A Domestique Wine collaboration bottling.

Private-label wines have long existed for restaurant and retail chains, but now a growing number of small wine retailers are collaborating with boutique wineries to make their own limited-release wines. In SevenFifty Daily, I talked to the wine shops and producers working on such collaborations.

For the first time, an international still-wine producer is making a major investment in English wine. From their base in Sonoma, California, Jackson Family Wines have premium properties in France, Italy, Australia, Chile, South Africa and, most recently, on Vancouver Island in Canada,” reports Jancis Robinson. “They have just announced their intention to acquire 65 acres (26 ha) of land to be planted with vines in Essex’s Crouch Valley, one of the warmest parts of England, described recently by Tam as England’s Côte d’Or.”

The Old Vine Registry, designed by Alder Yarrow with data provided by JancisRobinson.com, is now live. Learn more about the database in Tamyln Currin’s write-up.

In the Vintner Project, Tamara Turner explores the future for Malbec in Oregon.

Red wine sales within France have declined by half since the 1990s, according to the American Association of Wine Economists.

Fourth generation California vintner Paul Dolan died June 26 after a long battle with cancer. Dolan was a senior statesman and pioneer of the sustainable, organic, biodynamic, and regenerative wine movements.

The USDA has released a five-year strategy to combat the spotted lanternfly.

In Wine Spectator, Bruce Sanderson explores Barolo’s “exemplary” 2019 vintage. “From barrel, the nascent Barolos were austere and tannic, with assertive acidity. A year later, they’re beginning to take shape, revealing fine balance between the fruit and savory components, texture, acidity, tannins and alcohol. There’s tension, and still some youthful austerity, but there’s also plenty of site-specific expression and long-term aging potential.”

Growers in the Rhône have echoed their peers elsewhere in France in claiming the wines of the difficult 2021 vintage herald “a new classicism.” The reality, as Simon Field finds in the World of Fine Wine, is more complex.

The Rhône is famous for its reds, but the region’s white wines are also catching consumers’ attention, says W. Blake Gray in Wine-Searcher.

In the San Francisco Chronicle, Esther Mobley and Jess Lander highlight Napa Valley wineries where you don’t need a reservation.

Noël Burgess offers a 24-hour wine-tasting guide to downtown Napa in Wine Enthusiast.

In Food & Wine, Céline Bossart makes the case for dessert wines, which “are just so much more than we give them credit for.”

It’s time to give retsina a second chance, says Kate Hawkings in the Buyer.

Bordeaux consistently produces wines that are hailed as the global benchmark by wine lovers and producers alike. But what is it that pulls us back time and again to these reference points? Andrew Jefford explores the French wine region’s allure in Decanter.

In SevenFifty Daily, Jacopo Mazzeo talks to researchers and winemakers weigh about how the centuries-old practice of co-fermenting white and red grapes together affects a wine’s color, flavor, and texture.

Meininger’s talks with Irem Eren of BevZero about the challenges involved when making non-alcoholic wines and how to avoid wine faults and ensure quality.

In the Wine Industry Advisor, Laura Ness shares some tips for growing better grapes in coastal climates.

Rodney Strong Wine Estates has acquired River West Vineyard, a premium quality vineyard totaling 335 acres in the world-renowned Russian River Valley appellation of California.

In Grape Collective, Lucia Albino Gilbert and John C. Gilbert highlight the women winemakers of the Okanagan Valley in Canada.

Wine Spectator has released its 2023 Restaurant Award Winners.

In most regions of the world, industrialization has dethroned the foot-stomping tradition. But, as Kathleen Willcox reports in the Drinks Business, some are turning back to older traditions. “A growing contingent of winemakers in California who are seeking nuance, texture and deeper flavors that they say machines just can’t deliver, are also treading their white and red grapes with their feet.”

In Decanter, Martin Green looks at the growth of British wine, including the fact that the total land under vine has increased 74% over the past five years.

“Vineyards and apple orchards across the Northeast are still gauging damage from a late-season frost in May that wiped out a third to most of the crop for some growers who say it’s the worst frost damage they have ever seen,” reports Lisa Rathke in the Associated Press. “Some states are seeking federal disaster declarations, which would make low-interest loans and other programs available to affected growers…”

A study has shown that the invasive seaweed Rugulopteryx okamurae activates and enhances the defense mechanisms of grape vines, making it feasible to eliminate invasive algae while reinforcing vineyards.

