With the threat of 200% tariffs on wine set to begin April 2, some oenophiles are stockpiling as suppliers and importers warn of delays and possible shortages.
“Everyone wants to stock up — we’re seeing ‘beat the tariffs’ shopping,” co-founder of Flatiron Wines and Spirits Josh Cohen told me.
Over the last few days, regular customers who typically stop by to pick up a few bottles at a time, have come in to order cases (a case includes 12 bottles) of European wine — with one customer earlier this week purchasing 120 bottles of champagne.
“We’re encouraging people to get out there and load up.” Interest in pricey French Burgundy is off the charts — with Italian wines like Barolo and Barbaresco running close behind, Cohen added.
Earlier this month, President Trump threatened to levy massive tariffs on European alcohol after the EU announced plans to impose a 50% tariff on American whiskey. Yesterday, the EU announced plans to delay their proposed tariffs, but President Trump has yet to respond.
The US Wine Trade Alliance, which represents all tiers of the US Wine Trade against tariffs, has advised all companies to halt shipments of alcohol from Europe as “the current risk of tariffs is too high.”
Some wine enthusiasts with thousands of bottles see this as an ideal opportunity to reduce their holdings — and are reaching out to wine distributors to see if they can shed their inventory while it’s hot. “Anyone on the sidelines is jumping in now,” Cohen said.
While a number of wine enthusiasts are skeptical the tariffs will actually go into effect, Mary Ewing-Mulligan, CEO of International Wine Center, acknowledged the worst case scenario — while damaging to the industry — would have one silver lining.
The “classics” from Italy and France may be more challenging to find and far pricier, but between “California and Australia and South America, we won’t run out of wine.”
And it might actually expand some casual drinkers’ palates, she added, as people “start shifting to other wines.”
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