First, a reminder that coming up on Sunday 16 November, we have our 25th anniversary event in London! We’ve only got a couple tickets left so if you’d like to come, get tickets now!
Global wine production estimates for 2025
On 12 November the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) – an intergovernmental organisation with 51 member states – published its first estimates for global wine production in 2025. Wine production is forecast to be 232 million hectolitres globally – a 3% increase on the historically low 2024 harvest but 7% below the 5-year average. The OIV noted that, ‘climatic variability remained the dominant factor shaping global wine production in 2025'.
Italy remains the world’s largest producer with a forecast 47.3 million hectolitres, followed by France at 35.9 million hectolitres, Spain at 29.4 million hectolitres, the USA at 21.7 million hectolitres and Australia at 11.6 million hectolitres.
Since the OIV has released their report, I have read a handful of articles stating that with the global downturn in wine consumption, reduced production will help to balance the market – and that’s true to an extent. However, I do want to point out that with smaller yields due to challenging vintages (the case in France and Spain in 2025), production costs increase. If yields continue to be low due to climatic challenges, producers have to raise prices. Reduced yield is positive on a macroeconomic scale only if it’s temporary.
New rules for the EU’s wine sector considered
On 6 November members of the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee voted to update labelling laws, make more aid available for EU wine producers and put in place measures that allow the EU Commission to quickly respond to market fluctuations.
In terms of labelling: wines that are under 0.05% alcohol will be allowed to be labelled ‘alcohol free’. Wines between 0.5% and 30% lower than the standard for their category can be labelled ‘reduced alcohol’ – though not all wine producers are pleased with this. The secretary general for the European Committee of Wine Companies (CEEV), Ignacio Sanchez Recarte, told Just Drinks that the term ‘reduced’ does not translate well into Italian or Spanish. He is hoping that during a meeting scheduled for December between the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament the CEEV can convince legislators to eliminate the term ‘reduced’ and replace it with ‘low alcohol’ or ‘lower alcohol’.
In terms of more aid being made available: the ceiling for national payments supporting crisis distillation and green harvesting will be raised from 20% to 30% of each member state’s available funds. In the case of a natural disaster, producers eligible for EU sectoral funding are granted an extra year to plant or replant authorised grape vines.
Finally, in the case of market disturbances, the EU Commission will be authorised to suspend imports or introduce temporary voluntary production reduction schemes.
World’s lightest burgundy bottle
On 13 November Vitisphere announced that glass manufacturer Verallia has released the world’s lightest glass burgundy bottle, weighing only 300 g. This bottle joins Verallia’s 300-g bordeaux bottle which launched in 2023.
80-year-old tawny port
I must apologise … I missed this news! In January of this year, tawny port with an average age of 80 years – which used to just be labelled VVO for very very old – became eligible to be labelled as 80-year-old tawny. This follows on the heels of the establishment of 50-year-old tawny port in 2022. The categories of 10-, 20-, 30- and 40-year-old tawny ports were all established back in 1973. There isn’t currently a 60- or 70-year-old category.
Now, the reason I discovered this was because I received an email about Kopke’s ‘first-ever’ 80-year-old tawny – to which I said, out-loud, ‘that’s just VVO’. Alas, I was behind. Taylor Fladgate released their first bottling of 80-year-old tawny in March, Graham’s followed in April. Sometime between then and now both Quinta das Carvalhas and Quinta do Vallado have released 80-year-old tawnies. If you happen to have tried any of these, let us know how they were in the comments! Jancis has tasted the Graham’s and Julia has tasted the Taylor’s and each has been awarded very high scores.
Hope for UK hospitality sector
On 10 November, 345 hospitality businesses signed an open letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves. The letter states, ‘Today, hospitality has the highest tax bill in the economy. The impact has been immediate, concentrated, and socially regressive. Over 80,000 jobs have been lost and nearly 6 in 10 hospitality businesses are pessimistic about the sector’s prospects over the next year’.
These businesses are asking for lower tax rates for hospitality businesses, the introduction of a lower National Insurance Contributions (NICs) band for employees earning under a certain amount and/or the exemption of part-time workers and cutting VAT (value-added tax) on hospitality businesses. We’ll see if their demands are met in the upcoming budget due on 26 November.
That’s all for this episode of the wine news. I will be on a plane to Australia this coming week for my Master of Wine seminar, so I won’t see you again until the 28th. If you enjoy this newscast and would like to see it continue, please become a member of JancisRobinson.com. And if you have breaking news in your area, please email [email protected].
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