Vine Wise
How tariffs on wine will hurt everybody
By Adam Lee
T he topic du jour in the wine world is the Trump Administration’s proposed tariffs on wines. On his Truth Social account, President Trump wrote:
in advance were new releases, including rosé wines which are by nature seasonal. These are the type of wines that make up the majority of his containers. I am left hoping that his wines arrive prior to the implementation of any tariffs, so that he has the bandwidth to continue to support the wines that I produce. Second, European wine tariffs will not “be great for wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S.” Putting aside the technical point that there are no Champagne businesses in the United States, tariffs do not address the primary issue that is plaguing our business—a lack
“The European Union, one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the World, which was formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States, has just put a nasty 50% Tariff on Whisky…If this Tariff is not removed immediately, the U.S. will shortly place a 200% Tariff on all WINES, CHAMPAGNES, & ALCOHOLIC PRODUCTS COMING OUT OF FRANCE AND OTHER E.U. REPRESENTED COUNTRIES. This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S.” This threat alone led the U.S. Wine Trade Alliance to issue an advisory saying, “we strongly advise American companies to HALT ALL SHIPMENTS OF WINE, SPIRITS, & BEER FROM THE EU. The current risk of tariffs is too high.” Their argument that basing major business decisions that take weeks to play out during a time of such uncertainty—where policy changes with a social media post—is simply too risky. Heck, even writing a column about this issue is risky because there’s a great chance that what I write here will be outdated by the time this goes to print. However, I do think there are two basic points that can be made with certainty no matter what changes between now and publication date. First, there are consequences of tariffs on European wines that will affect American businesses—and that will have negative impacts on American wineries. I’ll give you one very concrete example. As I write this, one of the distributors in the Midwest that represents my wines has three containers of European wines on the water. If the tariffs go into effect right now, his bill for these wines—already committed to—will increase by approximately $600,000. Not only will this be personally devastating for his company, but it will ripple down to my own business as he won’t have the means to order my wines. And not just the means, but all his focus will need to be on finding ways to sell this now far more expensive European wine. Perhaps the argument can be made that this distributor should have ordered his wine earlier. After all, the tariff threats have been well known for some time. And yet he did. In fact, he took it upon himself to order in one year’s worth of wine ahead of time—all that he could afford. But what he was unable to order
of new wine consumers. Recent Nielsen data shows that 45% of legal-age Gen Z consumers have never consumed alcohol and 52% of younger Americans between 21 and 34 believe that any alcohol consumption is bad for your health. Raising the prices of European wines—which are often more affordable due to the subsidies given grape growers and wineries in countries such Spain (we do the same thing, just to grain farmers)—will only hurt our efforts to attract younger consumers to the benefits of moderate wine consumption. Our focus is better placed on working with our European winery counterparts to make more affordable wines available here which have a better chance of appealing to a younger, cash-strapped generation. And that is truly the greatest danger of tariffs—their distraction. That we will come to believe that the problems we face in the American wine culture are the fault of less expensive European wines when, in fact, the problems are of our own making. We’ve made wine too uninviting. We’ve failed to convey the deep personal satisfaction that wine can provide and the conviviality that it engenders. European wines, South American wines, Mexican and Canadian wines are our allies in this quest. Any wine that introduces a new drinker to the pleasure of wine that has captured us all is a good wine. And placing those wines out of the financial reach of younger drinkers through tariffs will hurt us all. U Adam Lee co-founded Siduri Wines in 1994, selling it to Jackson Family Winery in 2015. He now produces and owns Clarice Wine Company, and consults with numerous different wineries, including Rombauer Vineyards on their Pinot Noir project.
April 2025
NorthBaybiz 21
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