Winefeed

Restaurant beverage directors navigate tariffs, supply chaos, rising costs

• Republic National Distributing Company's collapse into Chapter 11 bankruptcy destabilized US beverage wholesale supply, forcing directors to seek new vendors and stockpile strategically.
• Will Jones, wine director at The Hope Farm in Fairhoe, Ala., substitutes unavailable Premier Cru Burgundy with Hautes-Côtes de Beaune or Austrian wines rather than raising prices beyond customer tolerance.
• Felipe de Assis Villela, beverage director at Bluepoint Hospitality Group in Easton, Md., buys in bulk and moderates markups below industry standard 200-300 percent to move inventory and balance profit with guest experience.

Hungarian dry wines gain US sommelier interest, but consumer awareness lags

• US imports of Hungarian wine totalled $3.04 million in 2025, down from a $5.95 million peak in 2022 but up slightly from a decade ago.
• Specialty importers including Palinkerie, Credo Imports, and Danch & Granger Selections report strong profitability and growing sommelier interest in dry Furmint, Kadarka, and Kékfrankos varieties.
• Sommeliers and importers cite limited distributor networks and weak consumer awareness as barriers; category leaders propose pooled marketing behind Furmint to drive on-premise placement.

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 stages of approval by the US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, a process that typically takes several years.
• Annapolis-Sea Ranch in Sonoma will be 26,637 acres with 651 planted acres focused on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir; Lake Hennessey in Napa will be 4,495 acres with 355 planted acres emphasizing Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

Cruise lines become experiential sales channel for wine producers

• Cooper's Hawk Winery chartered Virgin Voyages' Valiant Lady for a four-night Caribbean cruise, integrating its wines across bars and restaurants; the first sailing sold out and 30 percent of members signed up for a second cruise in February 2027.
• Holland America's sparkling wine, made by Four Feathers Wine Services using Columbia Valley fruit, launched fleetwide in 2024 and is now the most-served adult beverage across the cruise line's fleet.

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

• Southern Glazer's reached a non-prosecution agreement with the DOJ and Alcohol and Tobacco Trade Bureau, paying $12.5 million to resolve a bribery investigation spanning 2016 to 2024.
• Former employees allegedly provided cash, gift cards, luxury goods, golf trips, and resort stays to California retailers to secure better shelf placement, using false invoices to hide the payments.
• The distributor agreed to strengthen compliance oversight and internal controls over the next two years, with unspecified additional obligations under the settlement.

Eleven sommeliers name underrated Napa wines worth seeking out

• Eleven US sommeliers identified Napa wines they believe deserve wider recognition, citing Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, sparkling wine, and lesser-known producers as undervalued alongside the region's famous Cabernet Sauvignons.
• Pilcrow's Granite Lake Cabernet Sauvignon, Scholium Project's Mt. Veeder Cabernet, and Mayacamas Chardonnay 2020 were named for old-school style and restraint, priced between $50 and $60.
• Sommeliers highlighted diversity beyond Napa's luxury reputation: Matthiasson's Italian varieties, Component Wine Co.'s Petit Verdot at 600 bottles yearly, and Locanda's Beckstoffer Georges III Cabernet as compelling alternatives to iconic cult wines.

Jameson launches single pot still whiskey inspired by 1826 recipe

• Jameson released Distiller's Batch, a single pot still Irish whiskey at 46% ABV and $49.99, departing from the brand's traditional grain-spirit blend.
• Master distiller Kevin O'Gorman based the expression on a mash bill handwritten by John Jameson II in 1826, discovered in company archives at Midleton.
• Distiller's Batch won gold at the 2025 International Spirits Challenge and double gold at the 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Arnaldo Rivera, a top tier of wines from the overperforming Terre del Barolo cooperative

• Terre del Barolo cooperative, founded in 1958 by Arnaldo Rivera, produces 12% of all Barolo from 240 of the appellation's 2200 hectares with 300 growers.
• Arnaldo Rivera, the top tier representing 10% of cooperative production, is a vineyard-designated project launched ten years ago with 35 contributing growers paid by site potential yield.
• The cooperative uses large-format wooden casks traditionally; for Arnaldo Rivera's small vineyard plots, they carefully source smaller oak with vapor-bent staves, avoiding toasting to minimize wine impact.

Arizcuren, Rioja low & high

• Arizcuren is Rioja's most urban winery, located on Calle Santa Isabel in central Logroño, producing around 30,000 bottles annually from a micro operation.
• Owner Javier Arizcuren, an architect by training, sources all grapes from hillside vineyards south of Quel in Rioja Oriental (formerly Rioja Baja).
• Arizcuren and Palacios Remondo are working to increase Grenache production, reversing Rioja's shift to Tempranillo-dominance to address climate change challenges.

Wine News: What I’m Reading the Week of 10/4/26

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

How Can You Train to Recognise Wine Faults?

• Sietze Wijma founded The Art of Tasting in 2021, teaching wine professionals and enthusiasts to recognize faults using synthesized flavor compounds; the company now has 30,000 Instagram followers.
• Wijma launched an Online Tasting Course in wine faults after working three years at a UK laboratory producing aroma compounds, then starting his own business during Covid.
• Wijma demonstrated that mousy taint's dominant compound ATHP is only detectable when wine pH drops post-addition, challenging the theory that multiple compounds are required for perception.

Red and White and Roero All Over

• Roero, north of Alba in Piemonte, produces white Arneis and red Nebbiolo on sandstone-based terrain distinct from the Langhe, 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, priced $25, $45 for reds and under $25 for whites in the U.S.
• Some Roero producers label reds as Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba to leverage laxer production rules and more recognizable names rather than the Roero D.O.C.G. designation.

Meet Your Robo-Somm

• Tim Atkin tested AI wine-pairing apps and found most fail to understand ingredient nuances, vintage variation, rosé classification, and dish intensity, often defaulting to generic brands.
• SommPal, a new app by Marc Lewin, ranks up to five wine pairings per menu item with explanatory notes and identifies potential pairing conflicts, designed to assist novices when sommeliers unavailable.
• Atkin distinguishes between AI trained by food and wine professionals versus generic algorithms, arguing properly developed software can expand wine enthusiasm without replacing sommeliers.

What I Learned at a Conference on Drinking

From the invention of moderation to the return of temperance