Wine Spectator: Tariffs’ Impact On French Winemakers

Wine’s taste may be bottled poetry, but its mathematics are often merciless. The U.S. government has implemented 15% tariffs on all European Union wines. Add on a 15% decline in the dollar versus the euro since January, and French wines are potentially 30% more expensive the moment they arrive on American shores, and their importers need to pay the customs duties.

“All the planets are aligned, but in the wrong way,” says Jean-Christophe Meyrou. As general manager of Vignobles K, Meyrou oversees 156 acres of vines and six Right Bank estates, including the newly elevated Grand Cru Classé Tour St.-Christophe. Roughly 25% of Vignobles K’s sales come from the U.S. market, which means these tariffs aren’t just numbers. They’re the “straw that could break the camel’s back,” he says.

The crisis hits hardest at wines sold for under €3 to €4 before markup. There is almost no profit margin to sacrifice to help importers cover the cost of the tariffs, and these are wines whose low prices are a major selling point. Raise them, and they become far less competitive. Post-Covid production costs for wineries surged 20% to 30%—bottles, labels, electricity—while interest rates for financing climbed from below 1% to 4%

In the Rhône Valley, Michel Chapoutier, founder of Maison M. Chapoutier, which produces more than 800,000 cases of biodynamic wines annually, delivers the harsh truth with Gallic precision: “French winemakers cannot be expected to lower their prices to offset this.” Wine Spectator has the full story.

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