Edition of October 12, 2026

Inside the cellars shaping Margaux 2026

At Château Marquis d’Alesme in Margaux, Gironde, the 2026 vintage is beginning to take shape as hand-harvested grapes are sorted and processed in the cellar.

The vintage story now moves from weather and yields to extraction, fermentation and selection. Decisions made in the cellar will determine how the difficult season is expressed in the finished wines.

Source: Sud Ouest Château Marquis d’Alesme Margaux The VintageVineyard and Cellar

Vinitech focuses on practical routes to recovery

Vinitech will take place from December 1 to 3 at Bordeaux’s exhibition center, with 250 exhibitors and 3,000 visitors expected and a focus on innovation, financial recovery and economic diversification, according to Vitisphere.

Vinitech will test which technical and commercial responses producers consider viable during the sector downturn. Its emphasis is on practical options rather than scale or spectacle.

Source: Vitisphere Visiting BordeauxThe Crisis

Ivana de la Kethulle becomes CIVB marketing director

The CIVB appointed Ivana de la Kethulle as marketing director to help revive Bordeaux wine sales; she brings 17 years of experience in the spirits sector, according to Sud Ouest.

The appointment places marketing strategy at the center of Bordeaux’s response to declining sales. Her spirits background may bring a different commercial perspective to the region’s positioning.

Source: Sud Ouest Estates and People

Nearly 1,300 attend Bordeaux’s second wines fair

Nearly 1,300 visitors attended Terre de Vins’ 10th second-wines fair at Hangar 14, where around 60 properties offered their wines at preferential prices; the promotion continues online through November 1.

The attendance shows consumer interest in château-linked Bordeaux at more accessible prices. Second wines remain an important bridge between classified estates and value-conscious drinkers.

Source: Terre de Vins Visiting BordeauxThe Fine Wine Market

Initial reports from the 2026 harvest are positive

Initial assessments of Bordeaux’s 2026 harvest are positive after a hot, fiery summer, but the harvest is not yet complete, according to Jancis Robinson.

This begins the critical process of separating the vintage’s quality narrative from its difficult growing conditions. Conclusions remain provisional until the remaining fruit is picked.

Source: Jancis Robinson The VintageCritics and Scores

A critique of Bordeaux’s response to its crisis

Journalist Henry Clemens argues in his book “Le Jour où… on n’a plus voulu boire de bordeaux” that Bordeaux missed an opportunity to champion a different, cleaner form of agriculture, according to Sud Ouest.

The argument connects Bordeaux’s commercial difficulties with its agricultural identity. It adds environmental positioning to the wider debate over how the region should rebuild demand.

Source: Sud Ouest The CrisisVineyard and Cellar

Château Le Coteau opens for Margaux-Saveurs

Naturalist winegrower Éric Léglise will open Château Le Coteau in Arsac to the public for the first time during Margaux-Saveurs, from October 16 to 18.

The property offers visitors a view of a lesser-known Margaux estate surrounded by grands crus classés vineyards. It broadens the appellation’s public face beyond its most famous names.

Source: Sud Ouest Château Le Coteau Margaux Visiting BordeauxRules and Classifications

Gironde faces a very small 2026 vintage

September rainfall improved harvest volume, but Gironde production remains very low compared with previous years.

Positive early comments on quality do not resolve the commercial consequences of a small crop. Final production will shape how growers, merchants and buyers interpret the vintage.

Source: Sud Ouest The VintageThe Fine Wine Market