Winefeed

South Australian wineries win 12 of 26 trophies at Royal Adelaide awards

• South Australian wineries claimed 12 of the 26 trophies at the 2026 Royal Adelaide Wine Awards, a competition judged over four days.
• Adelaide Hills producers won Best Pinot Noir (Sidewood Estate) and Best Sparkling Wine (Simon Tolley Wines), categories usually dominated by Tasmania.
• Evans & Tate's 2024 Redbrook Estate Chardonnay won the top white trophy, and Berton Vineyards' 2023 Metal Label The Black Shiraz won the top red.

Gang steals 30,000 bottles worth €5m from Marchesi Antinori cellar in Cortona

• Masked gang of at least seven broke into Marchesi Antinori's Cortona cellar, disabled alarms and cameras, and loaded two trucks.
• Stolen 30,000 bottles from the 2023 vintage, including Solaia, Guado al Tasso and Tignanello, worth about €5 million total.
• The company's insurance does not cover losses of this value, and it has warned customers to avoid offers outside official channels.

VINITECH-SIFEL 2026 trade show set for Bordeaux, 1-3 December

• VINITECH-SIFEL, a wine, fruit and vegetable trade show, runs 1-3 December 2026 in Bordeaux with 700 exhibitors.
• The event expects 40,000 professionals from 70 countries across 70,000 m² of exhibition space.
• International Buyers Program offers eligible investment-stage visitors 4-star hotel stays and travel cost support.

Treasury Wine Estates cuts 170 jobs as new operating model takes effect

• Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) has cut 170 roles under a previously announced operational and regional restructure, per The Australian.
• Most redundancies fall in marketing, IT, finance and support roles, mainly at the Melbourne headquarters and other offices.
• The new operating model, focused on a simplified portfolio, takes effect 1 October 2026.

Vinitaly.USA debuts in New York City at Pier 36 in October 2026

• Vinitaly.USA, organized by Veronafiere with the Italian Trade Agency, holds its first New York City edition at Pier 36 on October 26 and 27, 2026.
• After two years in Chicago, the event expects 300 exhibitors presenting 2,500 Italian labels, its largest exhibitor count yet.
• A 95-winery delegation organized by the Italian Trade Agency joins regional collectives from Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio and Sardinia.

Global wine demand shifts from red toward white and sparkling styles

• IWSR data show red wine's share of global wine consumption fell from about 52 per cent in 2012 to 43 per cent in 2025.
• Over the same period white wine rose from 31 to 34 per cent, and sparkling wine from 8 to 13 per cent.
• Australian bodies say red wine has struggled to recruit younger drinkers, pressuring producers to adapt to occasion-led demand.

Australian wine exports to Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines show growth amid diversification

• Wine Australia data shows Australian wine exports to Indonesia rose 300 per cent in value to A$21 million in the year to June 2026.
• Australian exports to Malaysia grew 30 per cent in value to A$55 million FOB in the same period, with volume up 13 per cent.
• Australian wine exports to the Philippines fell slightly to A$11.5 million FOB, though still above levels from five years earlier.

Bordeaux leads Liv-ex trading with 33% share; DRC dominates Burgundy

• Bordeaux led Liv-ex trade with 33.0% of traded value, while Burgundy took second place at 28.5%.
• Domaine de la Romanée-Conti was the top-traded producer, accounting for 10.6% of overall trade.
• Champagne fell to 13.9% of traded value this week from 21.4% the week before.

Emeritus Vineyards adapts to market slump via dry farming and grape sales

• Sebastopol's Emeritus Vineyards, led by President Mari Jones and vineyard manager Riggs Lokka, is adapting to a California market downturn.
• The company sells a meaningful share of its fruit to winery partners alongside producing its own wines, and is exploring new ways to monetize grapes.
• Emeritus began a four-year transition off irrigation starting in 2007, a shift it credits with changing its wine flavor and vine resilience.

Fine wine market stabilising at the top, with uneven recovery across regions and vintages

• Liv-ex indices rose slightly over the past year, and Q3 trade value rose steeply versus Q2 2026 and Q3 2025.
• Demand is returning first at the top end and for back vintages, with recovery narrow and performance varying by region, producer and vintage.
• The Fine Wine 1000 in real terms is back to its 2015 level, though the author expects no price falls at a high level.

