Before I get to global news, I have congratulations to dole out.
Julian Leidy (pictured above by Martina Liberini), organiser of our annual wine writing competition, captain of Oxford’s blind-tasting team and lover of rosé, won Top Taster at the annual Oxbridge blind wine tasting competition on Tuesday!
Then on 19 February, four new Masters of Wine were announced. They are: Karen Hong Liu MW, general Manager of Pinnacle APEX Ltd, a Hong Kong-based fine-wine importing and distribution company; Cristina Mercuri MW, founder and CEO of Italy-based Mercuri Wine Club, a consultancy focusing on education, brand development and market strategy; Bryce Wiatrak MW, author of Tokaji and the Wines of Hungary and the soon-to-be released Dessert Wine: An encyclopedic guide to sweet and fortified wines and founder of Vinalia, a venture-backed private label and import company in the US; and finally, Kim Oshiro MW. Kim, as well as being the founder of Bottle Thief™ – an argon wine-preservation system that has saved me a heap of money by preserving my study samples – is the whole reason I started the WSET programme and then the MW programme. She ran a tasting group in Portland, Oregon, for years that launched a raft of students into study programmes. I could not be happier for her and will be raising a glass with her, in person, this weekend at Premiere Napa Valley.
I hope you’ll join me in congratulating these extraordinary individuals!
SCOTUS rules on tariffs
Today, 20 February, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the reciprocal tariffs the Trump administration imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were unconstitutional. The court ruled 6–3 with conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch joining liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson in striking down tariffs. Trump has reportedly called the ruling a ‘disgrace’ and says he has a back-up plan.
This legal challenge, VOS Selections, Inc v Trump, was brought by a small New York wine importer. It is a massive victory for the wine industry. US importers who have struggled to pay tariffs for the last year and US producers who have had to pay higher equipment costs will doubtless be relieved.
Sales, closures and lay-offs in the US
On 18 February, the San Francisco Chronicle covered three major stories of US winery sales, closures and lay-offs.
The first was an announcement that Gallo is closing Ranch Winery – a production facility in Napa Valley that employed 56 people. The company will also be reducing staff at Louis M Martini Winery, Orin Swift, J Vineyards and Frei Ranch. Total staff reductions, including the Ranch Winery lay-offs, will total 93 people.
The second story broke the news that Chalone winery’s production facility in Soledad, Monterey County, closed on 6 February and laid off all winemaking staff. The brand, owned by Foley Family Wines, will remain in production – moving winemaking operations to a different Foley Family facility.
The third story covered the listing of two premium Napa vineyards – Haystack vineyard on Atlas Peak and Clouds Nest vineyard on Mt Veeder – by Trinchero Family Wine and Spirits. Elizabeth Hooker, Trinchero’s vice-president of communications, was quoted saying, ‘Given market dynamics, listing select vineyards is a proactive step we’ve taken to ensure we’re positioned for long-term, sustainable growth.’
In addition to the Chronicle’s coverage, this week also saw the announcement that 500 employees were being laid off by Breakthru Beverage Group – one of the US’s largest wine, beer and spirits distributors. Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) – another large distributor – confirmed another round of employee lay-offs this month. This follows the news late last year that RNDC laid off upwards of 1,700 employees and ceased their distribution in California. Both Breakthru Beverage and RNDC import wine as well as distributing and were hit hard by Trump’s tariffs.
The sale of Ridgeview Wine Estate in the UK
Last September, Ridgeview Wine Estate in Sussex entered administration while its sale to a prospective buyer was being worked out. On 11 February, it was announced that Ridgeview had been acquired for an undisclosed sum by QBRidge Ltd, an investor consortium led by The Quantum Beverage Company – an investment platform specialising in adult beverages. Simon Roberts will remain head winemaker. His sister, Tamara Roberts, previously Ridgeview’s CEO, will step down.
Wales hikes the minimum unit price of alcohol
Wales raised its legal minimum unit price for alcohol by 30% – from 50p to 65p. A unit is equivalent to 10 ml of pure alcohol – the alcohol in a standard drink.
While this is a controversial decision, I would like to point out that minimum price per unit is not a tax – it is simply a regulation that alcohol cannot be sold for below a certain price point. This affects only the cheapest of alcoholic products.
Spain’s vineyard area shrinks
On 12 February, wein.plus reported that Spain’s vineyard area fell to 889,470 ha in 2025. This is the first time that area under vine has been below 900,000 ha (2,224,000 acres) since the Organización Interprofesional del Vino de España (OIVE) began keeping records in 1980.
That’s all for this episode of the wine news. I’ll be in Napa for Premiere Napa Valley tomorrow – if you’re attending, please come say hi! And 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].
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 our site and subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
