Winefeed

Bordeaux leads fine wine trade at 39.6% share; Lafite 2005 tops sales

• Bordeaux claimed 39.6% of traded fine wine value this week, with Lafite accounting for over a quarter of it.
• Burgundy fell to 18.4% from 24.8% last week, while Tuscany rose from 5.2% to 8.9%.
• The US took a 7.0% share, with US buyers accounting for 58% of their region's purchasing by value.

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.
• The event expects 40,000 professionals from 70 countries across 70,000 m² of exhibition space.
• An International Buyers Program offers eligible international buyers 4-star hotel stays and travel cost support.

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 26-27, 2026.
• The fair moves from Chicago after two years and will host 300 exhibitors presenting 2,500 Italian wine labels, its largest count yet.
• Alongside it, the wine2wine Vinitaly Business Forum and Vinitaly International Academy return, with registration now open online.

Global wine demand shifts from red toward white and sparkling styles

• IWSR data shows red wine's share of global 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 from 8 to 13 per cent.
• The shift is reshaping vineyard investment, production strategy and export opportunities, a challenge for Australia's red-led reputation.

Seven proposed US AVAs spanning California, Oregon, New Jersey and New York await TTB approval

• Seven proposed American Viticultural Areas, from California to Minnesota and New Jersey, await Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau approval, which can take years.
• The proposed Deschutes River AVA would be central Oregon's first recognized winegrowing region, covering 723,760 acres between the Cascade Range and Ochoco Mountains.
• The proposed Lake Hennessey AVA would add 4,495 acres to the Napa Valley AVA, with about 355 acres planted mostly to Cabernet Sauvignon.

VinePair's weekly roundup covers spirits sale talks, drinks industry news and new releases

• Uncle Nearest, the Tennessee whiskey brand, is reportedly attracting potential buyers.
• Southern Glazer's faces a bribery issue, and OpenTable published its 2026 restaurant report.
• Pop-Tarts is exiting its BuzzBallz collaboration, and Trump has banned Canadian alcohol.

Eight Bordeaux producers showcased as guides to the region's modern wines

• Wine writers compiled a list of eight Bordeaux producers to help newcomers explore the region's modern landscape beyond the 1855 Classification.
• The list spans historic châteaux such as Haut-Brion and Château d'Yquem to experimental estates like Durfort-Vivens, which ages wine in amphora.
• Entry-point labels highlighted include Clarendelle from Haut-Brion's owner at about $23, and Angelus's third wine No. 3 d'Angelus at about $60.

Kathleen Burk's new 600-page global history traces wine from Georgia onward

• Historian Kathleen Burk's 'Wine: A Global History' (Basic Books, 2026) runs almost 600 pages, beginning with Georgia's wine cradle.
• The book has chapters on Greece, Rome, Venetian, Genoese and Dutch trade, Islam and wine, France, the US, China, and Japan, Korea and Singapore.
• The reviewer found the China and Islam chapters most interesting and says the contemporary-world chapter disappointed him.

Yinchuan hosts first Asian OIV World Congress with 600 delegates from 47 countries

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

Cloudy and unfiltered wines gain ground in British supermarkets and restaurants

• M&S sells Trouble, a cloudy organic rosé, described as the first cloudy still wine in a British supermarket.
• Pét nat is bottled before fermentation finishes and usually not disgorged, which leaves it cloudy.
• Zainab Majerikova, head of wine for the Ottolenghi group, says cloudy wines add texture and suit food with complex flavours.

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

• European bartenders at London's Connaught Bar and Madrid's Rosewood Villa Magna say American visitors are curious and openly engaged.
• Americans still favour vodka Martinis, customised classics and spirit swaps, which bartenders say they are used to fielding.
• US visits to Europe hit a record 24 million trips in 2025, with another 5 percent rise expected this year.

NOAA Warns El Niño Could Be Strongest Since 1950, Affecting Wine Regions Worldwide

• NOAA issued an El Niño advisory on June 11, with an 83 percent chance of surface temperatures up to 2.5 degrees Celsius above average late in 2026.
• El Niño can bring more rain, humidity and delayed harvests to regions such as Chile and Santa Barbara, while Australia and South Africa face drought or heat risks.
• Winemakers in Chile and Santa Barbara expect rain-related challenges, including cloud cover that can delay harvest by up to two weeks.

Brazilian tropical semi-arid red wines keep polyphenols above literature levels after a year

• Researchers from Brazilian universities and Embrapa tracked young Petit Verdot, Tempranillo and Syrah wines from the São Francisco Valley over 12 months of bottle storage.
• Petit Verdot showed less colour variation than wines from temperate climates, and polyphenol levels stayed above published figures.
• A separate sensory study found red wines grew softer in flavour over storage while whites stayed refreshing, though all wines lost some sensory character.

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

• Tropical wine production began about 30 years ago and now has commercial wineries in Brazil, India, Thailand and Venezuela.
• The authors predict high-quality tropical wines in expressive volumes are achievable in the near future, despite marketing challenges.

