Tariffs, again!?

Second verse, same as the first, a little bit louder and a little bit worse. Yep, wine tariffs are coming back, and the world of wine isn’t happy.

Why, yes, we have heard this song before. In October 2019, Donald J. Trump’s first administration levied an immediate 25 percent tax on French, German, and Spanish wines, as well as Parmesan cheese, mussels, coffee, single-malt whiskeys, and other agricultural goods from Europe.

Tariffs! Did the U.S. tariffs on European wine in 2019 and 2020 affect your wine buying? What do you think the impact of new wine tariffs might be?

“Wineries and importers are baffled and furious,” Wine Spectator columnist Mitch Frank wrote at that time. “They say the tariffs are so large that they will have no choice but to pass along at least some of the cost to American consumers, though they may cut profit margins to try to minimize the price increases. They expect to lose sales and suffer financially until the trade dispute is settled, and they fear that they may lose customers for years to come.”

Four years later, shortly after Trump was elected again as president, Frank returned to the issue in a Nov. 22, 2024 Wine Spectator column headlined Wine Merchants Are Right That Tariffs Hurt Americans—Does Donald Trump Care?

“Restaurants, retailers, and importers are gearing up for more trade battles, but the White House could enact across-the-board duties on all foreign goods,” Frank wrote. “During the tariff fight in 2019 and 2020, wine merchants teamed up, forming the U.S. Wine Trade Alliance (USWTA) to lobby the government and spread awareness of how the tariffs hurt American companies—not just importers but restaurants and wine shops—far more than they hurt foreign wineries. USWTA research found that every dollar of European wine sold in the U.S. generates approximately $4.50 for American businesses.”

Frank mused, “Will this help the economy overall or will it drive inflation back up? I will leave that to the economists. But for wine consumers, wine merchants, and wineries, across-the-board tariffs will be painful. At a time when sales are slumping and our wallets are feeling squeezed, prices will rise. For domestic wineries, prices of imported glass bottles (many sourced from China) will also rise. And younger consumers, many of whom already see wine as too expensive compared with other products, will not find any reason to change their minds.

“There’s a lot of debate right now on how far he will go on tariffs once he takes office, but his philosophy is clear. I’m afraid there might not be anything the USWTA can do.”

“The fallout from tariffs hit every tier of the alcohol industry. American wine and whiskey producers’ exports fell, and importers, distributors, and retailers were forced to lower their profit margins or pass down higher prices onto consumers.” –SevenFiftyDaily on Instagram

Then he asked, “Will this help the economy overall or will it drive inflation back up? I will leave that to the economists. But for wine consumers, wine merchants, and wineries, across-the-board tariffs will be painful. At a time when sales are slumping and our wallets are feeling squeezed, prices will rise. For domestic wineries, prices of imported glass bottles (many sourced from China) will also rise. And younger consumers, many of whom already see wine as too expensive compared with other products, will not find any reason to change their minds.”

It is hard to find a dissenting voice in the wine press. A month after the election, New York Times wine columnist Eric Asimov wrote, “The wine world is bracing for the potential effect of the tariffs that President-elect Donald J. Trump has said he will impose on most foreign goods coming into the United States.”

“Mr. Trump asserts that the tariffs will benefit American manufacturing and create jobs. But many economists and trade experts have argued that tariffs could result in higher costs and damage American businesses. Tariffs could be particularly harmful to the American wine trade.” Here’s a paywall-free gift link to Asimov’s Nov. 13, 2024 column.

In a December 2025 article in his Substack publication Fermentation, a source of commentary on the wine industry, Five Reasons 2025 Could be the Most Tumultuous Year for Wine in Decades, wine industry media and public relations professional Tom Wark offered “The Threat of Tariffs” first among the five.

“Tariffs placed on European wines will harm the entire wine industry,” Wark wrote. “It will be a net loss if they occur. Importers, wholesalers, retailers, restaurants, and even domestic producers are all harmed by tariffs. Moreover, the longer they continue, the more harm they cause. The result will be the demise of a number of companies in all of these sectors of the industry. … If substantial and widespread tariffs are instituted, the damage will be determined by how long they last.”

Finally, an article by a group of lawyers in this month’s edition of The National Law Review warned of ominous concerns beyond the world of wine.

“The potential for new tariffs comes at a time when the global economy is already facing significant challenges,” they wrote in The Broader Economic Context, the concluding section of The Impact of Trump’s Tariffs on the Wine Industry: Past and Future.

The potential for new tariffs comes at a time when the global economy is already facing significant challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic had already disrupted supply chains and led to economic slowdowns worldwide. In this context, additional tariffs could exacerbate existing problems and create new ones:

1. 1. Supply Chain Disruptions: The wine industry relies on a complex global supply chain. Tariffs can disrupt this chain by increasing costs and creating uncertainty.

1. 2. Consumer Behavior: Higher prices for imported wines may lead consumers to switch to domestic alternatives or reduce their overall wine consumption.

1. 3. Global Trade Relations: Tariffs can strain relationships between countries and lead to retaliatory measures, further complicating international trade.

Are we having fun yet? For this week’s report, I turned to an American producer to try an excellent Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands region of Monterey on California’s Central Coast.

If Burgundy moved even further out of everyday price ranges, there’s at least slight consolation in the recognition that California has come a very long way in mastering Pinot Noir. Today’s featured wine, Folktale 2022 Whole Cluster Reserve Pinot Noir, offers a case in point. At a retail price in the $30 range, it’s above everyday drinking for many of us. But I’d buy it again in an instant as a special occasion wine, not as a Burgundy look-alike but as an expression of California’s own Pinot Noir potential.

Since I buy all the wines I review at retail and do not accept wine samples or other gratuities from the industry, I count on the support of paid subscribers to help cover the cost of the wines I review, and wines in this price range remain behind the subscription paywall. If you haven’t become a full subscriber yet, I’d love to have your support. Click here for information on our paid-tier edition. Our free-to-all edition featuring a quality wine for $20 or less will return in its biweekly cycle next week.

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