Before I get to global news, some site news – we’re excited to announce that the latest, 5th edition of The Oxford Companion to Wine is now online – members of JancisRobinson.com have exclusive access to the online version of this essential (and huge) source of wine knowledge, edited by our very own Julia Harding MW and Tara Q Thomas.
Meanwhile, our team continued burgundy 2023 coverage this week with four articles-worth of alphabetised tasting notes. Also continuing this week was the re-release of Vintners’ Tales. Yesterday we posted a 1998 episode featuring Carla Carlisle, the Mississippi-born owner and operator of the UK’s first vineyard restaurant, Wyken Vineyards. It’s a lovely interview made better by the fact that Carlisle does the whole thing with a chicken sitting on her lap.
On to the news!
The State of the US Wine Industry
Every January, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) releases a ‘State of the US Wine Industry’ report. This year’s report was released this past Wednesday and, as you might expect, there are very few bright spots. While the numbers aren’t final, the report estimates that the volume of wine consumed in the US in 2024 decreased by 2.4%, and predicts the rate will continue to fall in 2025.
The report is very clear that this is not a temporary dip but a market correction. The last market correction the US experienced was from 1986 to 1994. Two of the contributing factors were a resurgence of anti-alcohol campaigns and a change in dominant cohorts – factors at play in this correction as well. Currently, Millennials and Gen Z are replacing baby boomers; back in the late 1980s, it was the Greatest Generation being replaced by boomers. Changing demographics are accompanied by a change in tastes.
As far as which wine categories are affected, it’s a pretty large swath. All price points saw declines in retail sales in 2023 and 2024 but the $12–$30 range was the least impacted. Most every varietal wine saw declines, but Prosecco grew by 2.7% and white blends grew by 3.9%. As the report points out, these categories are generally less expensive, more appealing to entry-level consumers, and generally lower in alcohol than red wines.
The key takeaway, in my opinion, is that if the wine industry is to continue to be financially successful, it needs to abandon the notion that eventually younger generations will come around and instead start catering to millennials and Gen Z. The report states, ‘The downturn in demand is reversible if the industry collaborates on solutions to target 30–45-year old consumers.’
Ingredient labelling for alcoholic beverages?
On 17 January the US Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) proposed that labelling on wines, spirits and malt beverages be required to state allergens, serving size and number of servings per container, fluid ounces of pure ethyl alcohol per serving, calories per serving, and grams per serving of carbohydrates, fat and protein.
As Julia pointed out in What’s in your wine?, a story about ingredient labelling on wine, this has been in the works for a long time. Detractors point out that wine can change in alcohol content and possible additions every year depending on fruit quality and composition, which would require new labels every year. That’s not generally something spirits or malt beverages have to worry about. Because of this, the Wine Institute has already requested that wineries be able to use QR codes for this information.
But as much as it will be a headache for wineries, I think it’s an important move. I think many people assume wine has a bunch of additions. Suddenly they’d see that wine from fastidious producers really does just contain fermented grape juice. They’d be able to compare the calories in BuzzBallz to the calories in wine. I honestly think it would make the category more appealing to Gen Z and millennials. Whether you disagree with me or are in complete alignment, I encourage you to comment on the proposal. The comment period will end 17 April.
Trump’s first week in office
As promised, Trump’s first week in office included a landslide of executive orders. He began the process of withdrawing the US from the WHO; withdrew the US from the Paris Climate Agreement; shut down legal immigration pipelines; ordered a federal hiring freeze – but what he didn’t do was implement tariffs. He’s threatened a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico starting on 1 February along with duties on China and the EU. We’ll see what happens.
Declining champagne sales
On 18 January Comité Champagne confirmed the declines reported on by Wine-Searcher on 30 December. Volume sales are down 9.2% from 2023. Domestic sales have fallen 7.2% and exports have fallen 10.8%. Maxime Toubart, president of the Champagne Winegrowers and co-president of the Comité Champagne, was quoted as saying, ‘Champagne is a true barometer of consumer mood. And this is no time for celebration, with inflation, conflicts around the world, economic uncertainty and a political wait-and-see attitude in some of Champagne’s biggest markets, such as France and the United States of America’.
Jura's clavelin now legal in the US
In this newscast on 11 January, I reported on new packaging sizes for wine and spirits in the US. Until I read a piece by Jura expert Wink Lorch on Wine-Searcher, I did not make the leap that one of those sizes, the 620-ml size, is exactly the size of the clavelin bottle used for Jura’s vin jaune. While clavelins can be found on some US shelves, they’re not strictly legal and importing them has been a massive headache. The allowance of new packaging sizes should clear this up! (And if you want to know what makes vin jaune so special, read Wink’s entry in The Oxford Companion to Wine!)
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].
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