Meininger's International shuts down, Oregon vineyard-management juggernaut, ICE raids

Before I get to global news, a reminder that Monday 23 June is the last day to submit entries to our yearly wine writing competition. This year’s theme is ‘an ode to a grape variety’ and we are accepting essays, poems and short stories no longer than 1,000 words.

We also have a bit of site news. If you are a long-time reader of JancisRobinson.com, you’re probably familiar with Richard Hemming MW – he’s been writing for the site since 2008 when he published a series called Vintage in the Vale. Since then, he’s managed to publish more articles on our site than anyone other than Jancis, Nick and Julia. While he currently serves as head of wine, Asia, for 67 Pall Mall, we’ve managed to grab a bit more of his time to help us expand our audio and video content. We’re all very excited to have him.

Meininger’s International shuts down

Meininger’s International was an English-language wine publication owned by a German publishing house, Meininger Verlag. Until yesterday, 19 June, when they shut down, they published news that I would often pick up for this newscast.

This one hurts. Meininger’s International was one of the most reliable and analytical industry publications. They didn’t publish press releases; they investigated what was happening in the wine business. I don’t know the circumstances around why they’re shuttering but their site says, ‘as part of a broader international business strategy, the wine and beverage-focused publishing house will now focus on strengthening its core media brands.’ Meininger Verlag will continue to operate their German-language publications.

The climate in the media industry is pretty rough. If you have favourite publications, podcasts or independent creators, I urge you to subscribe to their platforms. For those creators that take advertising, each follower and subscriber allows them to attract more advertising revenue – which might keep them alive. For those that don’t – like JancisRobinson.com – your membership keeps the publication going. If you enjoy this newscast and aren’t already a member of JancisRobinson.com, we would very much appreciate you joining us!

Oregon vineyard-management consolidation

On 30 May, Atlas Vineyard Management, a Napa-based company which had the second-largest presence in Oregon of any vineyard-management company, finalised a deal to acquire Oregon’s largest vineyard-management company, Results Partners. This puts Atlas in charge of farming for around 9,000 acres (over 3,600 ha) in Oregon – which is almost 20% of the state’s total.

To be quite candid, I don’t know how to feel about this. Atlas has promised that they will keep costs down and salaries steady. In a struggling market, that’s a decent proposition. However, Atlas is owned by Juggernaut Capital Partners, a private-equity firm, and when you’re owned by private equity your promise is really only good for as long as it benefits shareholders. Results Partners, which was owned by Clearview Capital – another private-equity firm – at least provided stiff-enough competition that the two had to keep each other in check. We’ll see what happens.

ICE raids affect wine industry

The increased number of ICE raids that I discussed in last week’s newscast continue to have an impact on the farming community across the United States.

In Oregon, on Thursday 12 June, Moises Sotelo, owner of Novo Start Vineyard Services in Willamette Valley, was arrested on his way to work. An ICE spokesperson told Oregon Public Broadcasting that Sotelo entered the United States illegally in 2006 and that he had a conviction for a DUI in Newberg, Oregon, dating from 1997. Sotelo’s family says that he arrived in the early 1990s. The Yamill County district attorney’s office has found no evidence of DUI charges against Sotelo. Sotelo is an important figure in the Willamette Valley wine industry and his arrest was followed by declarations from the Oregon Farm Bureau that they will work with farm workers to connect them to legal resources.

In Yakima Valley in Washington farm workers have reported that they are going straight from work to home without shopping or doing other activities for fear they’ll be arrested, and separated from their children.

If you are a vineyard owner, posting ‘private property’ or ‘staff only’ signs on all vineyard gates is advisable. ICE can enter areas of a business accessible to the public but they are prohibited from entering private areas. If you have immigrant neighbours, now would be a very good time to ask them if they could use a grocery drop or if you can provide your phone number in case they need anything.

A potential win for US alcohol guidance

On 18 June Reuters reported that they had heard from sources that new dietary guidelines for Americans, expected to be published as soon as the end of this month, are likely to drop verbiage suggesting a numerical limit on alcoholic drinks and instead include a recommendation to limit alcohol intake and drink in moderation. The report was entirely unverified, the sources unnamed, but if this is true, it is far better news than the US wine industry was expecting.

Barca-Velha Golden Vines MW Scholarships

On 28 May the Gerard Basset Foundation announced the launch of the 2025 Barca-Velha Golden Vines MW Scholarships. These two scholarships are worth £35,000 apiece and, in addition to funds, the winners will receive support from a panel of mentors as well as visits to Sogrape’s wineries and vineyards. Applications close on 4 July.

That’s all for this episode of the wine news. 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 news@jancisrobinson.com.

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 become a member of JancisRobinson.com and subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Photo at top courtesy Novo Start Vineyard Services

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Samantha Cole-Johnson