Winefeed

VINITECH-SIFEL 2026 trade show in Bordeaux draws global wine industry in December

• VINITECH-SIFEL runs 1-3 December 2026 in Bordeaux, with 700 exhibitors and 40,000 professionals from 70 countries.
• International buyers with equipment investment projects may qualify for the International Buyers Program, including 4-star hotel stays and travel support.
• Pre-event technical tours run from 30 November through Interco Nouvelle-Aquitaine, free on registration with limited places.

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.
• The event moves from Chicago, where it ran for two years, and will host 300 exhibitors presenting 2,500 labels, its largest 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% in 2012 to 43% in 2025.
• Over the same period, white wine rose from 31% to 34% and sparkling wine from 8% to 13% of consumption.
• Red wine has recruited younger consumers less successfully than white and sparkling, while Australia's premium Shiraz retains strong reputation.

France's 2026 wine harvest set to fall 14% below recent average

• French agriculture ministry estimates the 2026 harvest at about 35 million hectolitres, down 2% on 2025 and 14% below the 2021-2025 average.
• Champagne harvest finished in September for the first time, with output halved from last year and the five-year average.
• Burgundy and Beaujolais production is projected 30% below the five-year average, while Bordeaux is up 10% on 2025.

Australian wine exports to Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines show mixed growth

• Wine Australia export data shows Australian wine exports growing in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, which are diversifying away from the US and UK.
• In the year to June 2026, Australian exports to Malaysia rose 30 per cent in value to A$55 million, while Indonesia's value rose 300 per cent to A$21 million.
• Australian exports to the Philippines were 2.5 million litres worth A$11.5 million, slightly down year on year but higher than five years ago.

Bordeaux leads Liv-ex fine wine trade with 33% of traded value

• Bordeaux led Liv-ex fine wine trading with 33.0% of traded value, with the 2009 and 2019 vintages top by value.
• Burgundy placed second at 28.5%, with Domaine de la Romanee-Conti taking 10.6% of overall trade.
• Champagne fell to 13.9% of traded value this week, down from 21.4% the previous week.

Emeritus Vineyards diversifies sales and dry farms Pinot Noir in Sonoma

• Emeritus Vineyards in Sebastopol, California, sells a meaningful share of its fruit to winery partners alongside its own wines.
• The company has been dry farming since a four-year transition away from irrigation that began in 2007.
• Many California growers have pulled vines in recent years to curb losses amid a market downturn.

Fine wine market shows early recovery, led by top-end demand and back vintages

• Liv-ex Q3 trade value rose steeply against Q2 2026 and Q3 2025, and major indices edged up over the past year.
• Demand is returning first to top-end wines and back vintages, with price performance varying widely by region, producer and vintage.
• Pre-2011 Bordeaux trade rose sharply on Liv-ex in Q3, while the Fine Wine 1000 in real terms is back to 2015 levels.

WineGB sends 20+ English and Welsh producers on Nordic trade tour

• WineGB's Scandinavian Trade & Media Tasting Tour runs in Stockholm, Oslo and Trondheim with 20-plus English and Welsh producers.
• In 2024, 14 of 16 producers at WineGB's Stockholm showcase secured new listings or market business.
• English wine exports reached 50 countries, with 2024 export sales up 9% and volumes up 35%.

Champagne reaches 21.4% of traded value as US buyers drive weekly trade

• Champagne's share of traded wine value rose to 21.4% this week, its highest weekly share in recent memory.
• US buyers made up over half of Champagne trade, focusing on Krug, Jacques Selosse and Salon.
• Bordeaux still led overall but its share of traded value fell from 32.0% to 27.1%, with Burgundy second at 24.8%.

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

• Vines and other horticultural permanent crops are within the remit of the SFI 2026 scheme, which has 71 actions.
• Cover crops such as overwinter CSAM2 should ideally be sown by late August or early September.
• The RPA is increasingly using satellite imagery to monitor delivery of SFI actions, including vineyard cover crops.

