This December the premium wine industry will no longer be able to cheer the holidays as it usually does.
Image courtesy of: Livex Premium Wine Market
Most of Europe has entered a stricter city closure, and most of the channels on trade for on-the-spot consumption have been forced to close.
New U.S. tariffs of 25% on EU imports will take effect on January 12. Previously unaffected wines with an alcohol content of less than 14% will be included; however, Champagne and Italian wines will remain duty-free.
The UK finally officially left the EU at 23:00 GMT on December 31. While the situation has been soothed by the trade deal, the impact of the increased paperwork (and associated costs) remains to be seen.
The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 rose 0.75% to close at 318.99 points, a nine-year high; the index is up 5.4% for the full year 2020, despite all the adversity.
With fewer trading days than average in December, fewer independent wines were traded on the market as a result; the first time since May. However, the value and volume of wine traded in December was at an all-time high; reflecting that demand remains strong.
White Burgundy was the best performing region in terms of price - with Coche Dury Meursault 2016 and Domaine Leflaive Chevalier Montrachet 2016 seeing the biggest price increases.
