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Plumpton College is putting half a million quid into free training for English wine producers and trade professionals throughout 2026 to mark its centenary year. It's a solid move given the current economic headwinds – they're offering everything from vineyard skills to business development courses with no limits on how many courses businesses can book.
Two major French wine producers are joining forces in a €320 million merger as the industry grapples with climate pressures and shifting consumer habits. It's a significant consolidation move that reflects how established players are adapting to tougher growing conditions and changing drinking patterns across Europe. Worth watching to see if this signals a broader wave of M&A activity among traditional wine regions.
Hungarian winemakers are facing a serious threat from a disease that could devastate the country's wine industry. This is a significant story for the EU wine sector, as Hungary's a major producer and any widespread crop failure could affect European wine supplies and prices. Worth keeping an eye on how this develops and whether it spreads to neighbouring wine regions.
Vagabond's just opened the UK's largest urban winery at Canada Water in London – a 6,000 sq ft space with a working 100-tonne cellar where you can taste straight from barrel, grab over 100 wines by the glass, and book everything from winery tours to full dinners. It's a pretty interesting move for the London wine scene, especially with their in-house team making award-winning wines from grapes sourced within two hours of the city, and it shows how the retail wine business is evolving beyond traditional bars into proper immersive experiences.
WSET's outgoing chair Simon McMurtrie has given an interview to The Drinks Business reflecting on his tenure leading the charity and its expansion of wine education globally. It's a nice peek behind the curtain at how one of the wine industry's most influential educational bodies is run, and McMurtrie comes across as genuinely passionate about making wine study accessible rather than elitist. Worth a read if you're interested in how the industry's training infrastructure is evolving.
Welsh wine producers are getting some serious recognition on the international stage with major award wins alongside their cheese counterparts. It's a great story for the UK wine industry. Welsh wine' has been gaining credibility for a while now, but seeing it celebrated alongside traditional food products shows how far the sector's come in terms of quality and reputation.
Dan Barwick, a winemaker who's spent two decades in Sonoma, has come back to Kent and reported on what looks like a seriously impressive 2025 harvest. The Buyer's exclusive breakdown goes month-by-month through the growing season and reckons it could be a landmark vintage for English wine.
Raquel Pérez Cuevas has just become the first female president of DOCa Rioja's regulatory council, winning a landslide 99% of the vote at a pivotal moment for the region. The Drinks Business interview covers her take on Rioja's centenary celebrations and the challenges ahead – from geopolitical uncertainty to market pressures – though she's banking on the region's stellar reputation with consumers to weather the storm. It's a solid leadership profile piece on one of Spain's most prestigious wine designations during a tricky period.
Three German wine industry associations are planning to merge, which is a pretty significant structural shift for the sector. This kind of consolidation typically happens when associations want to streamline operations and boost their collective bargaining power, so it'll be interesting to see how it affects representation and policy influence across the German wine industry.
Michelin's launching a proper wine rating system for the first time—think stars but for vineyards instead of restaurants. They're kicking off with Burgundy and Bordeaux in 2026, assessing estates on everything from agronomy to consistency across vintages. It's a pretty big deal for the industry, giving wine lovers a trusted benchmark similar to what Michelin's done for food.
WSET's new CEO Michelle Brampton is positioning the wine education charity as more than just a training provider—she wants it to be a connector bringing the drinks trade together around sustainability and inclusivity. Coming from her 19 years at Treasury Wine Estates, she's backing new initiatives like short courses, digital tools, and diversity groups to help the industry innovate and tackle the pressures it's facing.
Emmanuel Reynaud, the legendary winemaker behind Château Rayas in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, has died aged 61 after a long illness. He was known for his exacting standards, obsessive hands-on approach to his three Rhône estates, and his profound influence on Grenache winemakers worldwide. His death marks the end of an era for one of the world's most iconic and mystique-laden wine producers.
France's wine industry is facing a serious crisis that's forcing government ministers to hold emergency talks—and they're apparently looking at EU-level crisis reserves and structural reforms to save it. This is a big deal since France is basically the benchmark for European wine production, so whatever's happening there could ripple across the whole continent. Worth keeping an eye on to see what kind of support mechanisms they're considering and whether other EU wine countries might need similar interventions.
Wine Enthusiast highlights English wine's remarkable transformation, with vineyard plantings increasing 510% since 2005—the fastest growth globally. Once mocked for excessive acidity, English wines now attract investment from Champagne houses like Taittinger and Pommery, with standout bottles including Wiston Estate's 97-point Blanc de Blancs and offerings from Nyetimber, Chapel Down, and Gusbourne. Climate change has enabled impressive still wines alongside traditional sparklers, with 240 wineries now operating and British drinkers finally embracing their homegrown wines with pride.
Italy's consumer watchdog just slapped Tannico, the country's biggest online wine retailer, with a €50,000 fine for dodgy discount practices—basically advertising fake price cuts that weren't actually lower than what they'd charged 30 days prior. The case is interesting timing-wise since Tannico was only recently acquired by French wine giant Castel-Frères in October, but the violations happened before the changeover, so the new owners inherited someone else's mess. It's a solid reminder that e-commerce wine retailers are getting serious scrutiny around transparency and fair trading practices across Europe.
The Decanter Fine Wine Encounter returned to London in November for its first two-day event since 2019, pulling together wine lovers and producers for masterclasses, tastings, and a new Winemakers' Lunches format. It's worth noting they gave the Decanter World Wine Awards winners their own dedicated showcase room for the first time, and the Cellar Collection experience sold out again—so it's clearly still the hottest ticket at the show.
Vagabond Wines just launched a DTC platform that lets customers order their wines at home with next-day delivery—a big move for a company that's built its brand around the in-bar self-pour experience. What's clever here is they're using all that tasting data from their bars to power personalised recommendations online, creating a feedback loop that'll help them understand what customers actually want.
The UK could be about to reclaim its crown as Champagne's biggest export market, thanks to rising demand at home and Trump's tariffs squeezing US imports. According to James Simpson from the Champagne Shippers' Association, the UK's expected to hit around 24m bottles this year while the US drops to similar levels—a significant reversal after the Americans dominated last year. It's a fascinating shift driven partly by strategic stockpiling before the tariffs kicked in, and it shows how trade policy can shake up the global wine market in real time.