Wine Headlines

Simon Judge

  • Mosel Crisis, Martin Foradori Hofstätter: “Germany Does Not Promote Its Wines”

    Winemag reports Martin Foradori Hofstätter’s assessment that inadequate promotion is worsening the Mosel wine industry’s commercial difficulties. The article argues that the region’s challenges extend beyond falling consumption and the cost of cultivating steep vineyards, Germany is also failing to communicate the quality, distinctiveness and value of its wines effectively to international consumers.

  • Jamie Goode: Can Terroir Survive Climate Change?

    Winemag examines whether climate change could weaken the distinctive expression of celebrated wine regions, particularly Burgundy’s climats. Jamie Goode argues that increasing temperatures may push Pinot Noir and Chardonnay beyond their ideal ripeness windows, potentially making wines taste more varietal and less site-specific, while changes to canopy management, planting density, biodiversity and grape varieties may become necessary to preserve regional identity.

  • Bulk Wine Flounders in a Buyer’s Market

    Wine-Searcher reports severe oversupply across the bulk-wine market, with some California producers reportedly giving premium Pinot Noir away simply to empty tanks before the next harvest. Buyers at the International Bulk Wine & Spirits Show showed limited interest beyond categories such as Sancerre and white Burgundy, while distributors said they were reluctant to accept unfamiliar products or wines without established demand. The report also highlights substantial vineyard reductions and redundancies, alongside growing US retailer demand for higher-margin private-label wines.

  • Australian Wine Exports Drop to 22-Year Low

    The Drinks Business reports that Australian wine-export volumes fell below 600 million litres for the first time since 2004, declining 6% to 598 million litres in the year ending June 2026. Export value dropped 7% to A$2.3 billion, with weaker shipments to mainland China, the UK and the US outweighing growth in Canada and several Asian markets. Wine Australia attributed the downturn to falling global consumption, cost pressures and changing consumer preferences, although premium wines proved more resilient in the UK.

  • RNDC Winding Down with Bankruptcy Filing

    Shanken News Daily reports that Republic National Distributing Co, one of the United States’ largest alcoholic-drinks distributors, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Texas after selling or transferring most of its operations. RNDC listed liabilities of between US$1 billion and US$10 billion and more than 100,000 creditors, including significant amounts owed to suppliers. Its Georgia and New Mexico business and most joint ventures are outside the filing, but the collapse represents a major disruption for wineries and drinks companies relying on the American wholesale network.

  • Wildfires Darken the Clouds Over France’s Bordeaux Wine Industry

    Reuters reports that wildfires outside Bordeaux are not currently threatening the region’s leading vineyards, but they have intensified concerns about prolonged drought, repeated heatwaves and dwindling water supplies. Young vines are already suffering, growers fear that vines could stop ripening grapes without rain, and the harvest may be among the earliest recorded. These climatic pressures come as Bordeaux also confronts falling consumption, weak exports, oversupply and a fine-wine market that has lost nearly a fifth of its value over five years.

  • Climate Change Could Reshape the Wines We Drink

    WineDrinker reports on new research that finds that climate change will reshape rather than simply shift Europe’s wine regions northwards, because vineyard viability depends not only on warmer temperatures but also on extreme heat, frost, rainfall, humidity and disease. Southern European vineyards face growing heat risks from around 2040, potentially requiring heat-tolerant grapes, cooler sites and new cultivation methods, while northern regions such as England and Wales may gain suitable temperatures but remain constrained by mildew and other diseases encouraged by wet, humid conditions. Across Europe, growers are likely to adapt through different grape varieties, altered harvest dates, improved disease management and movement to higher elevations, although these changes may increase costs and environmental pressures. For consumers, European wine is unlikely to disappear, but familiar regions, styles, varieties and vintage patterns will gradually evolve, with greater emphasis on cooler locations, disease-resistant vines and producers capable of adapting sustainably.

  • Around 5,000 People Throw 40,000 Litres of Clarete Wine in San Asensio

    EFE reports (in Spanish) that approximately 5,000 people took part in the 47th Batalla del Clarete in San Asensio, La Rioja, using buckets, water pistols, agricultural sprayers, tractors and a municipal water cannon to throw 40,000 litres of local rosé wine. The tradition began in 1977 and is now recognised as a regional festival of tourist interest, drawing increasing numbers of overseas visitors. The celebration takes place near hundreds of historic underground cellars and highlights San Asensio’s long-standing identity as a centre for clarete production.

