This week Cassis, the southern French town better known for its eponymous syrup, gets ready to celebrate the 90th anniversary of its wine appellation next month.
Meanwhile top Bordeaux Fifth-Growth Pontet-Canet launched the En Primeur dance this week with an opening price €2 down on the previous year. The price is "considered fair", according to an anonymous wine merchant interviewed by French wine news website Vitisphere this week, who added that such pricing would be "a return to that of 2019 [...], a good memory".
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Meanwhile, the big news out of France this week (Beyoncé and Jay-Z aside) was the official announcement of last year's wine production stats from the Ministry of Agriculture. Don't hold your breath.
Most news outlets reported a "double blow" to the country of reduced production volumes (3.4 billion liters, down on 2024's 3.6 billion liters) and a sharp decline in exports, primarily to the US.
"French wine exports [...] saw a sharp decline between August and December 2025, falling by 4 percent year-on-year in volume and 10 percent in value," said news agency AFP. "In the United States, the leading market for French wine, shipments of appellation wines plummeted by 29 percent in volume and 46 percent in value."
Not only were the Trump administrations tariffs singled out as a major factor, but "the depreciation of the dollar against the euro during the same period, increased the price of European goods on the American market by approximately 10 percent".
And for more wine news you might not have seen this week, read on:
Beyoncé and Jay-Z eyeing Château Palmer?
Move over En Primeur coverage. If anything was going to set the wine world aflame over Bordeaux this week, it was UK tabloid The Sun choosing to publish a story about A-lister power couple Beyoncé and Jay-Z looking to buy a "huge" 16th-Century château near Bordeaux ... and choosing a stock image of the façade and iconic conical-roofed turrets of Margaux's Château Palmer to illustrate the piece.
Cue a report from regional newspaper Sud-Ouest this week managing to be both breathless and sober at the prospect.
"We know they love Bordeaux, even to the point of celebrating with Pétrus in the very cellars of the legendary château," began the newspaper on Wednesday, before quoting The Sun saying the couple were looking at a stunning château with 10 bedrooms and eight bathrooms in a village near Bordeaux.
"Except that, to illustrate the article, which lacks sources and uses conditional language, and doesn't even mention the name of the grand cru, appears a photo of … Château Palmer," said Sud-Ouest.
"And that's how, bouncing from one online tabloid to another, a vague piece of information becomes a 'wild rumor' that sweeps through the whole region," it said somberly, while repeating the rumor in print.
Was there anything to the story? Although the rumors will not be helped by Palmer proprietor Allan Sichel issuing a firm "no comment" to the paper, it seems unlikely.
For a start, Palmer – turrets and all – dates to the 19th Century (although the estate's existence could be stretched back to the 18th Century). Furthermore, the willingness of everyone to have a take on the story, from insiders to a local chocolatier, was somewhat out-of-keeping with the measured discretion often on display in the region.
"There's nothing – no contact has been made, but if tomorrow they both show up with a check for several million euros, the owners won’t necessarily say no," one insider told Sud-Ouest.
Sylvie Alezard, at the Mademoiselle de Margaux chocolate shop in Margaux-Cantenac (Château Ferrière is just next door), confided that a tour guide came by her establishment two weeks ago with two "American stars" in the van to buy some chocolate from her.
She admitted she doesn't believe the rumor but hopes, if it was them, that they liked the chocolates and that they'll come back. Meanwhile, the mayor of the town told the newspaper that none of its inhabitants had been "sworn to secrecy", as suggested by The Sun.
Nonetheless, some were keen to point out that, while Margaux or Palmer may or may not be on the Knowles-Carter shortlist for a property in the Gironde (surely one of the Bey-chevelles would be more on-brand), their interest in the region isn't exactly bad news.
"Given the crisis in the wine industry, it's better to have people with money to invest," said a local student.
"If [for them] it becomes a brand and they raise the prices [of the wines] it risks being counterproductive," said the owner of a local wine shop.
Champagne house in debt concerns
Hot on the heels of Catalan winery Familia Torres grappling to refinance its debt, the number three operation in the Champagne region, Maison Pommery & Associés (formerly Vranken-Pommery Monopole) is facing what commentators are calling a "liquidity crisis".
