(Most) Fizz Flatlines Ahead of the Holiday Season
Tips for indie wine shops that want to maximize holiday sales, why elderly Savvy B should be on everyone’s Christmas list, how the “wine surplus” could be nixed in a flash, plus all of the other Good
(Most) Fizz Flatlines Ahead of the Holiday Season
In the run-up to the silly season, Champagne sales are feeling the effects of tariffs and a weak US dollar.
Sure, you can open a bottle of Champagne or sparkling wine on any boring Tuesday night, just because. (Or so goes the marketing line every region producing bubbles across the world has been pushing for decades). But let’s be real: the feasting weeks leading up to New Year is the time sparkling wine really shines, with even the most celebration-resistant finding room for fizz in their calendar.
But (almost) all signs point toward an alarmingly listless and still holiday season – especially for Champagne producers.
While the actual sales numbers over the holidays won’t be in for several months, shipments through the end of August were down 1.8 percent year-over-year, reaching just 145 million bottles, according to data from the Comité Champagne. If the same rate of shipment continues through the end of the year, without any holiday bump, it would be a devastating loss after a shipment decline of -9.2 percent in 2024.
How Independent Wine Shops Can Maximize Holiday Sales in 2025
The holiday season has traditionally been essential to retailers’ bottom lines. And for wine and spirits merchants, who have been facing declining sales as alcohol consumption rates drop across the board, the months of November and December have become increasingly important.
Beer, wine, and liquor stores get close to 20 percent of their revenue in the weeks leading up to the holidays—and some find that, with the right offerings, events, marketing plan, and extra elbow grease, these exhausting months can deliver even further returns to their bottom lines.
We spoke with retailers across the country to find out what works, from strategic behind-the-scenes planning to on-the-floor product pushes.
From winemaker tasting events to gift sets that go beyond just beverage, these are the best strategies for wine retailers to stand out this holiday season
Could Aged Sauvignon Steal the Show This Christmas?
This week, two new wines from Marlborough producer te Pā hit Co-op stores, one of which is its Signature Series Reserve Barrel-Fermented Sauvignon Blanc. Ordinarily, this might not be breaking news. However, the ferocity with which the retailer went after this particular listing hints at an emerging trend with regards to the bottles that could be gracing our Christmas wine fridges.
Aged whites have long been a fixture on the festive table. But while white Burgundies are largely made from Chardonnay, and white Riojas from Viura or Garnacha Blanca, aged Sauvignon Blancs have flown under the radar, at least on a commercial scale. Therefore it’s a sizeable gamble, or as te Pā’s head winemaker Sam Bennett calls it, “a ballsy move”, for the Co-op to go big on this wine style. And big it has gone.
According to Bennett, the retailer initially requested 5,000 six-bottle cases of the barrel-fermented Sauvignon, but due to time restraints te Pā was able to supply 840 cases for the initial order.
Speaking exclusively to the drinks business, Bennett says: “We had to pull it together pretty quickly. We had just eight weeks to order all the labels with the correct legal wording, finish making the wine, have it bottled at our Marlborough facility and ship it over to the UK. Now I need a few months to calm down!”
Fine Wine Market Is Back
The fine wine market is showing signs of renewed growth, with Italian labels standing out among the world’s top performers. According to analysts at Liv-ex, a leading global marketplace for fine wine trading often referred to as the “Wall Street of Fine Wine,” most major Liv-ex indices have posted their strongest gains since September 2022, except for the Bordeaux 500. The market is stabilizing, and prices are returning to levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Liv-ex 1000, which is the broadest benchmark for the fine wine market, has risen for the first time since March 2023. Out of its components, 589 wines have either held steady or increased in price. The Liv-ex 100 index, which tracks prices for 100 of the most sought-after wines on the secondary market, recorded a 1.1% increase. A key indicator of market confidence, the bid-to-offer ratio, climbed to 0.71—its highest point since April 2023—signaling a strong convergence between supply and demand for these high-end wines.
