Published every MondaySelection and commentary: Jean-Luc Kursner
Weekly review
Week 4212 to 18 October 2026
What mattered for the wine market
The week's news, selected from the Swiss and international press and summarised for winegrowers, wineries and merchants.
01
Consumption and trendsSwitzerland
Organic vines reach 21.5% of Swiss vineyard area, growth slows
Almost 3,000 hectares of Swiss vines were farmed organically in 2025, or 21.5% of the total vineyard area, so nearly one in five wine estates is certified. Growth has slowed since the strong 2017 to 2021 period, and retail sales of organic wine fell by 7% in 2025, as wine consumption declines.
Implications for youFor producers and buyers alike, organic is no longer a niche, but its growth is levelling off and retail is weakening: a factor for conversion and listing decisions.
Agroscope downgrades German-Swiss wine research, cantons expected to respond
Agroscope has announced it will scale back German-Swiss wine research within its cooperation with the Wädenswil viticulture centre, to a level the Obst+Wein editorial calls questionable. It expects the cantons to safeguard competitiveness, knowledge transfer and relevant research questions. Plantahof in Landquart is cited as a model, with an architecture competition rumoured to start soon.
Implications for youFor growers in German-speaking Switzerland, the cutback in research could reduce the technical advice available; the Swiss industry now awaits the cantons' response.
Fine wine: European buyers prop up the market after US retreat
After US buyers withdrew in 2025, prices fell quickly. Liv-ex finds that central European buyers, mainly from Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and the Czech Republic, lifted their share of purchases by value from 10% in 2023 to 35% today, while France's share dropped from 75% to 55%.
Implications for youFor fine wine merchants and buyers, the growing weight of central European buyers, Switzerland included, is a signal worth following, in buying as in selling.
France: 2026 harvest estimated at 34.88 million hl
Agreste's new estimate, based on data to 1 October, puts French wine production in 2026 at 34.879 million hectolitres, slightly above the September forecast thanks to better yields in Languedoc-Roussillon. The crop would still be 2% below 2025 and 14% below the 2021 to 2025 average.
Implications for youFor buyers of French bulk wine, a crop 14% below the 2021-2025 average may tighten supply at origin; the effect on Swiss prices and import quotas remains to be confirmed.
Graubünden: soil and rootstocks as the answer to heat
Walter Fromm, the Graubünden viticulture commissioner, advises lower canopies against heat (90 cm instead of 1.30 m), soils that store more water and rootstocks matched to each terroir. Pinot noir covers 78% of the Bündner Herrschaft and will stay dominant, though merlot and white varieties are growing. He says sales are trending slightly upward.
Implications for youFor buyers of Graubünden pinot noir and merlot, the adaptation of training and variety choice to heat may change supply over time.
EU harvest under 140 million hl, Italy back in front
La Semana Vitivinícola reports that the European Union is about to close another agronomically contained harvest, below 140 million hectolitres of wine and must, based on preliminary estimates that member states sent to the European Commission. Its headline says Italy will again be the world's top wine producer in 2026/27. Detail is for subscribers only.
Implications for youFor buyers of European bulk wine, an EU harvest held below 140 million hectolitres, with Italy in the lead, is a benchmark for this season's supply; also worth watching for sellers of Swiss bulk wine.
A European Commission report shows EU sales of wine and wine-based products to non-EU countries reached €9,446 million, down 2.9%, or €280 million, on the same period last year. Wine accounts for just over 6.8% of the value of the Union's food and drink exports and stays in fourth place among product categories.
Implications for youFor buyers and importers, falling EU exports to non-EU countries may leave more European wine available; for Swiss sellers, competition worth watching on the domestic market.