UK vineyards can claim SFI 2026 payments for cover crops and habitat

• Vines and other horticultural permanent crops fall within SFI 2026's remit, which offers payments for actions benefiting vineyards and biodiversity.
• Overwinter cover crop (CSAM2) should ideally be sown by late August or early September, though SFI allows up to 12 months to establish mixes.
• The RPA increasingly uses satellite imagery to monitor SFI action delivery, and small-seed mixes struggle when drilled into grass swards.

Seven proposed US AVAs spanning California to New Jersey seek federal recognition

• Seven proposed American Viticultural Areas, from California to Minnesota and New Jersey, await approval from the TTB, which can take years.
• The Annapolis-Sea Ranch proposal would cover 26,637 acres, with 651 acres of grapes across a dozen vineyards in Sonoma County.
• The Deschutes River AVA would be central Oregon's first recognized winegrowing region, spanning 723,760 acres between the Cascades and Ochoco Mountains.

VinePair's weekly roundup lists beverage alcohol headlines and new product releases

• California has launched an investigation into distributor Southern Glazer's over a bribery allegation.
• The roundup also covers OpenTable's 2026 restaurant report and a wave of new gifting-season product drops.
• Other items include Trump's ban on Canadian alcohol and a tariff change affecting Irish whiskey.

Bouvet-Ladubay marks 175 years as Saumur's largest sparkling producer

• Bouvet-Ladubay, founded in Saumur in 1851 by Etienne Bouvet and Célestine Ladubay, is celebrating its 175th anniversary this year.
• The house, now run by the Monmousseau family, is described as the largest producer of méthode traditionnelle sparkling wine in Saumur.
• Its cellars occupy former limestone quarries beneath an old abbey, with eight kilometers of cellars open to visitors.

Wine Australia study profiles Thai and Vietnamese wine drinkers and their buying habits

• Wine Australia commissioned Starburst Insights to research wine consumers in Thailand and Vietnam, covering buyers, occasions and purchase drivers.
• Thai and Vietnamese wine drinkers skew female, affluent and urban, mostly in Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
• Red wine leads in both countries, while Thai drinkers mostly drink wine at home and Vietnamese younger drinkers drink more while out.

Bartenders say American drinkers abroad are curious, though vodka and Martinis persist

• Giorgio Bargiani of The Connaught Bar in London says American visitors are entertaining, open and genuinely curious at the bar.
• Arturo Burzio of Rosewood Villa Magna in Madrid says Americans often request vodka Martinis, blue cheese olives and US spirit substitutions.
• Maria Iemma of Bar della Pace in Rome says American visitors often order Martinis or Espresso Martinis instead of local aperitivi.

Part two of vineyard lab series examines how irrigation water shapes soil minerals

• Stan Grant, a viticulturist at Progressive Viticulture, published part two of a three-part series on vineyard mineral nutrient lab analysis, this time on water.
• Nearly pure irrigation water, such as Sierra Nevada snowmelt, strips minerals from soils, making them less fertile and more acidic over time.
• Alkaline well waters high in bicarbonate can form solid carbonate compounds that reduce the calcium and magnesium available as fertilizer.

Regenerative vineyard newsletter highlights cover crop and climate resilience research

• Canavera et al. (2026, Environmental Microbiome) found cover-crop under-vine mulching in a non-irrigated Piacenza, Italy vineyard raised microbial diversity.
• The same study reported improved soil conditions and reduced pathogen pressure from the mulching system.
• A 2026 Field Crops Research study of Mediterranean rainfed vineyards found roller-crimped cover crops improved soil cover and vine water status.

French wine harvest set for historic low after summer heatwaves

• France's 2026 wine harvest is estimated at about 35m hectolitres, 14% below the 2021-2025 average, per the agriculture ministry.
• Summer heatwaves and a 1.9% cut in cultivated area drove the decline, with last year already France's lowest output since 1957.
• Champagne harvested early and finished in September for the first time, with output halved on last year and the five-year average.

English sparkling producer Nyetimber starts its earliest harvest on 14 September

• Nyetimber, England's first exclusive sparkling-wine grape grower, will begin picking on 14 September, its earliest harvest since 1988.
• Its 11 vineyards in West Sussex, Kent and Hampshire should yield about 2,500 tonnes, enough for over 1.5 million bottles.
• Late spring frosts hit almost 30% of its vines, but sunny weather concentrated sugar, so 2026 could be a vintage year.

