Before I get to global news, I want to shout out a couple articles that went up on our site this week. The first is a fun piece from Jancis titled Ten common myths about wine which was a collaboration with the Financial Times. The other is a remembrance written by Walter for the legendary Barolo producer Lorenzo Accomasso, who died on 8 August. I highly recommend reading both – they’re quick, informative reads.
Emergency funding for Corbières
In last week’s newscast I discussed France’s largest fire in over seven decades. The fire burned through 17,000 ha (42,000 acres) across the Aude region of southern France. The Aude Chamber of Agriculture currently estimates that the fires affected around 1,500 ha (3,700 acres) of vineyards in Corbières. On Thursday 14 August, Minister of Agriculture Annie Genevard announced €8 million in emergency funds to cover crop and material losses not covered by insurance. The Aude Chamber of Agriculture and producers are also requesting the lifting of regulatory barriers limiting the purchase of grapes and musts. Discussions are under way that might allow producers to buy up to 80% of their five-year harvest average.
French wine production up in 2025
Despite wildfires, hail, heatwaves and vine-pull schemes, Agreste, the French Ministry of Agriculture’s forecasting department, estimates that France will produce 10–17% more wine in 2025 than it did in 2024, which was the smallest harvest in 60 years. Current estimates sit between 40 and 42.5 million hl – over a billion gallons – which is only slightly below the country’s five-year average of 42.9 million hl. Burgundy, Champagne, the Loire Valley, Savoie and the Jura will see the largest increases in production over 2024.
Phylloxera hits Canary Islands
This week Amanda Barnes MW reported for Decanter that phylloxera, a highly damaging and widespread leaf-and-root-feeding pest whose existence is responsible for 80% of the world’s Vitis vinifera being planted on phylloxera-resistant rootstock, had been discovered in the Canary Islands on 1 August. Previously the Canary Islands were one of the few viticultural regions in the world unaffected by the pest. Because of this, many vineyards are composed of old, ungrafted vines – some over 100 years old – which are now at risk of attack. Thus far the pest has been identified definitively in the Valle de Guerra and is suspected to be present in La Matanza de Acentejo – both in the Tacoronte-Acentejo DO in northern Tenerife. There have been two emergency meetings of producers from all over the Canary Islands. After the most recent one on 13 August, news listener Loreto Pancorbo, of the winery Tierra Fundida, emailed me to give me an update on what had occurred.
Pancorbo stated that as of 13 August only 18 vines had been affected, 14 of them in Valle de Guerra. All of these vines were in abandoned or semi-abandoned vineyards and none of the affected vines shows presence of phylloxera in their roots, only in leaf galls. The Regional Ministry of Agriculture and the Council of Tenerife have checked 3,500 ha (8,650 acres) and counting. It is expected that on Monday 18 August, the Canary Islands Ministry of Agriculture will publish orders detailing a ban on moving plant material between islands and within the island of Tenerife itself, as well as a ban on taking grapes from Tenerife to other islands.
Thank you so much to Loreto Pancorbo for the boots-on-the-ground update!
US exports to Canada plummet
Until 4 March of this year – the day that Trump instituted 25% tariffs on Canadian goods – Canada was the biggest export market for US wine. In 2024, the United States exported $435 million worth of wine to Canada. The latest reports from the US Census Bureau show that wine exports to Canada dropped 97% between June 2024 and June 2025.
US alcohol consumption hits all-time low
Gallup’s most recent poll on US alcohol consumption shows only 54% of adults report consuming alcohol in 2025. This is the lowest percentage since the poll began tracking consumption data in 1939. As recently as 2023, 62% of adults reported consuming alcohol. That same year, 39% of adults said that they believed drinking in moderation was bad for their health. In 2025, that spiked to 53%. For those who do drink, only 29% reported wine as their beverage of choice in both 2023 and 2025.
New grape varieties approved in the EU
On 12 August, The Drinks Business reported that three new grape varieties have joined the list of those in the Official French Catalogue of species and varieties of plants cultivated in France – making them authorised to be marketed in the European Union. The three grapes are Calardis Blanc, a hybrid white variety created in Germany, Magdeleine Noir, a red vinifera variety originating in Brittany, and Négret de la Canourgue, another red vinifera variety this time from the Tarn Valley in southern France.
Harvest starts in Franciacorta
On 12 August the Franciacorta Consortium announced the start of the harvest in the region. The 2025 vintage has been warm and wet. Temperatures were normal in April and May, hot in June and cooler than usual in July. Rainfall from January through July was up 31% from average. Quality was reported to be good, with grapes reaching higher than average sugar levels.
Napa Valley harvest 2025
Harvest has also started in Napa Valley. According to Napa Valley Vintners, on 8 August both Mumm and Round Pond began harvesting for sparkling wines. On 11 August, Truchard harvested Pinot Noir for rosé. And on 12 August Benessere Vineyards harvested Pinot Grigio. A number of other producers reported plans to bring in Sauvignon Blanc this week. Producers aren’t expecting to harvest red grapes until next month.
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 [email protected].
Image at top courtesy Round Pond Estate in Napa.
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.
