Before I get going today, I’d like to ask you for a favour. If you could go to JancisRobinson.com’s newly designed forum and drop examples of commonly confused wines into the thread titled Mission Blind Tasting – MBT, I would greatly appreciate it. This thread will be used as reference for a series I’m launching next month. If you can’t get to the forum because you’re not a member, JancisRobinson.com has student memberships for £49 a year. Student members receive access to The Oxford Companion to Wine, the maps from The World Atlas of Wine, the forum and the soon-to-be-launched Mission Blind Tasting series – and you’d also be supporting the continuation of the Wine News in 5.
Fires in Itata and Bío-Bío
This week, reports of wildfires in Chile join those of the fires still raging in South Africa, Australia and Argentina.
According to Chile’s National Forest Corporation, CONAF, over 51,563 ha (127,415 acres) have burned in Chile since the beginning of January. Nearly 70% of the land burned has been in the southern regions of Bío-Bío and Itata within the last week. As of yesterday, 22 January, 20 people had died in the fires and more than 50,000 had been evacuated. President Gabriel Boric has declared a state of catastrophe.
An article in Phys.org points out that Chile has been in state of drought for over a decade and that much of the land in central and southern Chile has been planted to industrial pine and eucalyptus, grown for timber and pulp. These plantations have facilitated the spread of the fires.
Amanda Barnes MW reported vineyard damage in the communes of Ránquil and Ñipas in Itata on her site, South American Wine Guide. She recommends sending donations to Fundación Desafío Levantemos Chile.
New Zealand flooding and landslides
New Zealand’s North Island has experienced record-breaking storms in the last week with several areas declaring 22 January their wettest day on record. The torrential rains have caused widespread power outages. Landslides have killed at least two people and left several others missing.
The Drinks Business reports that Gisborne (home to 1,226 ha/3,030 acres of vines) and Hawke’s Bay (home to 4,574 ha/11,303 acres of vines) are among the worst-affected areas. If you have any information on impacted wineries, please email [email protected].
Trump’s latest tariff threats
On 13 January Donald Trump threatened eight NATO members with escalating tariffs unless they would agree to a deal to sell Greenland to the US. The threatened tariffs were to start on 1 February and target Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland with 10% tariffs until 1 June when they would rise to 25%.
Then, on 19 January, Trump threatened France with a 200% tariff on wine and spirits if French President Emmanuel Macron refused to join his ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza.
On 20 January Macron delivered an address at the 56th annual World Economic Forum in Davos saying that France – and Europe – would not be bullied.
On 21 January the EU halted work on the formal approval and implementation of the trade deal it reached with Trump last summer. Later that day, Trump walked back his threats on tariffs on seven NATO members saying that he’d ‘formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland’ with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
The EU has not resumed work on formally approving the US–EU trade deal nor has Trump dropped his threat of 200% tariffs on French wine.
Meanwhile, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy released a study this week that shows that Americans pay 96% of Trump’s tariffs.
WHO pushes alcohol tax hikes
On 13 January the WHO asked governments to raise taxes on alcohol, saying that ‘alcohol has become more affordable or remained unchanged in price in most countries since 2022’ and that ‘by increasing taxes on products like tobacco, sugary drinks, and alcohol, governments can reduce harmful consumption and unlock funds for vital health services.’
I am here to tell the WHO that even if prices on alcohol globally have remained unchanged – though it certainly seems they’ve gone up where I am – wine consumption has plummeted. And, as the UK has demonstrated, raising duties only serves to depress sales and drive the taxes a government is able to collect lower. Furthermore, raising taxes on alcohol serves to increase pressure on community gathering places – such as restaurants and pubs – often resulting in closures and leaving people with fewer places to socialise. And I think we can all agree that socialising is a good thing.
Protests at Moët Hennessy
In 13 December’s newscast I discussed the strike of Moët Hennessy employees because, for the first time since Moët Henessy began in 1967, the company would not be distributing a profit-sharing bonus. Profit sharing generally accounts for 15–30% of an employee’s annual salary at Moët Hennessy houses. A wage negotiation was held on 8 January but ended without agreement. Workers went on strike again on 15 January.
Champagne sales down, Prosecco sales up
On 19 January the Comité Champagne reported that sales declined by 2% in volume in 2025 to 266 million bottles. This is the third consecutive year of declining sales.
The same day as Comité Champagne released their latest sales numbers, Prosecco did so as well – showing a 1.1% increase in sales, to 677 million bottles.
Early South African harvest
On 17 January, Jancis received an email from David Gass – one of our readers who lives between Paarl and Franschhoek – passing on the news that harvest in Paarl began on 9 January. While it’s not unheard of for harvest to begin in mid-January, this is still very early. Gass also sent a couple rather ominous-looking photos of the smoky horizon. Here’s hoping that the wine turns out well despite the current fire pressure!
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].
Photo at top by JancisRobinson.com member David Gass.
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.
