WBM Online reports that New Zealand exported 306.2 million litres of wine in the year to June 2026, compared with 288.8 million litres the previous year, while export value remained broadly flat at NZ$2.108 billion. The 2026 harvest fell by 15% to approximately 440,000 tonnes, bringing production closer to market demand. Although the article describes export volume growth as 8%, its quoted volumes imply approximately 6%, an inconsistency worth flagging.
Simon Judge
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Smart Agriculture Using Digital Holography and AI
Frontiers in Plant Science has published a peer-reviewed study, testing an autonomous vineyard sensor that combines digital holography with artificial intelligence to identify airborne spores of downy and powdery mildew in near real time, potentially allowing spraying decisions to be based on actual pathogen presence rather than weather forecasts alone. Field case studies in Switzerland and Bordeaux found that spore-informed management could reduce fungicide applications while retaining disease control, including a Bordeaux trial where the monitored Merlot parcel received 30% less fungicide than other parcels in 2022 while recording comparable yield and quality, although the authors stress that the Bordeaux work was an operational case study rather than a replicated controlled experiment. The results are promising for precision viticulture, but the researchers explicitly call for validation across more seasons, climates and vineyards before treatment thresholds can be generalised.
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French AOC Stops Production for First Time
The Drinks Business reports that Saint-Sardos in south-west France will produce no AOC wine in 2026 after the cooperative responsible for roughly 97% of appellation output lost its remaining grape supply following vineyard removals. The remaining independent producer is moving away from the appellation and will market its wine as Vin de France, leaving Saint-Sardos effectively dormant, an unusually stark illustration of the economic and climatic pressures affecting smaller French wine regions.
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Canada’s Boycott Forces the Sale of a California Winery
Yahoo Finance, carrying reporting from the Los Angeles Times, reports that McManis Family Vineyards is selling its winery and roughly 3,500 acres across Northern California after its Canadian business fell sharply amid the boycott of US alcohol. The family-owned producer, founded in 1990, is offering its Ripon winery and ten vineyards for sale as California’s wider wine sector contends with weaker demand and grape oversupply. McManis’s wine exports to Canada reportedly fell by about 74,000 cases between July 2025 and July 2026, illustrating the significant commercial impact of the continuing US-Canada trade dispute on some California producers.
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Researchers Make Progress Towards Turning Smoke-Affected Grapes into Quality Sparkling Wine
The University of Tasmania reports new results from the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture’s long-term research into whether bushfire smoke-affected grapes can still be used to produce acceptable sparkling wine. Researchers simulated vineyard smoke exposure by treating grapes for three hours with smoke generated from local native wood and leaf litter, then made sparkling wines containing controlled levels of smoke taint. PhD researcher Alison Ctercteko reports that experimental treatments can remove smoke-taint compounds, although the central challenge is reducing those undesirable compounds without simultaneously stripping desirable Pinot noir and Chardonnay aromas. The work forms part of a 10-year trial examining both mitigation methods and how smoke compounds affect sparkling wine during ageing, with the current results described as promising but not yet presented as a finished solution. The University published the research update on 23 September 2026, with a contemporaneous release timestamped 10:37 am AEST.
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Michelin’s 3-Grape Bordeaux Ratings Have Wine Experts Seeing Red
2oceansvibe reports that Michelin’s recently introduced Bordeaux wine-estate ratings are attracting criticism from parts of the wine trade over their methodology and the practice of assigning a single rating to an estate rather than individual vintages or wines. Michelin awarded three grapes to nine Bordeaux estates, two to 16 and one to 37, while defending a process based on agronomy, technical mastery, identity, balance and consistency across vintages.
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SA Wine Thrown $100m Lifeline to Support Vineyard Transition
Drinks Trade reports that South Australia has unveiled a A$109 million Wine Industry Transition and Growth Package as producers confront oversupply, falling grape prices and changing demand. A A$100 million loan scheme will help eligible growers convert unviable vineyards to other uses, while further funding covers vineyard diversification, surplus wine stocks, disposal of treated vineyard posts, export-market development and the appointment of a Wine Industry Coordinator.
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Exploring Vineyards With World Winery Map
Wine Drinker reports World Winery Map ,a commercial mapping platform developed by Croatian company M.G. SOLUTIONS, covering more than 4.3 million vineyard parcels and 100,000 wineries across 90 countries. It combines wine region boundaries, winery locations, terrain measurements and climate data. Producers can claim and update basic listings for free, while paid subscriptions offer greater visibility, richer content and features supporting marketing, tourism and sales.
