Before I get to global news, we have a lot of team news this week.
Next week Jancis will be in the Netherlands hosting a Judgment of Paris update dinner and I’ll be in Paso Robles moderating the Rhône Rangers Experience. There are still tickets to both events and we would love to meet you!
Our California correspondent Alder Yarrow has been shortlisted for the Communication & Education Old Vine Hero Award for his work on the Old Vine Registry. Tam said it best when she told our team, ‘Alder’s invested everything – his intelligence, tech savvy, wine knowledge, writing talent, network, passion, compassion, dispassion, diplomacy … His work has given places, wines, vines, varieties and people validation and value, and might well have saved domaines, livelihoods and ecosystems.’ Alder is shortlisted alongside Michèle Shah, Dr Dylan Grigg and Nacho Leon. Please go read about all of these impressive people as well as the shortlisted candidates for the categories: Best Viticulture Team; Next Generation; Old Vines, New Technology; and Research and cast your votes!
Julia Harding MW was interviewed by ASI Magazine for their February issue about how she got into wine, the relationships that have helped shape her career, and what drives her to write and edit.
Finally, we continued our re-release of Vintners’ Tales yesterday with my favourite episode yet, which features Roy Richards and Mark Walford of the UK import company Richards Walford. In the interest of time, I’m going to skip telling you about it and trust that you will go watch it.
On to the news!
Trump’s tariff war, continued …
On Thursday 13 March Donald Trump threatened 200% tariffs on alcohol imported from the EU starting on 1 April if the EU does not abandon its planned 50% tariffs on US whiskey. The 50% tariffs on whiskey were proposed only after Trump’s 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium entering the US went into effect on Wednesday 12 March. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU is open to ‘meaningful dialogue’ as higher tariffs are in no one’s best interests.
I cannot adequately describe to you what 200% tariffs would do to the US wine industry. The wine industry is not just producers of wine. It is grape-growers, importers, distributors, retailers, restaurants, journalists, equipment manufacturers, scientific labs and so much more. According to data from the Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins (CEEV) roughly 27% or €4.53 billion ($4.91 billion) worth of European wine is purchased by the US each year. Most of that wine is imported, distributed and sold to consumers by US companies who serve US wine producers alongside their EU producers. Without EU wine imports those businesses will suffer. Ben Aneff, president of the US Wine Trade Alliance, was quoted by the publication Vino Joy as saying, ‘A 200% tariff on imported wine would destroy US businesses’. He also points out that it would be more damaging to the economy in the US than it would in Europe.
As it stands, US wine producers have already lost their largest export market – Canada – due to tariffs. They now stand to lose distribution networks and retailers. Meanwhile their materials costs for steel tanks and oak barrels will go up with the new tariffs. This is bad for every single segment of the US wine industry as well as the EU wine industry, which would lose its largest export market.
South Africa increases alcohol taxes
On 12 March the South African government announced a 6.75% increase in excise taxes on alcohol. South Africa Wine, the trade body representing the industry, has pointed out that their excise tax burden is already significantly higher than other wine-producing countries and that this increase is likely to accelerate job losses, drive producers out of business, result in illegal trade which will erode government revenue, and will ultimately make South African wine less competitive globally.
A copper alternative for vineyards
Thank goodness for some good news – though, strictly speaking, this is a bit old. However, it was just published in French publication Vitisphere. On 26 January the European Commission approved grape-seed extract as a fungicide to treat downy mildew – a disease traditionally treated by spraying copper in vineyards. Copper, much as it is a necessary treatment, is detrimental to soil health. But trials have shown grape-seed extract to be an effective treatment against downy mildew and able to reduce the amount of copper sprayed by as much as 73%. The company Cérience plans to launch a product utilising grape-seed extract in 2026.
New Regenerative Organic Certified winery
The 237-acre (96-ha) Halter Ranch estate in Paso Robles has just gained Regenerative Organic Certification. This brings the total number of ROC producers worldwide to 28. (Read more on regenerative viticulture.)
German wine importer Rudi Wiest has died
On 9 March the wine industry lost Rudi Wiest. Wiest helped to open the US market to German wines after WWII and brought producers such as Egon Müller, J J Prüm and Karthäuserhof to the US market. In 2019 Rudi Wiest Selections closed and reopened as The German Wine Collection. Paula Sidore has written a lovely tribute to him on our forum that I urge you to go read.
Ruinart Sommelier Challenge applications open
My last two items qualify more as opportunities than news. The first is that the Ruinart Sommelier Challenge, a blind-tasting competition that awards the winner an expenses-paid trip to Champagne, will be accepting applications until 16 May. The competition will take place in London on 30 June.
Rhône Roots comes to London
The second is that Rhône specialist Matt Walls has organised a Rhône wine tasting with a mind-boggling list of attending producers in London on the evening of 30 April. Walls has offered a discount for members of JancisRobinson.com which you can find on our forum.
That’s all for this episode of the wine news. If you enjoy this newscast and would like to see it continue, please subscribe to JancisRobinson.com. And if you have breaking news in your area, please email [email protected].
This is a transcript of our weekly five-minute news broadcast, which you can watch below. You can also listen to it on The Wine News in 5 Podcast. If you enjoy this content and would like to see more like it, please subscribe to our site and our weekly newsletter.
Photo at top by Krasyuk via iStock.
