UPI reports that the proportion of US adults who say they drink alcohol remains at 54%, matching 2025’s record low and representing the lowest level recorded by Gallup since it began tracking the measure in 1939. Only 13% of respondents now say they sometimes drink too much, another record low, while awareness of research into alcohol’s long-term health effects has risen to 86%, from 79% two years ago. Gallup says the reduction in drinking since 2023 is visible across most demographic groups, making the findings particularly significant for the wine industry because they suggest that the contraction in America’s drinking population is becoming a sustained behavioural shift rather than a one-year anomaly.
USA
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Canadian Bans on U.S. Alcohol Take Centre Stage in Tariff Talks
CBC News reports that provincial bans on US alcohol have become a significant issue in Canada-US tariff negotiations, with American wineries and drinks producers increasingly caught between the two governments. Provincial leaders are considering whether US bottles should return to shelves as part of efforts to ease trade tensions, but the commercial damage is already substantial, US Census Bureau data cited in the report show American wine exports to Canada fell by US$343 million between 2024 and 2025, a 77% year-on-year decline in what had been the largest export market for US wineries.
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U.S. Slump Drove Nearly 60% of Italy’s Wine Export Losses
Vinetur reports that the United States accounted for roughly 59% of the decline in Italian wine export value during the first five months of 2026. Italian wine exports to the US fell 15.4% to €709 million, while volumes dropped 6%, meaning producers lost about €129.1 million in revenue compared with the same period last year, while worldwide Italian wine exports fell 6.86% to €2.98 billion. The figures also indicate falling revenue per litre in America, making the US downturn considerably more damaging than the softer declines recorded in markets such as Germany and Britain.
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Napa Wine Compliance Costs Near 18% of Production
Ag Alert reports that regulatory compliance cost a small, 8,500-case Napa County winery an estimated $203,832 annually when wine production and direct-to-consumer sales requirements were combined. This amounted to $23.65 per case, or 17.5% of production costs, with labour, water regulation, alcohol licensing and interstate shipping compliance among the largest expenses. The researchers caution that the study examined only one winery, but say it provides a baseline for understanding the cumulative impact of federal, state and local regulations.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Napa Needs to Bulldoze Vineyards
Wine-Searcher examines an argument by Long Meadow Ranch owner and former McKinsey partner Ted Hall that more than 1,000 small Napa vineyard owners should consider removing their vines because farming costs now exceed the value of uncontracted grapes. Small hillside parcels can reportedly cost more than US$23,000 per acre to maintain, while falling bulk-wine and grape prices have left many sites economically unviable. Around 20% of Napa vineyard acreage went unharvested in 2025 and another 8% was removed, with small wineries and growers expected to face further pressure as the market contracts.
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EU Seeks US Tariff Exemptions for European Wine
La Tribune reports (in French) that the European Commission has asked Washington to exempt wine, spirits and selected agricultural products from the 15% US tariff applying to most EU goods. The proposed exemptions cover approximately €115 billion of exports, with wine particularly exposed because vine products account for 17% of EU agricultural and food exports to the United States by value, and the tariff is placing additional pressure on margins for premium European wines.
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The Wine Tastings That Became a $3.9 Million Supreme Court Showdown
Wine Drinker is reporting that a Northern California winery owner has asked the US Supreme Court to pause a nearly $4 million judgment from Napa County over wine tastings the county deemed a public nuisance. Lindsay Hoopes says the tastings were properly licensed and that the penalties could force her to sell the winery while she appeals.
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The US Wine Industry’s Growing Divide Has Nothing to Do with the Market
wine.co.za, carrying a Forbes report by Michelle Williams, says Silicon Valley Bank’s 2026 Direct-to-Consumer Wine Report shows a widening gap between high-performing and struggling US wineries. Based on responses from 450 family wineries, the report says top performers grew revenue by 22% in 2025 while bottom performers fell 13%, with the difference linked less to market conditions than to outward-facing brand-building, customer understanding and execution.
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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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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 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.