Analysts Sophia Gilmour and Henry Johnson discussed these trends in a recent webinar attended by select media outlets. They noted that trading activity on Liv-ex is returning to pre-tariff levels. Compared to third-quarter averages, trade value is up by 9.5%, trade count by 4.2%, and volume by 6.4%.
Wine Surplus? It Can Be ‘Eliminated’ Through Innovation
Despite the problems, the bulk wine market is holding up, as already reported by WineNews, but cellar stocks are, undeniably, a clear concern throughout the world.And, as often happens, difficulties can give rise to opportunities, which, in this case, are represented by new strategies with innovations and ideas, rather than the traditional push for super-competitive prices to reduce stocks. Meanwhile, the world of bulk wine is preparing for two days in the spotlight thanks to the 17th World Bulk Wine Exhibition (WBWE), the world’s leading event for the bulk wine and spirits sector, scheduled for November 24 and 25 at Rai Amsterdam. Vinexposium, one of the global leaders in events dedicated to wine and spirits professionals and operators (and also the organizer of the international fair “Wine Paris”, ed.), is at the forefront of the organization.
This event comes at a time when global exports of bulk wine, which represent a significant part of the wine market, especially in terms of volume, totaled 16.5 million hectoliters in the first half of 2025, with a modest decline of -2.3% over the same period in 2024. Despite the reduction in volumes, however, values remained stable at €1.2 billion (-0.3%), supported by a 2.1% increase in average prices to €0.78 per liter, according to the World Bulk Wine Exhibition report, edited by Rafael del Rey for Analysts of Wine Markets (Awm). Spain is the leader in the bulk wine market (6 million hectoliters exported in the first half of 2025, worth €302 million), but Italy also plays an important role (€155 million, just behind New Zealand with €158 million).
Countries that will be protagonists, together with Chile, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and the United States, and, for the first time, Mauritius, Lebanon, and Panama, among others, at the World Bulk Wine Exhibition, with over 240 producers from 25 countries and buyers from more than 60 markets, thus covering 70-80% of the global trade in bulk wines and spirits. There will be no shortage of appellation wines, organic wines, spirits, low-alcohol and ready-to-drink wines, as well as the latest sustainable packaging solutions designed to reduce carbon footprint and optimize logistics costs.
Fancy a Pink Chardonnay? It’s the 8th Grape Approved for Making Champagne
Pink Chardonnay has been officially recognised by the Comité Champagne in the Champagne appellation specifications, bringing the total number of grapes authorised allowed to be used in the making of Champagne to eight.
Pink Chardonnay is a natural mutation of white Chardonnay, first identified in Champagne and Burgundy in the early 1900s. Long maintained by dedicated winegrowers, the variety was largely confined to collections and isolated vines until its inclusion in the French Catalogue in 2018, which officially recognised it and enabled wider propagation.
In announcing the news, Comité Champagne said: “Since July 31, 2025, Chardonnay Rosé has been included in the specifications of the Champagne appellation as a main variety. This decision marks an important step in promoting the genetic heritage of the Champagne vineyards.
“Unlike varieties created through hybridisation, such as Voltis, Chardonnay rosé is a quirk of nature. Its integration illustrates the vineyard’s ability to evolve intelligently in the face of climate challenges, while reconnecting with a forgotten history.
“Agronomically and oenologically, Chardonnay rose is very similar to white Chardonnay. It brings a certain freshness to wines, but it is above all the story it tells that makes it unique.”
THREADS
Jeff Bridges Makes a Muumuu for Men
Jeff Bridges invoked The Dude on Jimmy Kimmel Live! while unveiling his new Cozy Earth collaboration — a bamboo “Muu” for men who prefer artful ease over the tangle of getting dressed.
On a recent Jimmy Kimmel Live! appearance, Jeff Bridges announced a forthcoming collaboration with Cozy Earth, introducing a collection of bamboo loungewear he calls “muus.” The relaxed pieces — an abbreviation of “muumuus” — are designed for men who don’t want to bother with the tangle of getting dressed every day, especially as they age. Made sustainably from bamboo and printed with Bridges’ original artwork, the capsule merges his creative expression with Cozy Earth’s signature eco-luxury comfort.
