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US soft diplomacy hits Don via a bottle of Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon while Olly is still enjoying the aftertaste of a Barolo from Rivetto. The best-value Tequilas tops our most-read stories of the week, closely followed by a fascinating story looking at why Chile isn't getting past the notion of good value.

Other top stories include: Langhe's fight against climate change: Port's recent declaration (for 2024) as well as the likelihood of a 2025 declaration; and falling prices in Napa.

But this week, it's all about soccer with French former midfielder Jean Tigana in the headlines as well as Rioja winery Marques de Murrietta announcing its 2022 red is the wine gracing the tables in VIP lounges for the FIFA World Cup! Hail hits Burgundy; there's talk of early harvests across France (particularly in Muscadet); Remy Cointreau announces a 20% drop in its Cognac production; there's Prieto Picudo for the Pope and Bodegas Bianchi in Argentina looks to be navigating a way out of its debt situation.

ABOUT THE WEEK IN WINE

The Week in Wine goes out every Monday morning so that you can turn up to work with great talking points from the latest news across the world of wine.

Hosted by wine-searcher editor Don Kavanagh with wine writer Olly Styles – who also produces the podcast – nearly all of the stories we discuss can be found on https://www.wine-searcher.com/magazine

You can get in touch with us at editor@wine-searcher.com

Send us Fan Mail

Star Wars, Soundgarden and My Chemical Romance? Wine-Searcher's US Editor W. Blake Gray talks to Don and Olly about the current state of wine in the United States.

Blake looks at the state of the Californian wine industry (with a particular focus on Silicon Valley Bank's Direct to Consumer Wine Report which just came out); the state of Ohio's appeal to the US Supreme Court (which could see a ruling on interstate shipping in the not to distant future); and the struggle to get facts through in the wine and health debate.

ABOUT THE WEEK IN WINE

The Week in Wine goes out every Monday morning so that you can turn up to work with great talking points from the latest news across the world of wine.

Hosted by wine-searcher editor Don Kavanagh with wine writer Olly Styles – who also produces the podcast – nearly all of the stories we discuss can be found on https://www.wine-searcher.com/magazine

You can get in touch with us at editor@wine-searcher.com

Send us Fan Mail

"Two Englishmen talking about the weather..." Wine-Searcher's editor Don Kavanaugh bravely entertains David Allen MW and Olly Styles as the pair battle it out over the effects of the weather in the 2025 Bordeaux growing season.

In the blue corner, David Allen MW defends Bordeaux estates from accusations that the weather patterns over the 2025 growing season (noteworthy as they are) actually have no bearing on the properties of the final wines produced in the region – a charge leveled by Olly Styles, in the red corner, in a recent opinion piece on the website.

Will it go the full 12 rounds?

ABOUT THE WEEK IN WINE

The Week in Wine goes out every Monday morning so that you can turn up to work with great talking points from the latest news across the world of wine.

Hosted by wine-searcher editor Don Kavanagh with wine writer Olly Styles – who also produces the podcast – nearly all of the stories we discuss can be found on https://www.wine-searcher.com/magazine

You can get in touch with us at editor@wine-searcher.com

Send us Fan Mail

Don lauds a pair of 'workhorse' wines (a Côtes de Rhône and a Californian Zinfandel) while Olly enjoys a steely Riesling from the Saar. Two pieces this week tickle Don's fancy: wine's reluctance to engage in a class-based discussion (all while other aspects of DEI are frequently touched-on in wine marketing); and news that Ohio will send the interstate shipping debate to the US Supreme Court.

We take a look at the Irish connections in wine as well as reviewing a recent piece about the Bordeaux wine industry looking to find new ways to bring people back to the region. Don also goes into a recent piece looking at tumbling Bordeaux (and waning Napa) prices in the US.

Meanwhile, a Moldovan winery commissions a one-off Porsche; one grower in Bordeaux's St-Julien appellation is grafting Chardonnay onto his red vines; a highly localized hailstorm hits Champagne; the bosses of the notorious wine website 1855.com are back in the courts on fraud charges; and there's a nasty case of poisoning from a refilled bottle of wine in Argentina.

We also look forward to more discussions and stories in the week ahead.

ABOUT THE WEEK IN WINE

The Week in Wine goes out every Monday morning so that you can turn up to work with great talking points from the latest news across the world of wine.

Hosted by wine-searcher editor Don Kavanagh with wine writer Olly Styles – who also produces the podcast – nearly all of the stories we discuss can be found on https://www.wine-searcher.com/magazine

You can get in touch with us at editor@wine-searcher.com

Send us Fan Mail

Our list of best-value Bourbon has readers arriving in droves, all while the main wine news continues to swirl around just how well (or not) the wine industry is doing, globally. Other stories in the last 7 days include a group of wine investors assiduously avoiding 100-point wines, while there is still interest in Bordeaux 2025, not least from the value end of the offerings as well as a piece on how the weather in Bordeaux last year, although endlessly talked-about, isn't really being reflected in the wines.