Reports emerged this week that the house had applied to extend payment terms on a €50 million loan due on Wednesday (April 29). The move "raises critical questions about the company's financial stability and the strategic challenges confronting its newly empowered leader" said business news source BriefGlance earlier in the week.
Indeed, the news comes as the company announced its CEO Nathalie Vranken would also take on the role of board chair. Vranken was named CEO on January 1, 2025, taking over from her husband, Paul-François.
Paul-François Vranken remains as director of the board and majority shareholder (71 percent) through the Compagnie Vranken holding company and through personal shares.
The news also follows on from Maison Pommery's sale, completed five months ago, of the Heidsieck & Co Monopole outfit to Reims rival Lanson for €50 million. The move was touted as a debt-relief sale for the group although it is understood the company pocketed just over €30 million from the deal after expenses.
Indeed, French wine news website Vitisphere went into the nitty-gritty.
"In 2025, the group recorded revenue of €293.2 million (-3.6 percent year-on-year) and EBITDA of €43.3 million, a decrease of 140 basis points (due to both "an increase in the cost price of Champagne as a result of post-Covid grape price inflation" and "a decrease in the average selling price due to the mix effect [lower-priced items gaining over higher-priced labels] in certain segments")," said the publication.
Overall, it appears the group (the second or third-largest Champagne house by turnover) is trying to navigate turbulent waters despite relatively good operating performance.
"Experts would likely conclude that while Pommery has strong operational performance, its immediate liquidity crisis and refinancing challenges pose significant risks to its financial stability," said BriefGlance.
Cognac embarks on major vine-pull
The Cognac trade body (BNIC) this week announced the region is set to uproot between 12 and 13,000 hectares (30,000 to 32,000 acres) of vineyard in a bid to stem overproduction amid falling sales. Dubbed a "temporary" measure by the organization, the scheme is entirely "industry-funded", with compensation to growers coming in the form of bank loans.
Just how the loans will be underwritten has yet to be made clear with the BNIC still calling on the European Union to play its part in supporting the industry.
Many in the region believe Cognac (which, like Cassis, celebrates its 90th birthday as an appellation this year) has been caught in the crossfire of a trade war over electric vehicle (EV) tariffs imposed by Brussels on imported Chinese EVs – China retaliated with taxes on European brandies, which it said had been "dumped" in the market.
See also Cognac Protests Over Chinese Tariffs and "Cognac 'abandoned' in EU spat with China" in French Winegrowers Up in Arms Again.
According to reports, the BNIC is quoting €500 million in lost sales due to the trade spat with the industry due to be in Brussels for talks with EU representatives in the next few weeks. Cognac producers are asking for €30-40 million in aid.
"If nothing comes of it, it will mean that the French agricultural and wine sectors, which regularly bear the brunt of diplomatic reprisals, can be sacrificed for nothing," BNIC boss Raphaël Delpech told news agency AFP.
The uprooting scheme will occur in stages, with local growers being asked to complete a survey over the next few months in a bid to identify possible uprooting areas and for expressions of interest in the scheme.
The loans are to provide aid of €4500 per hectare to uproot the vines, with €3000 paid in the first year and the balance after five years. A further payout of €1500 will be granted should the grower definitively renounce replanting rights.
The move is expected to reduce the region's vineyard area by up to 15 percent.
In the last five years, Cognac sales have been on a downward trend with sanctions from Beijing (and, more recently, the Trump administration's import tariffs) hitting exports hard. According to Vitisphere, the region is currently sitting on 11 years' worth of stock (compared to previous standard of between seven and eight years).
The recent conflicts in the Middle East have also exacerbated trade woes.
"Things haven't got better," said BNIC president Florent Morillon. "I would even say they've got slightly worse with what's happening in the Gulf and all the potential collateral damage. In the medium term, we don't see things getting better."
Larrivet Haut-Brion launches Gen-Z label
Bordeaux estate Château Larrivet Haut-Brion this week launched a new cuvée aimed squarely at the Gen-Z consumer. Dubbed Pulse, the wine (90 percent Merlot, 10 percent Cabernet Sauvignon) was conceived off the back of a workshop hosted at the estate, in Pessac-Léognan, just south of Bordeaux city.