Survey of vineyards finds heat and rainfall shifts drive shift away from blanket chemical use

• Sustainable Vineyard Practice Survey, run by SWR, drew responses from growers in Australia, Italy, South Africa, France, the UK, the USA and New Zealand.
• Over 80% of respondents use non-chemical or targeted fertiliser application, and only about 5% still apply chemicals blanket-style.
• Nearly all respondents cited heat and changing rainfall as their main environmental problem, and respondents are likely a self-selected, more advanced group.

Canadian Sparkling Wine: a rare tasting crossing the country, with 24 different wines

• A rare cross-country tasting of 24 Canadian sparkling wines was held, with Niagara heavily represented because the tasting took place there.
• Trius Showcase Blanc de Blancs NV, from Niagara, blends 2011, 2012 and 2013 vintages and was disgorged in September 2024, scoring 93/100.
• York Reserve 2016 from Niagara-on-the-Lake, 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir, earned the top score of 94/100 among the wines listed.

400 Montepulciano Bottles for Thomas Jefferson circa 1805

• A 1350 trade contract between the Del Pecora family and merchant Jacopo di Vanni of Santa Fiora is the oldest known document for Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.
• A 2024 document shows the Jesuit religious order first used the term Vino Nobile in 1766, replacing the earlier 1787 reference.
• Thomas Jefferson received 473 bottles of Montepulciano in November 1805 and requested 400 more annually, calling them the best he had received.

The Encyclopedia of Wine - Fresh Take or Same Same?

• Dorling Kindersley's The Encyclopedia of Wine publishes October 8 in the UK and November 10 in the US.
• The book was written by 28 contributors, including Jane Anson on Bordeaux and Wink Lorch on the Jura.
• The Encyclopedia of Wine is a 400-page book positioned against Oxford Companion to Wine and World Atlas of Wine.

Arizcuren, Rioja low & high

• Arizcuren is based in central Logroño, a city of about 150,000 people, making it the most urban winery in Rioja.
• Owner Javier Arizcuren produces around 30,000 bottles a year from the tight space and is acquiring nearby buildings and parking.
• Arizcuren's grapes come from hills south of Quel in eastern Rioja, where Grenache is significant and was once dominant before Tempranillo.

Inside the Wine Festival Reshaping How the World Sees Burgundy Right Now

• The 83rd Saint-Vincent Tournante will be held in Volnay on 30 and 31 January 2027.
• For the first time in the festival's history, visitors will need to register in advance.
• The change follows the 2026 edition in the Maranges villages, which drew nearly 60,000 visitors over the weekend.

Five Minutes with... Thierry and Louis Germain of Domaine des Roches Neuves

• Domaine des Roches Neuves in Saumur-Champigny, a biodynamic estate founded 35 years ago, produces five single-vineyard cuvées parcellaires from Cabernet Franc.
• Thierry Germain says he began single-vineyard wines after tasting Burgundy in the early 1990s and working with Charly Foucault, inspired by Clos Rougeard.
• Thierry's son Louis Germain is now learning the vineyards and cellar, and the interview covers the 2023 and 2024 vintages plus some 2025s.

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

(Another) Exciting New Chapter

• Jonathan Cristaldi is moving into the role of Chief Wine Critic for The Tasting Panel and its sister publication The SOMM Journal.

Red and White and Roero All Over

• Writer Meg Maker returned from a four-day Roero tour, visiting producers and a goatherd cheesemaker, with harvest having just finished after the earliest start in memory.
• Roero's D.O.C.G. grapes are white Arneis and red Nebbiolo, with Roero growers planting roughly 1,000 hectares of Arneis versus 360 hectares of Nebbiolo.
• Roero reds sell in the U.S. for about $25 to $45, with whites rarely topping $25 except Riserva bottlings, and some makers label reds Langhe Nebbiolo to gain recognition.

Meet Your Robo-Somm

• Tim Atkin tested CellarTracker and food-pairing AI programs and found their recommendations often poor, such as Champagne suggested for everything.
• Common AI failures Atkin cited include confusing rosé with red, language barriers, and ignoring how single ingredients or vintage styles affect pairings.
• The SommPal app, developed by Marc Lewin, ranks up to five pairings per menu item and explains its reasoning, positioned as a aid rather than a sommelier replacement.