Winefeed

Liv-ex upgrades LWIN matching with AI engine and in-app price enrichment

• Liv-ex has added its member-exclusive Wine Matcher tool inside List Studio, letting members match wine lists to LWIN.
• Matched lists can be enriched in bulk with Liv-ex market price, last trade, best bid and offer, critic scores and ABVs.
• The redesigned matching engine combines modern AI with Liv-ex's proprietary data, claiming above 99% precision and processing up to 1,500 lines per minute.

VINITECH-SIFEL trade show returns to Bordeaux, 1-3 December 2026

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

Vinitaly.USA moves to New York with 300 exhibitors in October

• Vinitaly.USA makes its first New York City appearance at Pier 36 on October 26 and 27, 2026, after two years in Chicago.
• The event will host 300 exhibitors presenting 2,500 labels, its largest exhibitor count to date.
• 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

• Red wine's share of global wine consumption fell from about 52 per cent in 2012 to 43 per cent in 2025, per IWSR analysis.
• White wine rose from 31 to 34 per cent over the same period, while sparkling climbed from 8 to 13 per cent.
• Red wine has lost share as older drinkers cut back and younger consumers have favoured white and sparkling styles.

France's 2026 wine harvest set for historic low after summer heatwaves

• French agriculture ministry estimates the 2026 harvest at about 35 million hectolitres, 2% below 2025 and 14% below the 2021-2025 average.
• The International Organisation of Vine and Wine says France's 2025 production was its lowest since 1957.
• Champagne harvest finished early in September, with output down by half on last year and the five-year average.

Australian wine exports to Malaysia and Indonesia rise sharply in year to June 2026

• Wine Australia export data for the year to June 2026 show Malaysia volume up 13% to 3 million litres, value up 30% to A$55 million.
• Indonesia volume rose 88% to 864,000 litres and value 300% to A$21 million, while Philippine exports fell slightly to A$11.5 million.
• The three markets together hold over 425 million consumers, and Australia leads imported wine categories in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Bordeaux leads fine wine trade as Domaine de la Romanée-Conti dominates producer volumes

• Bordeaux took 33.0% of traded fine wine value, ahead of Burgundy at 28.5% and Champagne at 13.9%.
• Domaine de la Romanée-Conti was the top-traded producer, accounting for 10.6% of overall trade value.
• US buyers made up 47% of Champagne purchasing by value, focused on Dom Pérignon.

Seven proposed US wine regions await TTB approval for new AVA status

• Seven proposed AVAs, including Annapolis-Sea Ranch, Lake Hennessey and Deschutes River, are still early in the process before TTB approval.
• Approval can take several years, and an AVA lets a region call out its features and build a recognizable brand.
• Deschutes River would be central Oregon's first recognized winegrowing region, covering 723,760 acres between the Cascades and Ochoco Mountains.

China hosts OIV World Congress in Yinchuan, first time in Asia

• The 47th OIV World Congress of Vine and Wine was held 12 to 16 October 2026 in Yinchuan, Ningxia, China.
• It was the first OIV World Congress ever held in Asia, drawing more than 600 participants from 47 countries.
• The event featured 420 scientific contributions and six technical visits, with presentations to be published open-access on the IVES Conference series platform.

Oregon's AAPI Food & Wine festival wins Next Wave nonprofit award

• Lois and Dave Cho launched AAPI Food & Wine in 2023 to give Asian American-made wine the recognition its food already has.
• The festival began as a Willamette Valley event with 12 Portland chefs and five AAPI-owned wineries, drawing about 1,000 attendees.
• It has since held three annual Oregon festivals and a three-day New York City event in 2025, nearly or fully selling out each time.

Cloudy, unfiltered wines like pét nat gain ground on British supermarket shelves

• Pét nat is bottled before fermentation finishes and usually left undisgorged, which gives it its cloudy look.
• Ottolenghi's three house wines are unfiltered and cloudy, chosen for texture and a better fit with bold food.

European bartenders say American visitors are curious and chatty but still favor vodka Martinis

• European bartenders describe American bar guests as friendly, curious and quick to strike up conversation with staff and other customers.
• Americans at London's Connaught Bar, which makes about 30,000 Martinis a year, often specify vodka over gin.
• Madrid and Rome bartenders report American requests for customized drinks, such as sugar-free Margaritas, bourbon swaps and Cosmopolitans.

Brazilian tropical reds keep high polyphenols after a year of bottle storage

• Petit Verdot, Tempranillo and Syrah from Brazil's São Francisco Valley were tracked for 12 months of bottle storage.
• Petit Verdot showed less colour change than wines from temperate climates, and polyphenols stayed above literature levels.
• Red wines grew softer in flavour over storage, while the whites stayed refreshing, per sensory analysis.

Tropical wine production expands in Brazil, India, Thailand and Venezuela

• Tropical wineries now operate commercially in Brazil, India, Thailand and Venezuela, after about 30 years of industry development.
• Only a small share of tropical grapes is made into wine, roughly some million litres of tropical wine per year.

Heat treatments shift grapevine fruit set differently across four cultivars

• Undervine tents raised daytime temperatures 3-5 degrees C over ambient in the 2009/2010 growing season.
• Chardonnay under heat had lower fruit set, fewer berries and lighter bunches, with reduced pollen tube growth.
• Semillon and Shiraz had higher fruit set, more berries per bunch and heavier bunches; Cabernet Franc showed no significant change.

