-portion food designed for sharing, natural and low-intervention wines, and relaxed service, extending beyond nomenclature to reshape food, design, and atmosphere.

Researchers map how grapevines defend against smoke, opening treatment paths

• When smoke-exposed vines bind volatile phenols to sugar molecules via glycosylation, the compounds become sensory-inactive; but enzymatic activity during fermentation can unbind them and cause smoke taint to reappear unpredictably.
• Scientists at Adelaide University found Chardonnay activates 15 genes across five enzyme families under smoke stress, while Shiraz activates only five genes across two families, suggesting variety-specific defensive responses could guide treatment selection.

How Can You Train to Recognise Wine Faults?

• Sietze Wijma founded The Art of Tasting in 2021 to teach wine professionals and enthusiasts to recognize wine faults using synthesized flavor compounds mimicking real-world defects.
• Wijma launched an Online Tasting Course in wine faults after studying sensory science and working three years at a UK laboratory producing aroma compounds for training.
• ATHP, the dominant compound causing mousy taint, is volatile at normal wine pH but becomes detectable when pH lowers, creating a delayed but unmistakable aftertaste.

Moldova is an important wine country, and increasingly it’s making some really good wines

• Moldova has 109,700 hectares of vineyards across latitudes 45-49°N; approximately 80% planted with international varieties and 20% with Caucasian and local varieties including Saperavi, Rară Neagră, and Fetească.
• Moldovan producers including Château Purcari, Castel Mimi, and Vinăria Sălcuță are producing high-quality whites and reds, with multiple wines scoring 91-93 points in recent tastings.
• Local varieties like Fetească Regală and Rară Neagră, often blended with international grapes, are increasingly effective, with sparkling wines using Charmat and traditional methods also performing well.

Introducing the Old Vine Registry Seal

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve picked up a bottle of wine that had the words “old vines,”

Red and White and Roero All Over

• Roero, north of Alba across the Tanaro River in Piemonte, produces white Arneis and red Nebbiolo on sandstone soil, with 1,000 planted hectares of white versus 360 of red.
• Roero Nebbiolo is approachable with limber tannins and bright acidity; Arneis is peachy, floral, and saline; U.S. prices range $25, $45 for reds and rarely exceed $25 for whites.
• Some Roero producers label reds as Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba to access laxer production rules and more recognizable trade names rather than the Roero D.O.C.G. designation.

Meet Your Robo-Somm

• SommPal app allows users to photograph menus and wine lists, then recommends up to five ranked wine pairings per dish with explanatory notes for each selection.
• Developer Marc Lewin stated SommPal is designed to assist novice wine drinkers in settings without expert sommeliers, not to replace them.
• Author Tim Atkin found many AI wine-pairing apps confuse rosés with reds, struggle with flavor intensity, and default to generic widely-known brands over appropriate choices.

Of Substack & wine

• Substack created a separate Wine & Spirits subsection within its Rising and Top lists, breaking away from the broader Food & Drink category to improve wine content discovery.
• Miquel Hudin updated the Wine Substack List (WineStack) with stricter curation criteria requiring paid subscriptions in active use and human-written text only, excluding AI-generated content.
• Bodhi Landa's "Thirst Behavior" was removed from the Wine Substack List after Substack's built-in tools revealed 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