The Wine World Needs Your Help

Rosé champagne in Bordeaux

I’m writing because the wine world needs your help. If you aren’t familiar with what’s going on, I am going to give you a brief rundown. A 100-percent tariff is looming for European wines and a lot of other items, including: olive oils, European cheeses, Scotch and Irish whiskies, and a slow of food products. Let this sink in for a minute. There is already at 25 percent tariff on certain European wines and many in the industry are not just nervous, but scared as hell. Including myself. This means so many people will LOSE their livelihood - like me.

This means your $15 Prosecco will jump to $30. It means the wholesalers and importers can’t absorb these costs. So you say, “well I’ll drink more California wine? Well if you do, that won’t change the fact that many people in the United States will lose their jobs and their businesses will close. I’ve spent the past two years working on more diversity, inclusion, and intersectionality in wine all over the world. We are making so many necessary strides and changes. But, what if there is no way for me to work, what is going to happen to ALL the diversity work being done to create lasting change?

So, Julia. What can I do? First, if you want more information there are really great articles that go in depth on the subject. You can find them here and here. If that’s too much, read the comments here. It’s frightening to see my friends and colleagues so scared.

Email your representative here. Comment at the U.S. Trade Representative’s site here. All comments must be submitted by Monday, January 13.

Please do something to help my beloved community.