Part of the reason for the widespread destruction has been the balmy weather stimulating budburst at the end of March.
In Bordeaux, where temperatures had hovered around the mid-20s (mid-to-high 70s in Fahrenheit) for more than a week before the cold hit, many vines had already developed multiple leaves. When temperatures dipped to minus 5C last week, the results were disastrous.
The Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB) released a statement saying the 2021 volumes would be severely impacted by the frost damage suffered so far. Initial estimates of the damage talk about a 40-50 percent volume drop. Jonathan Ducourt, sales and marketing manager for the almost 500-hectare Vignobles Ducourt, estimates his total loss will be closer to 60 percent.
While the majority of the producers at the fair are Italian, vintners from other countries, including the United States, France and Chile are also present; the combination of 100,000 visitors with the dazzling array of winery exhibitors makes this one of the largest wine fairs in the world, and among the two or three most influential.
VinItaly has been held each year since 1967, except for 2020, when the coronavirus situation first temporarily delayed and then ultimately forced the fair s cancellation. As the pandemic has now lasted one year, there were naturally doubts in most producers minds about whether the fair would be held in 2021. After reasoning that the typical dates in April would not be feasible, the VinItaly organizers announced that the fair would indeed take place this year, from June 20-23, at the usual Veronafiere buildings.
Now the question is, when will there be movement in the food-and-drink tariff war between the US and the EU, which has seen the US slap 25 percent tariffs on almost all still wines from France and Germany and wines lower than 14 percent alcohol from Spain.
A small step in that direction came this week when the Senate Finance Committee approved Katherine Tai s nomination to become the new US Trade Representative (USTR) by a unanimous voice vote. US-EU trade relations can t really make any progress until a new USTR is in place. Tai still needs to be confirmed by the full Senate, but she is not expected to face opposition. Her full-Senate hearing has not yet been scheduled but, depending on other Senate business, could happen as soon as next week.
Our numbers haven t been what we want or expect them to be, said Ryan Pennington, senior director of communications and corporate affairs for Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. I don t think that really factors in here at all. There was nothing that Bob did that was any kind of fault. The wines are as good as they ve ever been. Bob was ready for new adventures. We were looking for the next generation to take over winemaking. The timing seemed right for both sides.
Bertheau, a Seattle native and UC Davis graduate, could not be reached for comment.
The move comes at a time of great upheaval for Chateau Ste. Michelle and the entire Washington wine industry. Chateau Ste. Michelle has struggled with sales in recent years and has been cancelling grape contracts. In November, former Treasury Wine Estates chief David Dearie took over as CEO, an unusual move for a company that usually promoted from within.
In another anti-shipping development, the Tennessee legislature is considering a bill that would prevent wineries from using fulfillment houses to ship wine to its residents. Direct shipping by out-of-state wineries was specifically allowed by the US Supreme Court in the 2005 Granholm v Heald case. The proposed Tennessee law is a novel approach to restricting it, and if successful could be pursued in legislatures across the country.
All in all, this could be the worst week for wine shipping in the 16 years since the landmark Granholm decision. And it comes at a particularly bad time, as consumers nationwide during the pandemic are ordering more things online.