In the North Bay Business Journal, Derek Moore profiles sommelier Vincent Morrow, “one of only four Black master sommeliers in the world.”

Constellation Brands has acquired Napa Valley wine brand Domaine Curry.

In Meininger’s, Robert Joseph ponders the opportunities for bag-in-box wine.

Shiraz vines in the Barossa Valley.

“The days of high-octane, oak-driven Barossa Shiraz are now just a distant memory,” says Angus Hughson in Vinous. “Typically muscular Barossan Shiraz wines with plenty of raw grunt are now joined by sleeker, age-worthy wines with subtle balance and sophistication, a theme that is repeated across a range of other Rhône grape varieties. But have no fear. These modern styles are also unmistakably Barossa. Their regional power is still in place but now more tightly controlled…”

As disasters and losses become more common, wineries are paying more to protect themselves, which is driving up the cost of wine. In SevenFifty Daily, Jim Clarke looks at how the rising cost of insurance is affecting the wine industry.

In VinePair, Hannah Staab profiles Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira, “the remarkable businesswoman who changed the history of Portugal’s Douro Valley, and Port wine as a whole.”

In Wine-Searcher, W. Blake Gray looks at how rising wine prices in restaurants in sending consumers back to wine retail shops.

In the Washington Post, Dave McIntyre explores Vinho Verde.

In the Wall Street Journal, Suryatapa Bhattacharya reports on how a bad, wet winter could boost California wine.

Stacy Briscoe highlights wineries to visit in the Anderson Valley in Wine Enthusiast.

In SevenFifty Daily, Sarah Eakin looks at how drag shows are diversifying the wine tourism experience. “Regardless of whether they’re in cities, suburbs, or out in wine country, there are wineries across the country embracing the art of drag…it’s a way for wineries and tasting rooms to put their values on display and to open the doors both metaphorically and literally—and have a little fun in the process.”

In the Press Democrat, Peg Melnik looks at how Sonoma County became an LGBTG+ wine oasis.

Despite already having a Sonoma winery and an electric-tractor business in California, Carlo Mondavi decided to buy Sorì della Sorba vineyard in Diano d’Alba with his wife, Giovanna Bagnasco, who runs Brandini winery in La Morra. Robert Camuto checks in on the new endeavor in Wine Spectator.

The CIVB’s technical director Marie-Catherine Dufour tells the Drinks Business that she remains convinced that while there isn’t a way to turn back the clock, there are ways that Bordeaux’s winegrowers can adapt and evolve within the confines of climate change and continue to produce its wines.

On JancisRobinson.com, Alder Yarrow gets a taste of California’s SLO Coast.

On his Wine Anorak blog, Jamie Goode reports on a recent seminar about Pinot Noir made by Riesling producers, part of the FLXcursion event.

In InsideHook, Amanda Gabriele reports on the restaurants that made the Star Wine List of the Year awards.

(Source: Visit Napa Valley)

California is moving away from the homogenous type of blockbusting, heavily oaked wine for which it came to be known towards a variety of styles that reflect places and personalities, finds Nina Caplan in Club Oenologique. “I flew into California with an itinerary full of winery visits and a head full of preconceptions. I hadn’t been in years and was girding my palate for bulldozer Cabernets and over-oaked, thirst-inducing Chardonnays. In that, at least, my expectations of the trip in spring went unmet.”

In Decanter, Andrew Jefford checks in on Corsican wine. “What’s underway on Corsica is a new exploration of Mediterranean wine identity, of its limits and lineaments.

In the San Francisco Chronicle, Sydney Love profiles biodynamic winemaker Gina Giugni from Lady of the Sunshine wines.

In SevenFifty Daily, Sophia McDonald on what you need to know about six of California’s proposed AVAs.

In Wine-Searcher, David Allen covers the Bordeaux 2022 wines from Pomerol and Saint-Émilion.

