Nervous wine-export markets, Jumilla’s smallest-ever harvest, Australian Ark takes top prize

A quick reminder that voting for the Old Vine Hero Awards is open until 26 March. These awards recognise people who are doing everything they can to keep old vines in the ground. If you haven’t already done so, voting only takes a moment!

Yesterday on the JancisRobinson.com YouTube channel, we continued our re-release of Vintners’ Tales. This week’s episode was recorded in 1998 and features Claude Douard, who, at the time, was the sommelier overseeing the £1.6-million cellar at The Restaurant Marco Pierre White. In the interview with Jancis, he claims to have an innate ability to identify which guests will spend money on wine and to be able to steer those guests towards certain bottles. I find this interview very amusing, and I highly recommend you go watch!

On to the news!

Trump’s tariff war, continued …

To briefly recap the main news for the last eight weeks: on 4 March, the Trump administration put blanket 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Canada immediately reacted by levying their own tariffs and pulling all US alcohol from Canadian shelves. On 6 March the Trump administration paused, until 2 April, the 25% blanket tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada that were compliant with the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement. Meanwhile, Canada launched a $5 billion programme to help exporters reach new markets. I expect we’ll know more on 2 April on whether the US will regain its largest wine export market.

On 12 March the Trump administration enacted a 25% blanket tariff on aluminium and steel. The EU responded with counter-tariffs on $28 billion worth of US goods including a 50% tariff on US whiskey scheduled to roll out on 1 April. The Trump administration responded with the threat of a 200% tariff on EU alcohol. Yesterday, 20 March, the EU delayed all new tariffs on US goods until 13 April, pending negotiations with the Trump administration.

I hold out hope that both the 50% tariffs on US whiskey and the 200% tariffs on EU alcohol will be dropped but, in the meantime, damage has already been done. On 18 March the US Wine Trade Alliance recommended that USWTA members halt EU wine shipments for fear that the 200% tariffs could take effect as soon as 2 April. Many importers are cancelling orders and waiting to see what will happen.

According to Statista, the US consumes 33 million hectolitres of wine per year. One-third of that volume is imports. According to French publication Vitisphere, 71% of imports are packaged products (as opposed to bulk wine). 82.5% of US-bottled wine imports by value come from the EU. There are many US wine importers and distributors who will close almost immediately if these tariffs go into effect. Meanwhile the EU will lose their largest export market.

EU producers are beginning to look to other markets and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is actively pursuing new trade partnerships. Von der Leyen and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi have said that they will set up a free-trade agreement by the end of 2025. India currently places tariffs of 150% on wine; if this is eliminated, India could become a major market for European wine.

Declining demand for New Zealand wine

According to the publication Winetitles, New Zealand’s wine exports experienced a 12.2% decline in value and 12.5% decline in volume between June 2023 and June 2024. The New Zealand Herald reports that the decline, coupled with a heavy 2025 crop, has led many wine producers in Marlborough to place a cap on the yields they’re willing to accept from their growers – resulting in unharvested fruit. The general manager of Wine Marlborough, Marcus Pickens, has said that he hopes that this will help balance supply and demand. As the US is New Zealand’s largest export market, and one of the few export markets to grow in volume in the last year, there are additional concerns over tariffs, leading some exporters to begin stockpiling wine in US warehouses.

Jumilla’s smallest harvest on record 

The Spanish appellation of Jumilla, south of Valencia, experienced its third consecutive year of drought in 2024. Vineyards in this area are dry-farmed and local authorities did not agree to the provision of emergency irrigation. Without water, vineyards struggled. According to the Jumilla Wine Council, 2024 is the smallest vintage in the appellation’s history. Production was down 40% on average and was 14% lower than in 2023. With harvest beginning in late July, the vintage was also the earliest on record.  Despite this, the trade body claims that consumers can expect good quality and alcohol levels in line with past vintages.

André Simon Book Award winners announced

Each year the André Simon Food and Drink Awards celebrates the best new food and drink books. This year’s drink book award went to Andrew Caillard MW’s The Australian Ark – a set of three massive tomes that I do not yet possess but have been itching to buy since Tam’s glowing review of them earlier this year. Huge congratulations to Caillard! And a second congratulations to Adam Wells, whose Perry: A drinker’s guide received a special commendation.

Rauzan-Ségla Curious Vines Bordeaux Education Award

Earlier this week, Queena Wong, founder of Curious Vines, a UK-based organisation focused on advocating for women in the wine industry, announced the Rauzan-Ségla Curious Vines Bordeaux Education Award. Applications for the award are due by 4 April and you can find the link in the transcript of this newscast. Five winners will be chosen and taken on an intensive 2-day tour of Bordeaux; they will also have the opportunity to attend Bordeaux Index’s 10 Years On tasting in London and take the Bordeaux Masters Certification course (live or online). 

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 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 subscribe to our site and our weekly newsletter.

Photo at top of a vineyard in Jumilla being harvested in 2024 courtesy the Consejo Regulador DOP Jumilla.

 

 

 

 

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Samantha Cole-Johnson