  • Italian Wine’s Share of Global Exports Rises From 18.7% to 23% in 10 Years

    WineNews reports that Italian wine accounted for 23% of global wine exports in 2025, up from 18.7% in 2015, according to Nomisma analysis based on Trade Map data. The figures form part of wider growth in Italy’s food and beverage exports, which reached just over US$67 billion and gave the country a 4.7% share of the worldwide market. Wine remains one of the strongest contributors to Italy’s export performance, despite current trade and geopolitical uncertainty.

  • Wales Bids for World’s First Natural Wine Appellation

    The Drinks Business reports that Welsh producers are seeking protected geographical indication status for Natural Wine of Wales, potentially creating the world’s first appellation specifically for natural wine. The proposed rules would require Welsh-grown grapes, spontaneous fermentation in Wales, organic or equivalent farming, no synthetic chemicals, industrial yeasts or processing aids, and tightly limited sulphur additions. Defra has reviewed the application but says further information is still required before it can progress.

  • Wildfires Threaten Wineries as Blaze Nears Bordeaux

    The Drinks Business reports that wildfires have moved to within approximately 15 kilometres of Bordeaux, raising concerns about possible smoke taint in grapes destined for the 2026 vintage. More than 220,000 people have reportedly been evacuated in France, while hot, dry conditions and shifting winds are hampering firefighting operations in Gironde. The immediate effect on vineyards remains uncertain, but producers face a potentially significant quality risk if smoke compounds accumulate in grape skins.

  • Low-to-Moderate Wine Consumption Associated with Lower Mortality

    Nutrition Journal reports a prospective analysis of 340,924 UK Biobank participants, followed for an average of 13.4 years, examining associations between wine, beer, cider and spirits consumption and mortality. High overall alcohol consumption was associated with a 24 per cent higher risk of death from all causes, a 36 per cent higher risk of cancer death and a 14 per cent higher risk of cardiovascular death, compared with never or occasional drinking. Low-to-moderate wine consumption was associated with lower mortality in the statistical analysis, while comparable consumption of beer, cider or spirits was associated with higher mortality, but this observational study cannot demonstrate that wine itself caused the apparent difference, as lifestyle, diet and socioeconomic factors may distinguish wine drinkers from other groups. Importantly, high wine consumption was associated with increased mortality from several cancers, meaning the findings should not be interpreted as evidence that people should begin drinking wine for health reasons.

  • Champagne to Limit Production to 250m Bottles for 2026

    The Drinks Business reports that Champagne’s industry bodies have capped the 2026 marketable yield at 8,800 kilograms per hectare, equivalent to roughly 250 million bottles and the lowest limit of the modern era apart from 2020. The measure is intended to prevent overproduction and reduce stocks, while first-half shipments rose modestly to 107.1 million bottles, supported by exports, and an unusually early harvest is expected to begin across many vineyards in late August.

  • Trump Hits Canada With 50% Tariffs Over US Alcohol Ban

    The Drinks Business reports that US President Donald Trump has imposed additional 50% tariffs on selected Canadian products, partly in response to Canadian provinces removing American wines, beers and spirits from their controlled retail and distribution systems. The measures take effect on 19 August 2026 and follow an approximately 81% fall in Canadian imports of US alcoholic beverages between March 2025 and February 2026. The dispute places wineries on both sides of the border within a broader trade conflict, with the US administration hoping the duties will persuade Canadian provinces to restore American alcohol listings.

  • Bordeaux Vineyard Values Plunge as Wine Sales Fall Below Three Million Hectolitres

    The Drinks Business reports that Bordeaux wine shipments fell by 12% year on year to 2.98 million hectolitres in the 12 months ending March 2026, dropping below three million hectolitres for the first time in decades. Declining demand and vineyard removals have driven substantial falls in land values, including reductions since 2018 of nearly 23% in Pauillac, 27% in Margaux and 26% in Saint-Émilion, while Médoc vineyard prices have fallen by more than 80%.