E. & J. Gallo Winery (Gallo) announced that it has purchased the Hahn Family Wines portfolio.

Mike Veseth, the wine economist, reviews the new book Cultivating Change: Regenerating Land and Love in the Age of Climate Crisis by Caro Feely.

The Monarch tractor.

In the New York Times, Eric Asimov profiles Carlo Mondavi — Robert Mondavi’s grandson — who is taking on regenerative and organic viticulture with the release of the Monarch smart electric tractor.

In the Buyer, Richard Siddle interview Natalie MacLean about her new book, Wine Witch on Fire: Rising from the Ashes of Divorce, Defamation, and Drinking Too Much, which sets the scene for what is a very much a personal account of the sexism and bullying she has had to face working in the wine industry, but is also what she says an opportunity to “celebrate the joy and passion” of what has been an eventful but successful career in wine.”

The winter kill that swept through the British Columbia wine industry late in 2022 will result in an estimated crop loss of 54% for the 2023 harvest and prompt the replanting of as much as 29% of the province’s vineyards, according to Wine Growers British Columbia.

Jessica Mason offers an overview of Argentina’s 2023 harvest in the Drinks Business.

In the Telegraph, Victoria Moore explores the rise of Alvarinho — rather than Albariño — this year.

Elizabeth Gabay offers a guide to the cru classé wines of Provence in Decanter.

In the Robb Report, Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen share some of the best wines they’ve tasted this year.

Edvard Munch’s “Self-Portrait With a Bottle of Wine.”

In the World of Fine Wine, Stuart Walton looks at how wine got its status as the drink for intellectuals. “Ancient tradition has it that wine is the drink for smart people, while beer is the liquid sustenance of dullards… Is it simply that the complexity of most wine, its vintage variation and the range of its possible vinification treatments, as distinct from the standard-recipe homogeneity of a beer brand, requires more intellectual discernment than a product that never changes? Or is some deeper cultural paradigm at work here?”

Wine retailers are reporting a dip in rosé sales overall, but certain bottles continue to sell steadily—for good reason. In the Wall Street Journal, Lettie Teague picks rosés that truly warrant their popularity.

“When Doña Paula was founded in 1997, the wine industry was only just beginning to stir and wake up to the great potential for world-class Malbec in Mendoza,” writes Amanda Barnes in Club Oenologique. “As the 20th vintage – Selección de Bodega Malbec 2019 – is released, the wine not only shines a light on the illustrious work of Doña Paula’s winemakers over the years but also highlights the greater change that this devoted journey for excellence has spurred on within Mendoza.”

Award-winning Chef de Caves Cyril Brun is leaving Champagne Charles Heidsieck to replace the retiring Ruben Larentis at Italian sparkling wine producer Ferrari Trento, reports Lisa Riley in Decanter.

One of the leading English wine producers has urged British farmers to embrace viticulture to survive climate change and meet the sector’s demand, according to the Drinks Business.

Miquel Hudiin reviews Apple TV+ show Drops of God. “For the general public or even passionate wine lovers, the wine component will be fine. For anyone who knows even a little bit, there are a number of items that will make you grind your teeth.”

Erica Jackson Curran highlights Virginia wineries to visit in Wine Enthusiast.

Sherry-Lehmann.

Time is running out for Sherry-Lehmann, once the royalty of New York wine shops. Wine Spectator reports that the store’s landlord issued it a 14-day notice of default, warning that its owners must pay overdue rent, water and real-estate tax charges by June 16. If not, proceedings will begin to evict the 89-year-old merchant from its quarters at the prime corner of Park Avenue and 59th Street in Manhattan.

In TRINK, Nils Kevin Puls looks at how German and Austrian winemakers are overcoming prejudices against screwcaps.

“What will it take for Campania to receive the respect it deserves?” Eric Guido ponders the answer in Vinous.

In Club Oenologique, Fintan Kerr looks at how Bierzo’s Raul Perez has fostered a community that’s helping to drive forward the region as one of the country’s most exciting places for winemaking.

In Wine Enthusiast, Stacy Briscoe explores Petite Arvine, the “diva of Swiss grapes.”

UC researchers have discovered a potential breakthrough in grapevine disease management.

Anthony “Tony” Peju, wine industry pioneer and founder of PEJU Winery, has died at the age of 85.