Rootstock study finds 110 Richter grows most roots under low water

• Researchers grew three-year-old Grenache vines grafted to 110 Richter, 41-B and 161-49 rootstocks in rhizotrons under two water regimes.
• Root growth peaked in summer during berry growth and ripening, with more roots under the higher water dose.
• 110 Richter developed greater root length than the other two rootstocks, though this did not translate into more vegetative growth.

Researchers propose multidisciplinary breeding of climate-adapted grapevine scions and rootstocks

• A French and Spanish multidisciplinary team reviews how climate change will affect grapevine development and rootstock responses.
• Climate change threatens viticulture sustainability in several regions, so breeding stable-yield, quality grapevine genotypes has become urgent.
• The authors argue that ecophysiologists, molecular physiologists and geneticists must work together to find adaptation loci.

Part Two of vineyard lab series explains how irrigation water shapes soil minerals

• Viticulturist Stan Grant's part two of a three-part series covers irrigation water in vineyard mineral nutrient management.
• Nearly pure, low-conductivity water such as Sierra Nevada snowmelt strips minerals from soils, making them more acidic and less fertile.
• Alkaline well waters can supply calcium and magnesium, but bicarbonate and carbonate tie them up as solid compounds.

Cover crops and mulching boost vineyard soil microbes and climate resilience

• A 2026 Environmental Microbiome study by Canavera et al. in Piacenza, Italy, tested cover-crop under-vine mulching in a non-irrigated vineyard.
• The mulching significantly increased rhizosphere and phyllosphere microbial diversity, improved soil conditions and reduced pathogen pressure.
• A 2026 Field Crops Research study of Mediterranean rainfed vineyards found roller-crimped cover crops improved soil cover and vine water status.

SFI 2026 offers UK vineyards payments for cover crops and habitat actions

• Vines and other horticultural permanent crops are included in the 2026 Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme, alongside arable and livestock farms.
• Cover crops for vineyards must be sown by late August or early September to establish before winter, though SFI allows up to 12 months to establish a mix.
• The RPA is using satellite imagery to monitor SFI action delivery, and small-seeded cover mixes need a fine, weed-free seedbed to establish.

Santuvario, a natural wine producer in Alto Piemonte, Italy

• Santuvario is a small natural wine producer in Borgomanero, Alto Piemonte, run by Ivano Barbaglia and Paola Fornara, who began in 2012.
• The Boca region has shrunk from 1000 hectares to just 10, and Santuvario farms old vines including Nebbiolo, Vespolina, Uva Rara and Croatina.
• The author tasted Santuvario wines at the VinNatur event in Paris in November 2025, scoring the Lazio 2022 highest at 94/100.

A Level Playing Field

• Tim Atkin's blind tasting of 24 Chardonnays pitted 10 New Zealand wines from Pyramid Valley and Smith & Sheth against 14 Burgundies, with 43 tasters scoring them.
• The 2024 Smith & Sheth Onewa Chardonnay from Gimblett Gravels, Hawkes Bay, was Atkin's favourite and was expected to retail for around £60.
• Atkin argues top Chardonnay is now a level playing field, citing Domaine Leflaive finishing picking on August 18th and Burgundy's warming climate.

Cabernet Franc in the Press: October 2026

• Only 3,501 acres of Cabernet Franc were planted in California in 2025, versus 90,040 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, per the California Grape Acreage Report.
• Livermore Valley officially named Cabernet Franc its signature red variety in February 2025, while New York State's producer-led Cab Franc Forward formed in late 2024.
• Lang & Reed, founded in 1996 by John and Tracey Skupny solely to make Cabernet Franc, was profiled by Alder Yarrow in Jancis Robinson's site.

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 minimal-intervention rules cap sulfur dioxide far below conventional levels, though the DO has not disclosed the actual limit to the author.

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

• Louis Latour, Louis Jadot, Maison Albert Bichot and Bouchard Père & Fils are named as leading négociant houses dominating Burgundy's worldwide trade.
• It cites Capitain-Gagnerot Corton-Charlemagne as a cheaper alternative to Coche-Dury, and Domaine Jean Féry Puligny-Montrachet as a value option versus Leflaive Clavoillon.

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

• 1WineDude's Lenn Thompson is tasting the 2024 Vintage Port declaration.
• The headline calls the wines 'unquestionably among the greatest wines in the world.'.

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

• Roero's principal grapes, Nebbiolo and Arneis, are native to the region and rarely grown beyond Piedmont's borders.
• Today Roero has nearly 1,000 hectares of Arneis versus about 360 of Nebbiolo, after Bruno Giacosa and Alfredo Curado of Vietti resurrected Arneis in the 1970s.
• The author tasted about 80 wines during a five-day September visit hosted by the Roero Consorzio and highlighted 31 favorites, including producers Angelo Negro and Deltetto.

400 Montepulciano Bottles for Thomas Jefferson circa 1805

• A 1350 trade contract between the Del Pecora family and merchant Jacopo di Vanni is the oldest known document for Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.
• Thomas Jefferson received 473 bottles of Montepulciano in November 1805 and requested 400 bottles annually from Thomas Appleton.
• A 2024 Consorzio-unveiled document dates the first known use of the term Vino Nobile to 1766, by the Jesuit order.

The Encyclopedia of Wine - Fresh Take or Same Same?

• Dorling Kindersley's The Encyclopedia of Wine is published 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 28 acknowledged wine experts.
• The 400-page book is positioned against Oxford Companion to Wine and The World Atlas of Wine, both from Jancis Robinson's team.