Our site published one of the biggest news stories this week. José Vouillamoz – co-author of Wine Grapes alongside Jancis and Julia – penned a piece on the discovery that Türkiye’s Kolorko is genetically the same as Hungary’s Furmint. He goes into the history of how this variety may have ended up in Türkiye and, due to some pushback on the piece, further defends the grape’s Hungarian origins on our forum. Please don’t miss this – it packs a lot of information into a relatively short article and it’s free to read.
We also published a brilliant opinion piece from Robert Camuto on the need for a new social contract for wine. He makes an argument for the world needing fewer icon wines and more good wines, what that means and how sustainability, moderation and transparency are all necessary ingredients. Again, short, informative, brilliant and free for all!
Flooding hits Spain and Portugal hard
Portugal and southern Spain have been hit by a succession of storms in the last few weeks. Storm Kristin arrived on 28 January, followed by Storm Leonardo on 5 February, Storm Marta on 7 February and Storm Nils on 11 February. 11,000 people have had to evacuate their homes in Spain’s southern Andalusia region due to flooding. More than half a dozen people have died. In Portugal, the torrential rains and winds are estimated to have caused €750 million worth of damage to agriculture and forestry. Brussels Morning Newspaper reports that in Spain and Portugal, olives, citrus fruit, vegetables and vineyards have been among the hardest-hit crops. Agricultural infrastructure and machinery have also been destroyed. If you have news on specific wineries that have been affected, please email news@jancisrobinson.com.
Cyclone tears through southern Italy
On 20 January, Cyclone Harry tore into southern Italy. Torrential rains pummelled Sicily, Sardinia and Calabria, causing an estimated €1 billion worth of damage ($1.19 billion) and prompting the Italian government to declare a state of emergency on 26 January. In Sicily, a landslide left the town of Niscemi sitting on the edge of a four-kilometre-long (6.3-mile-long) chasm with cars, roads and buildings collapsing into it. On the coasts of Sicily, Sardinia and Calabria, waves reached 30 ft (9 m) high. While we have yet to hear anything from winegrowers in these areas, Reuters quotes the regional administration of Calabria saying that there has been, ‘major damage to agricultural business … with serious repercussions for the rural economy’. CrowdFarming, a farm-to-consumer platform (aka community-supported agriculture), posted photos of flooded fields in Sicily on Facebook. Once again, if you have reports of vineyards damaged, please email me.
Monarch Tractor shuts down
Back in 2018, Raen winery owner and operator Carlo Mondavi co-founded Monarch Tractor to launch the world’s first fully electric, driver-optional smart tractor. After a slew of issues including, but not limited to, customer complaints that the tractor launched without full functionality (multiple wineries in the last two years have told me that they might as well have bought a John Deere Gator, a type of utility vehicle without the ability to till, lift or mow); a lawsuit with a dealership last November after a tractor failed to operate autonomously; and massive layoffs at the end of last year, WineBusiness announced on 9 February that the company would be closing and selling off all inventory. I hope one of the many other companies working on launching electric autonomous tractors will have better results.
China and South Africa reach trade deal
On 6 February China and South Africa signed an agreement under which South African goods imported into China will be subject to zero tariffs. South Africa is the 33rd African country to sign such an agreement. China has similar agreements with Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Georgia and plans to sign agreements with another 20 African countries. This means that all South African wine imported into China will be tariff-free. Wines are still subject to a 10% consumption tax and 13% value-added tax.
French wine and spirits exports fall
The Fédération des Exportateurs de Vins & Spiritueux de France (FEVS) – the primary trade association for French wine and spirits exporters – recently reported that 2025 saw the lowest exports for wine and spirits this century. Volume has dropped 3% over 2024 to 168 million cases. Value has dropped 8% over 2024 to €14.3 billion ($17.03 billion). These drops are attributed to US tariffs, the rise in value of the euro compared with the US dollar and Chinese anti-dumping legislation that has hit Cognac and Armagnac particularly hard.
Budbreak early in California
Due to an incredibly warm winter on the West Coast, some regions of California are experiencing unseasonably early budbreak. WineBusiness reports that Pocket Highlands vineyard in the Alexander Valley AVA in Sonoma was at 80% budbreak for Chardonnay on 20 January. A vineyard in the Rockpile AVA – also in Sonoma – was at 15%. While this is by no means a full picture, it is still fairly concerning.
A legal case in Australia
On 9 February the Australian Wine Research Institute and Australia Grape and Wine were brought in front of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia to defend themselves against accusations of copyright infringement. Dr Irina Santiago-Brown, head winemaker and viticulturist at Inkwell Wines in McLaren Vale, accuses the AWRI and AGW of taking work she did during her PhD and adapting it, without her consent and without credit, to develop a national sustainability programme, Sustainable Winegrowing Australia (SWA). The hearing for this lawsuit is expected to take three weeks; stay tuned.
Finally, a quick shout-out to Andrew Jefford for winning this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award from the Institute of Masters of Wine. Huge congratulations!
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.