The winery held a competition between masters students at the local art and design school (École de Création Visuelle), with 23-year-old student Laure Dubernet taking the top prize with her concept. Presumably she got some form of remuneration?
"All of this gives birth to Pulse, a new cuvée launched at the same time as the winner of the prize was announced," said local wine news publication Terre de Vins on Thursday.
Presumably quoting a press release, the publication said the wine covered four core concepts: sharing ("An inspired aesthetic, an intuitive approach, without technical pretension, focused on sharing"); responsibility ("an eco-responsible approach which translates into a lightweight glass bottle, recyclable and washable, to reduce the carbon footprint while guaranteeing solidity; an absence of a cap promoting a reduction of waste"); mobility ("an object designed to be carried, experienced, shared, with the creation of a shoulder strap, in leather and macrame, designed in France") and flexibility ("a long-term vision that opens up reflection on new distribution models, such as bulk buying to encourage flexibility and control of one's consumption").
The wine also boasts its own playlist (via a QR code on the label) and has a retail price of €18.
"With Pulse, wine [is] freer, more mobile, more in keeping with its time," said Larrivet Haut-Brion managing director Charlotte Mignon. "It is no longer dissociated from its use, it becomes an experience to be lived, an object that one chooses for oneself… and for others. Pulse also represents a new gateway to wine and our property for a younger audience, who these days no longer benefit from a family transmission [of wine drinking culture] as was often the case for previous generations."
The wine is due on the shelves this month.
Oysters used in wine tanks
A wine estate in the picturesque Gulf of Morbihan in southern Brittany is set to acquire 14 concrete fermentation vats in which local (empty) oyster shells will be incorporated into the walls of the tanks.
According to local business publication Bretagne Economique, 1.5 tons of oyster shells will be used in the vats, incorporating local byproducts in their construction instead of aggregates. Although nominally part of a circular economy approach, the shells will have to be sent south to Bordeaux to be washed and scrubbed before being carted across to Italy where the tanks are constructed and then sent back to the estate in Baden, Brittany.
Nonetheless, it is understood 10-15 percent of the tanks (some of which are in the form of eggs – an oft-encountered vessel in trendy wineries) will be made from crushed oysters sourced from oyster farmers in the Gulf of Morbihan.
"This allows us to reduce the overall manufacturing footprint of the tanks, without altering their technical properties or the profile of the wines," Dominique Lamballe told the publication this week.
Delivery to the winery (which itself is under construction on the estate which also boasts cottage-stay accomodation) is due in September, just in time, one hopes, for the harvest. The cellar door is slated to open in 2027.
Lamballe is better-known in the region as a the window and door-framing mogul who runs the multimillion-euro FenêtréA business in Beignon, 80km (50 miles) northeast of Baden.
Spanish wine smuggling overblown
The amount of Spanish wine smuggled across the border into France is over-exaggerated, a regional Languedoc representative said this week after he attended a routine highway check in the south of France.
Alain Bucquet, the prefect of the Aude department in southern France, attended a customs check on the A9 autoroute 50km (30 miles) north of the Spanish border and midway between Narbonne and Perpignan on Tuesday as part of a regular check on travel documents and goods coming into France.
"This is in no way about preventing Spaniards from importing wine into French territory," Bucquet told regional newspaper L'Indépendant. "It is about preventing it from being rebranded as French wine. Growers call this 'Frenchification'. It is illegal, and also Spanish prices are often much lower than French prices. That is why we are carrying out these checks, in conjunction with the industry, to combat this scourge."
However, Bucquet was quick to underline that the problem was not as widespread as it was being painted by local winemakers, not least given that, in three years, there have only been three major cases of Spanish wine being rebranded in France as something else.
"This type of operation is quickly detected," said the prefect. "That's also why I wanted to be present: to support the customs officers' work and maintain a constructive dialogue with the wine industry. The fact that there aren't too many violations shows that the rules are being respected."
Despite assurances that such checks (which also include anti-smuggling operations) are frequent in the region, Tuesday's operation was notable for its size. According to L'Indépendant, almost all the customs officers in the area were present, alongside officers from the Narbonne Internal Surveillance Brigade, including foot units, motorcyclists, and a canine unit, as well as viticulture services from Narbonne and Carcassonne.
