Winefeed

Bordeaux leads traded wine value at 39.6%, with Lafite 2005 on top

• Bordeaux led the Liv-ex fine wine market with 39.6% of traded value, with Lafite the region's top-traded wine.
• Burgundy fell from 24.8% to 18.4% of traded value, while Tuscany rose from 5.2% to 8.9%.
• The US claimed 7.0% of traded value, with US buyers accounting for 58% of their region's purchasing by value.

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

• Liv-ex has made its Wine Matcher tool, exclusive to members, available inside List Studio for matching wine lists to LWIN.
• Matched lists can be enriched with Liv-ex Market Price, Last Trade, Best Bid and Best Offer, plus critic scores and ABVs.
• The redesigned matching engine combines modern AI with Liv-ex's proprietary data, matches up to 1,500 lines per minute and lists up to 10,000 lines.

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

• VINITECH-SIFEL, a wine, fruit and vegetable trade show, runs 1-3 December 2026 in Bordeaux with 700 exhibitors.
• Organisers expect 40,000 professionals from 70 countries across 70,000 m² of exhibition space.
• International buyers with equipment investment projects may qualify for the International Buyers Program, including hotel accommodation and travel support.

Vinitaly.USA moves to New York with 300 exhibitors in October 2026

• Vinitaly.USA makes its debut in New York City at Pier 36 on October 26 and 27, 2026, after two years in Chicago.
• The event will host 300 exhibitors presenting 2,500 labels, including a delegation of 95 wineries organized by the Italian Trade Agency.
• The wine2wine Vinitaly Business Forum returns alongside it, themed "Education is Influence," and registration is now open.

France's 2026 wine harvest projected 14% below five-year average after summer heat

• France's agriculture ministry estimates the 2026 harvest at about 35m 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 output is projected 30% below the five-year average, while Bordeaux is expected up 10% on 2025.

Seven proposed US wine regions seek new AVA designations, several in early stages

• Seven proposed American Viticultural Areas span California, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Napa and New York, still awaiting TTB approval.
• Annapolis-Sea Ranch would cover 26,637 acres with 651 acres of grapes across a dozen vineyards inside West Sonoma Coast AVA.
• Deschutes River AVA would be central Oregon's first recognized winegrowing region, covering 723,760 acres between the Cascades and Ochoco Mountains.

VinePair's weekly roundup covers spirits sales, product launches, and industry updates

• Uncle Nearest, the Black-owned whiskey brand, is reportedly fielding potential buyers, according to VinePair's weekly roundup.
• Southern Glazer's, a major US drinks distributor, is facing a bribery allegation, per a separate roundup item.
• Trump's ban on Canadian alcohol was also flagged in the roundup as a current trade development.

Yinchuan hosts first Asian OIV World Congress with 600 delegates

• China hosted the 47th OIV World Congress of Vine and Wine in Yinchuan, Ningxia, from 12 to 16 October 2026.
• It was the first OIV World Congress held in Asia, drawing over 600 participants from 47 countries.
• The congress featured 420 scientific contributions and six technical visits, with presentations to be published open-access.

AAPI Food & Wine named Next Wave Nonprofit of the Year

• AAPI Food & Wine, a nonprofit founded by Lois and Dave Cho of CHO Wines, won Next Wave Awards Nonprofit of the Year.
• The festival began in 2023 in Oregon's Willamette Valley, showcasing Asian American-owned wineries alongside Portland chefs.
• Its events have drawn near or total sell-outs, including a three-day New York City expansion held earlier this year.

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

• M&S's Trouble, a cloudy organic rosé, is the first cloudy still wine sold in a British supermarket.
• Cloudy wines are typically unfined or unfiltered, with sediment left in, often from bottling before fermentation finishes.
• Zainab Majerikova, head of wine for the Ottolenghi group, says cloudiness adds texture and suits food with big flavours.

Bartenders say American visitors in Europe now lean toward curiosity and local drinks

• Over the past decade, US international travel rose roughly 71 percent, and Americans took a record 24 million trips to Europe in 2025.
• European bartenders describe American drinkers as curious and open, though they still often order vodka-based Martinis and customised classics.
• Some experienced US travellers now ask bartenders for local recommendations and let them guide the choice of drink.

Brazilian São Francisco tropical reds keep high polyphenols after 12 months' storage

• A study tested young Petit Verdot, Tempranillo and Syrah wines from Brazil's São Francisco Valley over 12 months of bottle storage.
• Petit Verdot showed less colour variation than wines from temperate climates, and polyphenols stayed above published levels despite the usual decline.
• Sensory analysis found red wines softened in flavour over time while whites stayed refreshing, though all wines lost some sensory character.

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

• Commercial tropical wineries now operate in Brazil, India, Thailand and Venezuela after the industry began about 30 years ago.
• A study analyses tropical viticulture, covering climate concepts, production systems, know-how gaps and a "just-in-time quality" approach.
• Researchers from Embrapa in Brazil predict high-quality tropical wine output in the near future despite marketing challenges.

