Afternoon Brief: Breakthrough with First Disease-Resistant Wine Grapes Shows Hope for a Florida Wine Renaissance

In a milestone for Florida agriculture, researchers have grown and harvested wine grapes that are resistant to the main bacterial disease that has long prevented the state from establishing a large-scale wine industry...

Afternoon Brief: California Wine Production Plummets - Lowest Since 1999

Late Friday, Sept. 26, the Wine Institute released its 2024 production figures. The numbers are stark and deepen the strain on an industry already on its heels...

Afternoon Brief, September 11

Afternoon Brief: The WHO's 'Tobacco Playbook' Targets Alcohol

The global drinks industry faces an existential threat as the World Health Organisation adopts a zero-tolerance stance on alcohol, echoing tobacco control tactics...

Afternoon Brief: How Can the Wine Industry Tackle 'Systemic' Problems of the Labour Exploitation?

The wine industry needs to not only do more to improve labour standards across the supply chain but also to start a conversation that acknowledges there are problems that needs to be addressed, a panel of experts at a recent Wine Society roundtable agreed...

Afternoon Brief: Viticulture Leader Larry Bettiga to Receive ASEV's Highest Honor at 2025 National Conference

Longtime viticulture advisor and researcher Larry Bettiga will deliver the prestigious ASEV Merit Award presentation at the 2025 American Society for Enology and Viticultures (ASEV) National Conference, taking place June 16-19 in Monterey, California...

Afternoon Brief: Global Wine Recovery on the Horizon

The wine industry could be back on an upward trajectory in as little as 12 months, according to one study...

Afternoon Brief: Loss of Winegrape Smoke Exposure Researchers Criticised

UC Davis researchers have been working on ways to mitigate the effects of climate change in viticulture. Now some of that research is at risk of going up in flames due to job cuts by the Trump administration, and even more pointedly, by what critics are calling cuts by the unelected president, Elon Musk...

Afternoon Brief: Tariff Whiplash Hits Wine Hard

For now, tariffs are in a holding pattern for some countries, and multiple countries and industries including wine, beer and spirits, which alone are responsible for several hundred billions of dollars in economic activity wait until the United States' mercurial leader decides what's next...

Afternoon Brief: Announcing Historic Launch of 2025 Old Vine Conference in California October 31 - November

In a pioneering partnership, the prestigious Old Vine Conference (OVC) is teaming up with Zinfandel Advocates & Producers (ZAP) and other notable organizations including California Wines, Lodi Wines and the Historic Vineyard Society to host an extraordinary event series from October 31 to November 4, 2025 in Northern California...