Bridges is seen wearing the easy, robe-like design in a photo shared during his Jimmy Kimmel Live!appearance. The garments drape loosely, with softened shoulders and painterly motifs that reflect Bridges’ style as both artist and storyteller. The idea is simple loungewear that carries the soul of a painting but the ease of a house dress.
BREWS
The Gluten-Free Beer Revolution Is Here (And It Tastes Great)
Beer, pasta and cupcakes are being made across the world without gluten, and they don’t suck. Not only do they not suck, in some cases (surprise) they’re better than the O.G. version. Fighting words to be sure, but in some ways, it shouldn’t come as a complete shock.
In the 1940s, gluten was identified as the trigger for celiac disease, and in the decades since, more and more people have realized that even if they didn’t have celiac, they might be slightly or significantly gluten intolerant. Cue the rise of gluten-free diets and products in the 1990s and early aughts, with many a terrible gluten-free muffin, cupcake and bowl of pasta consumed along the way.
Today, around one-third of Americans either try to reduce or eliminate gluten completely. Thankfully, an army of gluten-free gourmands have found a way to create surprisingly tasty drinks and meals that don’t contain gluten, and that includes beer.
Even brewers who are singularly devoted to gluten themselves are tinkering with both gluten-free and gluten-reduced blends, partially as a creative challenge but also in acknowledgement of the market. Currently, the gluten-reduced and gluten-free market is around $662.4 million, and is forecasted to register an annual growth rate of 12.6% through 2034. (Beer sales overall are decreasing. Last year, they were down 3.3%.)
THE JET SET
Why Luxury Travelers Will Pay To Work For Their Dinner
Some high-end tourists are turning to posh properties where they can fish, forage and harvest their meals – and immerse themselves in local culture in the process.
At Casa Angelina, a luxury hotel on Italy’s Amalfi Coast, a handful of guests leave their suites as the night sky turns violet. One by one, they board a wooden boat and set sail into the Tyrrhenian Sea, fishing line in hand, to hunt for their next lunch: squid.
No, there hasn’t been a mix-up at reception. Around the world, patrons of posh properties are swapping plush robes and pool naps for windbreakers and food-sourcing excursions, where they’ll forage, hunt, harvest or fish for their own food. And they’re paying top dollar for the opportunity to do it, with singular activities costing as much as several hundred pounds and multi-day resort and luxury farm stays costing into the thousands.
People have been searching for food for survival since the dawn of mankind, but in the past decade or so, travellers at five-star hotels have started paying to do so as a leisurely tourist activity. In Italy, hotels like Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco in Siena and Hotel Savoy in Florence offer truffle hunting excursions. Similar food gathering experiences are popping up around the world.
The Fife Arms Hotel in Braemar, Scotland, for example, offers guided foraging tours of local plants and vegetation led by an in-house forager who identifies and shares information about plants that can be used for teas, tinctures, condiments and cosmetics. And at Rosewood Mayakoba in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, guests forage at the hotel’s onsite garden, gathering food for their meals. At Fogo Island Inn in Newfoundland, Canada, guests gather plants on the island and learn how to use them in drinks.
How Luxury Travel And Preventive Health Are Intersecting
Wellness has become the new currency of luxury travel as 90% of high-end travelers are seeking purposeful, health-focused experiences. What’s more, a striking 84% of affluent individuals now expect wellness services tailored to their unique health goals, according to HITEC, a global nonprofit hospitality association that specializes in technology. Spontaneity and personalization define the new wellness landscape, with nearly 70% booking treatments on the spot during their trips, while 78% value the ability to plan ahead.
A striking 84% of affluent travelers now expect bespoke wellness services to be tailored to their unique health goals, defined by spontaneity and personalization.
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(Most) Fizz Flatlines Ahead of the Holiday Season
How Independent Wine Shops Can Maximize Holiday Sales in 2025
The Gluten-Free Beer Revolution Is Here (And It Tastes Great)
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