Seven proposed US AVAs spanning California to New Jersey seek federal wine region approval

• Seven potential new American Viticultural Areas are in early stages, with approval by the TTB often taking several years.
• The proposed Annapolis-Sea Ranch AVA in Sonoma would cover 26,637 acres with 651 acres of grapes across a dozen vineyards.
• The proposed 723,760-acre Deschutes River AVA would be the first recognized winegrowing region in central Oregon.

California opens investigation into Southern Glazer's over alleged bribery

• California has launched an investigation into distributor Southern Glazer's over a bribery scandal.
• Maker's Mark has launched a new collection ahead of the holiday gifting season.
• OpenTable has published its 2026 restaurant report covering dining trends.

Ten German Riesling producers recommended as entry points for newcomers

• The list pitches ten German Riesling producers as entry points for drinkers new to the grape and its regions.
• Selbach's Incline bottling from the Mosel retails for around $15, and Weingut von Winning's Winnings bottling for around $20.
• Schloss Johannisberg in the Rheingau is cited as the oldest Riesling producer, with documented winemaking from 817 CE.

Seven Oaky, Buttery Chardonnays Balanced by Bright Acidity

• Wine magazine lists seven Chardonnays that keep classic oak and butter character without overwhelming the palate.
• The picks include Concannon Reserve from Livermore Valley at 14.1 percent alcohol and Rombauer 2024 Carneros.
• The list is framed against the 1990s heavily oaked California style that prompted the "Anything but Chardonnay" backlash.

Surgey and Jeffreys to co-host Vineyard show masterclass tribute to Matthew Jukes

• Tom Surgey and Henry Jeffreys will jointly host the masterclass at the Vineyard & Winery Show at Kent County Showground, as tribute to the late Matthew Jukes.
• The pair are also joining Vineyard magazine as wine columnists, and will judge a new Matthew Jukes Trophy for Wine of the Year.
• Ticket proceeds will go to the Drinks Trust charity, continuing Jukes's tradition; the masterclass is sponsored by Kreston Reeves.

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

• European bartenders say American bar guests in 2026 are largely curious and open, though they still favour vodka.
• Giorgio Bargiani of The Connaught Bar in London says Americans there often order precise Martinis made with vodka.
• Americans in Europe travel far more now, with a record 24 million trips to Europe in 2025, per The Wall Street Journal.

Vineyard irrigation water chemistry shapes soil nutrients and grapevine health

• Part Two of a three-part vineyard mineral nutrient lab analysis series, written by viticulturist Stan Grant, covers irrigation water.
• Nearly pure irrigation water, such as Sierra Nevada snowmelt, strips soil minerals, making soils less fertile, more acidic and less permeable.
• Alkaline well waters can carry calcium and magnesium, but bicarbonate and carbonate reduce their fertilizer value by forming solid compounds.

Cover crops and roller-crimping studied in Italian and Mediterranean vineyards

• A 2026 study by Canavera et al. in Environmental Microbiome tested under-vine mulching from cover crops in a non-irrigated vineyard in northern Italy.
• The Italian study found the mulching increased microbial diversity in the root zone and leaves while reducing pathogen pressure.
• A 2026 Field Crops Research study of Mediterranean rainfed vineyards found roller-crimped cover crops improved soil cover, vine water status and mycorrhizal colonization.

Hampshire firm Wildflower Co. shortlisted for South Coast tech award

• Hampshire biodiversity specialist Wildflower Co. is a finalist in the Tech for Good category of the South Coast Tech and Innovation Awards.
• Its Meadowscape Pro system can establish high-quality meadow habitats in three to four months.
• The company's products include soil-less Wildflower Turf and BioNet, a biodegradable alternative to plastic reinforcement.