Undervine heating trial shows grapevine fruit set varies by cultivar

• Researchers at the University of Adelaide used undervine tents to raise daytime temperatures 3-5 C in the 2009/2010 season.
• Chardonnay under heat set less fruit, yielding fewer berries and lighter bunches, with reduced pollen tube growth.
• Semillon and Shiraz set more fruit under heat, with higher berry counts and bunch weights; Cabernet Franc showed no significant change.

Rootstock 110 Richter grows more roots than two rivals under dry conditions

• Researchers grew Grenache vines on three rootstocks, 110 Richter, 41-B and 161-49, in rhizotrons under two water regimes.
• Root growth peaked in summer, and 110 Richter developed greater root length than the other two rootstocks.
• More roots formed under the higher water dose, though root turnover continued through the year, even after ripening.

Cover crops and mulching improve vineyard soil microbes and climate resilience, studies find

• A 2026 Environmental Microbiome study in northern Italy found cover-crop under-vine mulching boosted microbial diversity 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.
• The same Mediterranean study found roller-crimping raised yield in wetter conditions and did not affect grape quality.

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

• Vines and other horticultural permanent crops are included in the SFI 2026 scheme, which has 71 actions.
• Vineyard-relevant actions include cover crops, which protect soil, add organic matter and support pollinators and predators.
• Overwinter cover crop (CSAM2) should be sown by late August or early September, but SFI allows up to 12 months to establish a mix.

Burgundy Comes to SF: Notes from La Paulée de San Francisco

Opportunities to taste top Burgundy wines in San Francisco are rare and getting rarer. The cost of the wines, the

Pairing Wine With Fall

• Meg Maker says fall cuisine in northern New England is earthy, rich, spiced, hearty and warm, with flavors darker than summer's.
• Autumnal foods are typically cooked, cured, pickled, smoked or dried, transformed into something more complex than their original state.
• Maker argues wine and food pairing is far from a science, deeply personal and culturally constructed.

A Level Playing Field

• A blind tasting of 24 Chardonnays from Pyramid Valley, Smith & Sheth and Burgundy, organised by Steve Smith MW, was held across Christchurch, London and the Côte de Nuits.
• Tim Atkin MW's top wine was the 2024 Smith & Sheth Onewa Chardonnay from Hawke's Bay's Gimblett Gravels, which he picked as New Zealand over Burgundy.
• The Kiwi wines topped two of four flights, while the 2023 Domaine Guffens-Heynen Saint Véran Clos de Poncetys narrowly beat the Onewa Chardonnay in the third.

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.
• In February 2025, Livermore Valley officially named Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc as its signature red and white varieties.
• Lang & Reed, founded in 1996 by John and Tracey Skupny solely to make Cabernet Franc, was profiled by Jancis Robinson's Alder Yarrow.

Telling a mountain to move

• DO Montsant, in Catalunya's Priorat country, has revised its bylaws to add certification for 'vi brisat' (orange-style) wines.
• Montsant's revised bylaws create a classification for 'minimal intervention' wines, requiring hand-harvesting, organic certification, and spontaneous fermentation.
• The minimal-intervention rules also bar oenological additives except gentle filtration and set a maximum sulfur dioxide limit far below conventional levels.

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 wine sales.
• Capitain-Gagnerot's Corton-Charlemagne is priced far below Coche-Dury's, despite being grown a few rows away from it.

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

• 1WineDude reviews the 2024 Vintage Port declaration, titled as among the greatest wines in the world.
• The author notes extensive prior Vintage Port coverage on the site makes checking for duplicate reviews a recurring chore.

400 Montepulciano Bottles for Thomas Jefferson circa 1805

• A trade contract dated October 17, 1350 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 unveiled by the Consorzio del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano shows the term 'Vino Nobile' was first used by the Jesuits in 1766.
• Thomas Jefferson received 473 bottles of Montepulciano in November 1805 and asked Thomas Appleton for 400 bottles annually from the Jesuit vineyards.

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.
• Editor-in-chief David Williams aims for an authoritative but accessible reference by acknowledged experts, with 28 contributing writers.
• The book is a 400-page volume; Jane Anson covers Bordeaux, Wink Lorch the Jura, and Jim Clarke and Kelli White the US.

Tannic Panic! Issue #148: Better Than Pinotage

• Tannic Panic! tasted three South African Bordeaux-style blends, including a $35 bottle rated 98 points by critic Tim Atkin.
• The reviewers scored the $35 wine 92 points (TP) and called it a strong value, with Cabernet Sauvignon making up 61% of the blend.
• A second wine, a 54% Cabernet Franc blend, scored 80 points and was judged sour, poorly balanced, and not worth revisiting.