This time of year always has been a bit frantic for wine wholesalers and importers. The year's final three months — referred to as "OND" in the trade — also are the top three months in U.S. wine sales annually.
During the past four weeks, though, the usual chaos has teetered closer to anarchy, as the folks who bring us wines from overseas scrambled to figure out how to deal with 2019's most fraught word:
Tariffs.
On Oct. 3, the United States slapped 25% tariffs on, among other goods, most wines from France, Spain, Germany and Great Britain, effective Oct. 18.
The levy is actually higher than that for consumers because the 25% is tacked onto the front end, and the margins that distributors (if they're not also the importer), and then restaurants and retailers, traditionally take will come on top of that higher figure. So a $10 wine might inch closer to $15 than just $12.50.
But — isn't there always a "but," and isn't it great when it's a good one? — there are exceptions, or more precisely "exemptions." The tariff doesn't apply to sparkling wines or any table wines with more than 14% alcohol.
That's great news for many red wines from Spain and southern French regions such as Languedoc-Roussillon and the Rhône Valley. However, even in an era of climate change, Germany and northern French regions such as the Loire Valley and Alsace have cooler seasons that preclude pushing the sugar (and thus alcohol) levels anywhere near 14%. Still, don't be surprised if some imported wines start showing up with "14.1% alcohol" on the labels.
Also unaffected by the tariff are wines coming in containers larger than 2 liters. We're likely to see more than a few brands launch boxed wines as a way to work around the levies. One of the strategies local importers have discussed while burning up Skype in negotiations with their overseas suppliers is having wine shipped over in bulk (usually very large pouches) and then bottled on these shores.