American Association of Wine Economists AAWE

My Brooklyn grapevine (great Grenache clone from Tablas Creek Vineyard/ChateauBeaucastel) has been overrun by Spotted Lanternfly nymphal instars. The Spotted Lanternfly is an invasive species native to China that is a major threat to vineyards. They are sap-feeders and pierce the plant tissue with their needle-like mouthparts and suck out phloem sap — the sugar-rich fluid the plant uses to transport energy. For about 5 years, Brooklyn has had a well-established Spotted Lanternfly population.

Grape harvest in Grünberg in Silesia, Prussia (now Zielona Góra, Poland) in 1900. Colorized postcard. Grünberg was the only Prussian wine-growing region outside the Rhenish territories acquired after the Napoleonic Wars in 1815. To this day, Zielona Góra remains Poland's preeminent wine city.

Poland's vineyard sector is expanding rapidly. The number of registered vineyard owners grew more than 33-fold, from 21 in 2010 to 703 in 2025. Average area per owner has declined from a peak of nearly 2.8 hectares in 2013 to around 1.5 hectares today, reflecting an influx of small-scale producers.

How Americans view alcohol’s benefits and risks.

For those who drink alcohol, 41% say recent news on health risks will make them drink less. 58% say the amount they drink remains unaffected.

Pew Research Center Survey https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/03/07/how-americans-view-alcohols-benefits-and-risks/

Main Champagne Houses by Turnover, 2024. Moët Hennessy is a distant #1

Poland's 769 hectares of registered vineyard area (as of July 2022; now >1,000 ha) show a pronounced southwest–northeast gradient, with Lubuskie (136 ha), Małopolskie (108 ha), and Dolnośląskie (102 ha) accounting for nearly half of national plantings. The pattern reflects both climatic suitability and the historical legacy of viticulture in the Sudeten and Carpathian foothills.

Fascinating early 20th century wine history pictures: harvest scenes in the Jura.

1946 Polish Pinot Blanc wine label - by "Państwowy Przemysł Fermentacyjny" (PPF), (State Fermentation Industry) based in Bydgoszcz. PPF was established after World War II to oversee the management of nationalized fermentation-related enterprises. The “Pinot Blanc” was likely crafted from a blend wine of various French white grape varieties left behind by the Germans. A similar red wine blend was marketed as "Pinot Franc."
https://centrumwiniarstwa.pl/blog/historia-lubuskiej-wytworni-win

Both Poland's GDP and its wine imports have been surging. While its GDP has risen by 641% since 1995, its wine import value has grown by 2,062%! Yet, as shown in the bottom panel, measured against GDP, wine's share has barely moved in two decades — growth in absolute terms, stability in relative terms.

Rhine river boat transporting Scotch whisky and Manzanilla sherry, near Düsseldorf, ca. 1957. Photo by Leonard Freed (American, 1929–2006). Freed was an American Magnum photographer, born in Brooklyn, who spent much of his career in Europe, mostly in Germany.