EU Reporter reports that Belgium’s wine sector is expanding, citing the launch of the 2026 Gault & Millau Belgian Wine Guide and comments from guide chief executive Marc Declerck. The article says Belgian wine production reached a record 4.3 million litres over the past 12 months, while the country now has more than 350 winegrowers farming nearly 1,050 hectares of vineyards, a 10% year-on-year increase. The guide assessed 424 wines, selected 270 cuvées from 137 estates and presented 28 Belgian Wine Awards, underlining Belgium’s growing visibility as a European wine-producing country.
Simon Judge
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Ancient DNA Proves Chianti Was Once a White Wine Mecca
The Drinks Business reports that ancient grape seeds from Cetamura del Chianti suggest the region, now famous for red wine, was once dominated by a long-maintained white grape variety. Researchers sequenced DNA from 80 seeds dating from roughly 300 BCE to 300 CE, finding evidence of continuity from Etruscan into Roman times and links to varieties still found in parts of Eastern Europe.
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Investment Fraud In UK Soared To More Than £220m Lost Last Year, Trade Body Says
The Guardian reports that UK investment scams involving assets including wine, gold and cryptocurrencies rose sharply in 2025, with reported losses reaching £221.5m, up 40% year on year. The article says UK Finance recorded almost 15,000 investment scams, warning that AI is helping criminals create more convincing websites, messages and impersonations at scale, with wine among the fake investment categories used to lure victims.
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French Wine Exporters Say Trump’s Latest Tariff Threat Is Bad News
Reuters reports that French wine and spirits exporters have criticised Donald Trump’s renewed threat of 100% tariffs on French wine and Champagne unless France scraps its 3% digital tax on US tech companies. Exporters’ group FEVS said the threat was damaging for an export-reliant sector caught in a dispute outside its control, and called for responsible, balanced trade relations between France and the US.
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Global Rosé Masters 2026 Medal Winners Announced
The Drinks Business reports that the Global Rosé Masters 2026 has revealed its medal-winning wines, with standout results across still, sparkling, sweet and oaked styles. Top recognition went to Les Cinq Filles Rosé de Saignée in sparkling rosé and Château d’Esclans Garrus among still, barrel-aged rosés, while strong performances came from Provence, Spain, Italy, South Africa, Turkey, Australia, Portugal and the UK.
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IWSR Forecasts Further Pressure on Wine Volumes
Harpers reports that IWSR expects global alcohol consumption to keep declining until 2031 before recovering towards 2025 levels by 2035, but wine faces a tougher outlook than several other categories. IWSR forecasts wine volume sales to fall 14% between 2025 and 2035, compared with smaller projected declines for spirits and beer, and continued growth for RTDs.
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Light and Moderate Drinking Show No Clear Cancer Mortality Risk
Wine Drinker reports that a large independent analysis of the US REGARDS cohort found that heavy alcohol consumption was associated with higher long-term cancer mortality among adults aged 45 and over. After excluding participants with prior cancer or missing alcohol data, researchers followed 26,694 people for a median of 13.3 years, during which 2,306 cancer deaths occurred. Heavy drinkers had a 21% higher adjusted hazard of cancer death than non-drinkers, while moderate drinking showed no clear link and light drinking appeared associated with lower risk, though this may reflect residual confounding rather than protection. The association did not differ significantly by sex, and while smoking partly explained the increased risk among heavy drinkers, it did not fully account for it.
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Napa And Sonoma Wineries Cut Tasting Fees As Tourism Slows
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that roughly 30% of wineries in both Napa and Sonoma lowered tasting fees in 2025, responding to weaker wine tourism and criticism that visitor costs had become too high. The wider Silicon Valley Bank report found 16% of US wineries reduced fees, but early results are mixed, with only a quarter of those cutting prices reporting improved visitation.
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Bordeaux Prices Fall in US Retail
Wine-Searcher reports that Bordeaux prices are dropping sharply in US stores, with some Napa Cabernet prices also weakening, even as Burgundy and Bourbon remain less exposed to discounting. The article frames the trend as a market correction after years of high pricing, tariffs and reduced consumer enthusiasm for Cabernet and Merlot-led fine wine.
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Wine Trade Urged to Raise Labour Standards Across Supply Chains
The Drinks Business reports that labour standards in viticulture and wine supply chains are becoming a more urgent industry issue, with sustainability consultant Anne Jones arguing that producers and retailers need both incentives and enforcement to improve practices. The Wine Society has developed a five-step human rights due diligence guide, translated into French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, and aims to have 160 own-label and key suppliers complete the first four stages by the end of the year.
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Wine Institute Pushes to Restore US Wine Access in Canada
Wine Industry Advisor reports that a Wine Institute delegation of senior winery owners, winemakers and executives from 14 California wineries travelled to Washington, DC, to press for action on returning US wine to Canadian shelves. The group said Canadian provincial bans on US alcohol have damaged wineries, distributors, retailers, restaurants and consumers, and it wants both governments to restore full market access for US wine in Canada.
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Global Cabernet Sauvignon Masters 2026 Medallists Announced
The Global Cabernet Sauvignon Masters 2026 have been revealed, following what judge Siobhan Turner MW described as a bumper entry and a notably international field. The competition highlights Cabernet Sauvignon’s continuing global reach, with wines assessed across a broad range of origins and styles.
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Treasury Wine Estates Cuts Brands In Bid To Revive Growth
The drinks business reports that Treasury Wine Estates has unveiled a major overhaul, called Ascent, which will reduce its portfolio from 76 brands to fewer than 30 and shift investment towards luxury wine, lighter styles and no/low-alcohol categories. The company said it will focus on “Power Brands” and “Regional Heroes”, while investors responded positively, with shares rising around 10% after the announcement.
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South African Wine’s Missing Archive Raises Concern
Winemag.co.za reports in an opinion article by Melvyn Minnaar that South African wine lacks a proper, central archive, making its history harder to research and preserve. Minnaar highlights the Platter’s Wine Guide as an accidental record of more than 40 years of South African winemaking, warning that without organised preservation, vital details about producers, vineyards and industry development remain scattered.
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Rare 19th-Century Wine Cache Goes on Display in Czech Castle
Reuters reports that 133 late 19th-century bottles, mainly dated 1892 to 1899, have gone on public display at Becov Castle in the Czech Republic after restoration by Château d’Yquem. The collection had been hidden beneath a chapel floor at the end of World War Two, discovered in 1985, tested in 2016 using Coravin technology, and recorked with an emphasis on preserving authenticity, including the dust on the bottles.