I just flew back from California this morning where Jancis, Alder Yarrow, Josh Greene and I celebrated the site’s 25th anniversary at CIA Copia with the Wine Institute and Wines of California. Our session formed part of the Global Buyers Marketplace event, which brought over 100 buyers from 37 countries to Napa to network with California wineries. If you wanted to attend but couldn’t make it, a recording of our discussion will be available shortly and I’ll link it in the transcript of this video.
As well as celebrating our site’s anniversary, I’d like to raise a glass to another anniversary – the Wine news in 5 is officially 2 today! From the first Instagram video on 30 October 2023 to today we’ve upgraded audio quality, added subtitles, released a podcast version of this newscast, and added a transcript with linked sources on our website. Thank you all for following along and suggesting improvements! You are the reason this newscast is still going!
In terms of global news, today I’ll discuss the first Voltis harvest in Champagne, new research showing the cost of tariffs on US wine consumers, Trump cancelling trade talks with Canada, statistics on how wine tourism accounts for a quarter of global winery revenue, how pub closures are causing an increase in loneliness in the UK and the discovery of a 1,600-year-old winemaking facility.
First Voltis harvest in Champagne
In the summer of 2021, the Growers’ Association in Champagne drafted a proposal to allow limited plantings of Voltis, a fungus-resistant hybrid grape variety, in the Champagne AOC. That proposal was subsequently approved by France’s National Institute for Origin and Quality (INAO). Under Champagne’s cahier des charges Voltis is limited to no more than 5% of vineyard area and no more than 10% of the final blend of any cuvée. Voltis is classified as a ‘variety of interest for adaptation’ and its permanent inclusion in the AOC specifications will not be discussed until 2032.
Nonetheless, this October marked Champagne’s first Voltis harvest, reported on 28 October by the French publication Vitisphere. The grapes were cultivated by 80 vignerons on a total of 8.9 ha (22 acres). Héloïse Mahé, head of the grape-and wine-quality department of the Comité Champagne, told Vitisphere, ‘Compared with Chardonnay, there are half as many bunches per square metre with Voltis, and the bunches are twice as large.’ She also commented on trials run for vinification with mentions of the variety’s tendency to colour the must and a need to mitigate bitterness on the finish.
US wine consumers bear brunt of tariffs
The American Association of Wine Economists (AAWE) has compiled a new report on who pays the cost of tariffs. Based on data from 2019–2021 reflecting the US tariffs placed on European wine, the report shows that it is US consumers who pay for tariffs – ultimately paying more than the government receives in tariff revenue. This is because, with a three-tier structure that relies on importers, distributors and retailers, mark-ups become amplified by the time the product reaches a consumer. This is true even if a foreign producer helps their importer absorb the tariff. The report found that margins for importers and producers contracted while those for distributors and retailers expanded.
I recommend reading the AAWE report. I would add that American wine producers also suffer with global tariffs as the backlash has lost us our largest export market – something that did not happen during the 2019 tariff hike on the EU. Which brings me to my next point.
Trump cancels trade talks with Canada
On 23 October Trump terminated trade negotiations with Canada, previously the US’s largest wine export market, due to an ad run by Ontario’s provincial government during the World Series games which featured audio of Ronald Reagan criticising tariffs. Trump called the ad ‘fraudulent’ and has brushed off Prime Minister Mark Carney’s attempts to resume negotiations. However, Carney also visited Singapore this week, discussing a Canada–ASEAN free-trade agreement to be signed in 2026, as well as announcing his goal to double non-US exports in the next decade.
It seems highly unlikely that the US wine industry will reclaim its largest export market.
Wine tourism’s importance in global winery revenue
This month the Hochschule Geisenheim University released The Global Wine Tourism Report 2025 in collaboration with UN Tourism, the OIV, the Great Wine Capitals Global Network and WineTourism.com. This report found that 88% of wineries currently offer some form of wine tourism activity. Two-thirds of wineries say that wine tourism is profitable. Overall tourism contributes an average of 25% of total winery revenue.
Pub closures increasing loneliness in the UK
According to data from the British Beer and Pubs Association (BBPA), over 200 pubs in Britain closed in the first six months of 2025. New research from BBPA shows two out of three Brits view pubs as ‘vital’ in the fight against local isolation. One in three stated that they, or someone they know, have experienced increased loneliness as a direct result of losing their local pub, and 60% are concerned about pub closures in their area. 70% consider the pub ‘important’ or ‘very important’ for their local area’s social life. BBPA is asking the government to take action against the increasing regulatory costs that have made it more challenging to run a pub.
1,600-year-old winemaking facility unearthed
On 18 October, Hurriyet Daily News announced that archaeologists have discovered a 1,600-year-old winemaking facility in Adıyaman in south-east Türkiye that stretches across 15 ha (37 acres). Researchers believe the number of wine presses suggest wine could have been produced on an industrial scale. The site is near Kahta Castle, part of the 3rd century Kingdom of Commagene and later occupied by the Romans.
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 our site and subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Photo at top by Julep Productions for Wine Institute