Hazendal, a Stellenbosch wine estate transformed

• Hazendal, a Bottelary Hills estate in Stellenbosch, replanted all its vineyards in 2016 after virus problems reduced production.
• Winemaker Kiara Scott Farmer, who arrived in 2024, leads the new era, with the 2025 vintage as the first under her direction.
• Hazendal's 2025 range was rated 92 to 95 out of 100, with its Chenin Blanc scoring highest at 95.

Telling a mountain to move

• DO Montsant, in Catalunya's Priorat area, has revised its bylaws to add certification for 'vi brisat' (orange-style) wines.
• Montsant's revised bylaws also create a classification for 'minimal intervention' wines, requiring hand-harvesting, organic certification and spontaneous fermentation.
• The author says the DO has not yet answered his question about the maximum sulfur dioxide limit, which is absent from the final bylaws.

Most Burgundy Wine Buyers Are Still Shopping Backwards in 2026. Here’s the Strategy Négociants Hope You Never Learn

• Four leading négociant houses, Louis Latour, Louis Jadot, Maison Albert Bichot and Bouchard Père & Fils, dominate much Burgundy sold worldwide.
• It cites Capitain-Gagnerot Corton-Charlemagne as priced well below Coche-Dury, though grown a few rows from it.

“Unquestionably Among the Greatest Wines in the World” (Tasting the 2024 Port Vintage)

You’ll find no shortage of Vintage Port coverage on these virtual pages (something that, as I taste more and more vintages of the stuff, has become a source of amusing vexation as I search for whether or not a VP that I want to feature here has already been reviewed and featured here…). And you’ll […] This article was...

Wine News: What I’m Reading the Week of 10/11/26

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

Tasting Report: Red and White Wines of Roero

• Meg Maker spent five days in Roero, Piedmont in September and formally tasted about 80 wines, selecting 31 favorites.
• Favored producers include Angelo Negro, Antica Cascina dei Conti di Roero, Benotti Rosavica, Deltetto, Filippo Gallino, Matteo Correggia and Nino Costa.
• Roero's Arneis is planted on nearly 1,000 ha versus about 360 ha of Nebbiolo, and was nearly extinct until the 1970s revival by Bruno Giacosa and Alfredo Curado.

400 Montepulciano Bottles for Thomas Jefferson circa 1805

• Thomas Jefferson received 473 bottles of Montepulciano in November 1805 and called them the best he had ever received.
• In an April 1806 letter to Thomas Appleton, Jefferson requested 400 bottles annually from the Jesuit vineyards.
• A 2024 document unveiled by the Consorzio del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano dates the first known use of the term Vino Nobile to 1766.

The Encyclopedia of Wine - Fresh Take or Same Same?

• Dorling Kindersley's The Encyclopedia of Wine publishes 8 October in the UK and 10 November in the US.
• Editor-in-chief David Williams aims for an authoritative but accessible reference, written by acknowledged experts rather than academics.
• 28 writers contributed, including Jane Anson on Bordeaux, Wink Lorch on the Jura, and Jim Clarke and Kelli White on the US.

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

• Domaine des Roches Neuves, a Saumur-Champigny estate marking 35 years, is run by Thierry Germain, with son Louis now working alongside him.
• The estate produces five single-vineyard cuvées parcellaires, including Terres Chaudes, La Marginale, Clos de l'Échelier, Les Mémoires and Franc de Pied from ungrafted vines on sandy soils.
• Thierry Germain says Cabernet Franc doesn't handle high ripeness well, becoming a 'bad Syrah' beyond 13.5 to 14% alcohol.

Meet Your Robo-Somm

• Tim Atkin tested CellarTracker and food-pairing AI programmes and found they often miss pairing factors like ingredients, style and vintage.
• Common AI pairing errors include confusing rosé with red wine, language barriers, misjudging flavour intensity, and recommending Champagne for everything.
• The SommPal app, developed by Marc Lewin, ranks up to five pairings per menu item from photos and explains each recommendation's logic.