Undervine heat tents reveal cultivar-dependent effects on grapevine fruit set

• In 2009/2010, researchers used undervine tents to raise daytime temperatures 3-5 degrees Celsius over ambient in four cultivars.
• Chardonnay under heat had lower fruit set, fewer berries and lighter bunches, with reduced pollen tube growth.
• Semillon and Shiraz under heat set more fruit and grew more pollen tubes into the ovary; Cabernet Franc showed no significant change.

Part Two of vineyard lab series examines how irrigation water affects soil minerals

• Viticulturist Stan Grant's second article in a three-part series on lab analysis for vineyard mineral nutrient management addresses irrigation water.
• Nearly pure irrigation water, such as Sierra Nevada snowmelt, strips minerals from soil and makes it more acidic over repeated applications.
• Alkaline well water high in bicarbonate can form carbonate compounds that reduce its calcium and magnesium fertilizer value.

Cover crops and mulching boost vineyard soil microbes and climate resilience

• A 2026 Environmental Microbiome study in a non-irrigated northern Italian vineyard found cover-crop under-vine mulching raised microbial diversity.
• The same study reported improved soil conditions and reduced pathogen pressure under 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 to fall 14% below average after summer heat

• France's 2026 harvest is estimated at about 35 million hectolitres, down 2% on 2025 and 14% below the 2021-2025 average.
• Champagne harvested early for the first time in September, with output halved from last year and the five-year average.
• Burgundy and Beaujolais projected at 30% below their five-year average, while Bordeaux is expected to rise 10% on 2025.

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

• Vineyards and other permanent horticultural crops are within the scope of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 2026, alongside arable and livestock farms.
• Cover crops for overwinter soil protection must ideally be sown by late August or early September, with SFI allowing up to 12 months to establish a mix.
• The RPA is increasingly using satellite imagery to monitor SFI action delivery, and small-seeded cover mixes need a well-prepared, weed-free seedbed.

Profetas e dos Villões: António Maçanita and his remarkable wines from Porto Santo and Madeira

• António Maçanita's Profetas e dos Villões project, with friend Nuno Faria, produces wines from Porto Santo and Madeira.
• The project's first wines were made in Madeira; since 2022 a winery operates on Porto Santo, whose arid, flat terrain gets 380 mm of rain yearly.
• Wines reviewed include Caracol dos Profetas 2021 and Crosta Calcária 2023, both scored 95 or higher.

Why Michelin Ratings Still Won’t Tell You Who Actually Made Your Burgundy Wine

• Since July, some Burgundy bottles carry Michelin ratings of one to three grapes, based on five criteria: agronomy, technical mastery, identity, balance, and consistency.

Wine News: What I’m Reading the Week of 10/18/26

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

Pairing Wine With Fall

• Meg Maker's Maker's Table piece on fall food and wine pairing opens with a story about lighting the season's first fire at home.
• The author argues autumn cuisine in northern New England is earthy, rich, spiced and hearty, with flavors darker than summer's brights.
• Maker says pairing is far from a science and is deeply personal and culturally constructed, and promises a list of wine styles for autumn meals.

A Level Playing Field

• A blind tasting of 24 wines, 14 from Burgundy (2023s) and 10 from New Zealand (2024s), was organised by Steve Smith MW.
• Tim Atkin's top pick was the 2024 Smith & Sheth Onewa Chardonnay from Gimblett Gravels, Hawkes Bay, which he expects to retail for around £60.
• Atkin says top Chardonnay is now a level playing field, citing Domaine Leflaive finishing picking on August 18th this year.

Cabernet Franc in the Press: October 2026

• Food & Wine reports California had only 3,501 acres of Cabernet Franc in 2025, versus 90,040 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, per the California Grape Acreage Report.
• The Livermore Valley officially named Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc its signature red and white varieties in February 2025.
• JancisRobinson.com profiled Lang & Reed in Napa, founded by John and Tracey Skupny in 1996 solely to make Cabernet Franc.

Telling a mountain to move

• DO Montsant, in Catalunya, Spain, has revised its bylaws to add certification for 'vi brisat' (orange-style) wines, following DO Terra Alta's similar move in 2022.
• Montsant's revised bylaws also create a classification for 'minimal intervention' wines, requiring hand-harvesting, organic certification, spontaneous fermentation and gentle filtration only.
• Author Miquel Hudin says the DO did not respond to his request for the maximum sulfur dioxide limit, which is absent from the final published bylaws.

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

• 1WineDude is tasting the 2024 Port vintage and writes that Vintage Port coverage on the site is extensive.
• The author notes growing difficulty checking whether a given Vintage Port has already been reviewed on the site.

400 Montepulciano Bottles for Thomas Jefferson circa 1805

• An October 17, 1350 trade contract between the Del Pecora family and merchant Jacopo di Vanni is the oldest known document for Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, held in Florence's State Archives.
• A 2024 document from the Consorzio del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano dates the first known use of the term 'Vino Nobile' to 1766 by the Jesuits, not 1787.
• In April 1806 Thomas Jefferson asked Thomas Appleton for 400 bottles of Montepulciano annually after receiving 473 bottles in November 1805.

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 28 contributing experts including Jane Anson and Wink Lorch.
• The 400-page book is positioned against Oxford Companion to Wine and The World Atlas of Wine, both produced by Jancis Robinson's team.