The weekend's last news also covers: González Byass in debt restructure talks; an indication that Argentina's newly deregulated wine industry might not be enjoying its new-found freedom; a massive Spanish wine fraud case involving nearly 2 million bottles of adulterated wine goes to court; French harvest this year may begin in early August; an investigation into the violent French direct-action winegrower group CRAV is thrown out of court; and an indication that non-alcoholic wine is best-suited to rosé and white offerings.

ABOUT THE WEEK IN WINE

The Week in Wine goes out every Monday morning so that you can turn up to work with great talking points from the latest news across the world of wine.

Hosted by wine-searcher editor Don Kavanagh with wine writer Olly Styles – who also produces the podcast – nearly all of the stories we discuss can be found on https://www.wine-searcher.com/magazine

You can get in touch with us at editor@wine-searcher.com

Send us Fan Mail

End of Month special! Too many wineries in California is the story that continues to dominate the headlines, alongside En Primeur coverage from Bordeaux. The best value Sauvignon Blancs of 2026 gets eyeballs while Mexico's push to shout down prohibitionists also makes one of the top stories of the week.

The month of May was dominated by the stories coming out of the USA, with the Too Many Wineries, Not Enough Consumers dominating readers' attention this month. Other showings included most-wanted wines and, more importantly, it turns out, most-wanted whiskeys, as well as ups-and-downs in Champagne and the rumors that Beyoncé and Jay-Z might be in the market for a château in Bordeaux.

This week's wine news roundup covers top tennis player Amélie Mauresmo revealing she bought a 1945 Château Mouton-Rothschild on eBay several years ago.

Also, Vintae, the Spanish winery best known for its recognizable Matsu range of wines from Toro, has acquired a 90-percent holding in Bodegas Riojanas; Israel formally establishes the Negev wine region as a GI (Geographical Indicator); officials in Peru formally announce that June 11 will be Peru's National Wine Day; and a shadowy group in France contests last year's Cognac yield levels.

ABOUT THE WEEK IN WINE

The Week in Wine goes out every Monday morning so that you can turn up to work with great talking points from the latest news across the world of wine.

Hosted by wine-searcher editor Don Kavanagh with wine writer Olly Styles – who also produces the podcast – nearly all of the stories we discuss can be found on https://www.wine-searcher.com/magazine

You can get in touch with us at editor@wine-searcher.com

Send us Fan Mail

The week is dominated by interest in the US wine market, with three W. Blake Grey stories driving readership. The stories span the current state of the market with recommendations that the number of wineries in the US drop to accommodate the size of the market; there is a glimmer of hope in the resolution of tariff disputes and the slowing of the decline (!) in the market; and there could be progress from Ohio on the much-debated efficacity of the three-tier system.

News of wine-searcher's new owner also helps to drive readership as does our list of the world's most-wanted wines. A report from Bordeaux's Right Bank also has Don getting thirsty.

Meanwhile, Olly's wine news covers: supermarkets in France trailling AI wine-merchant kiosks to help shoppers; a new medieval winemaking computer game is released; a French cooperage branches out into home décor (with some rather attractive tables); more hope in the US wine market; France's struggle to officially adopt/adapt to drones being used in the vineyard, particularly in emergencies; Clairette de Die looking to return to rosé (8 years after the "wars of the rosés" with Bugey Cerdon); and Marsala looking to officially announce four subregional designations.

ABOUT THE WEEK IN WINE

The Week in Wine goes out every Monday morning so that you can turn up to work with great talking points from the latest news across the world of wine.

Hosted by wine-searcher editor Don Kavanagh with wine writer Olly Styles – who also produces the podcast – nearly all of the stories we discuss can be found on https://www.wine-searcher.com/magazine

You can get in touch with us at editor@wine-searcher.com

Send us Fan Mail

When did supermarket wine labels start featuring their flavor profile prominently on their labels? Is the US three-tier wine distribution system unconstitutional? Recent rulings on Ohio may bring this question to the fore. Don't shoot the messenger? A piece on the right-wing press defending wine drinkers should not be dismissed because of the messenger. Meanwhile, our top 10 Most-Wanted Burgundy wines list does not hit the same spots as previous such articles.

In the most-recent wine news roundup, Hungary is decimated by frost; Argentina halts funding for its Coviar national wine body (NB: Coviar has not been shut down, merely it's main line of funding has been stopped); Rioja sales are down; Chile sees 110 percent increase in wine exports to Russia; and Russia remains the pre-eminent destination for Georgian wines, despite the lack of diplomatic relations between the two countries since 2008.

We also look forwards to news from Champagne, more from the US Supreme Court and Wine-Searcher gets a new owner.

ABOUT THE WEEK IN WINE

The Week in Wine goes out every Monday morning so that you can turn up to work with great talking points from the latest news across the world of wine.

Hosted by wine-searcher editor Don Kavanagh with wine writer Olly Styles – who also produces the podcast – nearly all of the stories we discuss can be found on https://www.wine-searcher.com/magazine

You can get in touch with us at editor@wine-searcher.com