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Exploring Europe’s Wine Appellations With Open Wine Map
Wine Drinker looks at Open Wine Map, an interactive website combining a reference wiki with a map of 1,659 wine appellations across 21 European countries. Users can explore individual appellations, filter by wine type and search by appellation, grape variety or region. Created with AI assistance by Belgian freelance IT consultant Boris De Vloed, it draws information automatically from official European, national, Swiss and UK registers, with each fact traceable to a public source. Its source code is also freely available for anyone interested in how it works.
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Independent Wine Retail in a Changing Market
Wine Drinker reports that Liberty Wines’ 2026 Independent Off-Trade Wine Report shows that UK independent wine retailers face challenging conditions, with spending down 5% between March 2024 and March 2026, although still around 20% above 2019 levels. Performance varies widely: more than 40% of retailers have grown sales, with the strongest tending to prioritise quality, distinctive ranges and attracting customers over competing with supermarkets on price. Independents have outperformed supermarkets on both volume trends and value growth, suggesting shoppers will accept higher prices when they see better quality and value.
Falling customer numbers are the main challenge, with a 9% decline over two years outweighing a 5% rise in spending per visit. The report highlights communication, tastings, events and knowledgeable staff as ways to attract customers and encourage repeat visits. Shoppers are becoming younger, while similar household incomes across different spending groups suggest scope to increase purchasing among lighter spenders. Tastes are also broadening, with strong performances from Champagne, English sparkling wine and Provence rosé, alongside growing interest in Spain, South Africa, lesser-known wine-producing countries and a wider range of grape varieties.
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Phoenicians, Not Romans, Brought Wine to Spain, Ancient Grape DNA Shows
Archaeology News reports that analysis of ancient grape DNA indicates cultivated vines from the eastern Mediterranean were introduced to the Iberian Peninsula roughly 3,000 years ago, supporting a major role for Phoenician settlers rather than a later Roman introduction. Researchers analysed 28 ancient grape seeds from Spanish and Sardinian archaeological sites and found that imported domesticated vines crossed with local wild grapes, helping create distinctive Iberian wine-grape lineages. Some genetic connections endured for centuries, including links to varieties still grown today, giving researchers new evidence for the continuity and evolution of Iberian viticulture.
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South Australian Government Commits $109 Million to Help Struggling Wine Industry
ABC News reports that South Australia has announced a A$109 million support package for its wine sector, including A$100 million in loans intended to help growers move unviable vineyards into other crops or land uses. Smaller growers can seek loans of up to A$250,000 and larger operations up to A$500,000, with no principal or interest payments for the first two years. The package comes amid persistent oversupply and weak grape prices, particularly in the Riverland, where 72% of wine-grape operations reportedly made losses in the most recent season. Other measures address surplus wine stocks, disposal of treated vineyard posts and international market development.
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Study Finds New Grape Varieties Pay Best Under Napa’s Most Extreme Heat
Vinetur reports on research examining the economics of adapting Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards to increasingly severe heat. Researchers from Cornell University and Pennsylvania State University compared continuing with existing vineyards, adding shade technology, switching to more heat-tolerant grape varieties and relocating production. The modelling found no single strategy was optimal under every scenario, existing vineyards performed best with modest warming, shade became economically attractive as heat intensified, while switching grape varieties produced the strongest returns under the most extreme conditions modelled.
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How Low Can You Go? Garda DOC May Just Have the Answer
The Buyer reports that Garda DOC has become the first Italian DOC to permit lower-alcohol wines within its production regulations, allowing qualifying wines to retain PDO or PGI status rather than being pushed outside the protected designation system. The approach relies largely on earlier harvesting of Garganega to produce wines around 9% to 11% ABV, rather than completely removing alcohol after fermentation, with three labels now available from the 2025 vintage. Research presented alongside the development found considerable resistance among wine professionals to dealcoholising prestigious PDO wines, highlighting the wider challenge facing appellations as they respond to changing drinking habits while trying to preserve regional identity.
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English Winemakers Expect ‘Vintage Year’ After Record-Breaking Summer Heat
The Guardian reports that English sparkling wine producers are expecting an exceptionally early 2026 harvest after the UK’s record-breaking summer accelerated grape ripening. Nyetimber began picking on 14 September, five days earlier than its previous record, and expects the vintage could produce more than 1.5 million bottles, although late spring frost and drought reduced yields in some vineyards. The combination of smaller berries, concentrated sugars and extensive sunshine has raised expectations for quality while illustrating how rapidly English viticulture is being affected by changing climatic conditions.