Tablas Creek Blog

Plenty of the choices facing the wine world are hard. Making wines with "American" on the label 100% from US grapes shouldn't be one of them.

California AB 1585 would require that any wine that says "American" on its label and is produced, bottled, labeled, or sold in California be sourced 100% from American grapes. It might not be a game-changer for struggling growers or for consumer transparency, but it seems like a good start.

It's not just your imagination. The heat in March was unprecedented.

The photos we're sharing look more like May than they do like the beginning of April. And no wonder. March 2026 would have been the warmest April in our history, and all sorts of unprecedented outcomes are on the table.

Understanding for whom wholesale wine sales works, and for whom it doesn't

In 26 markets, we're with one of the "Big 3" distributors. In 2025 those states sold 39% less than the size of the markets would predict. In the 25 markets where we're with an independent, we saw an overperformance of 22%. Thanks to Alfonso Cevola, I finally understand why.

Budbreak 2026 arrives two weeks early... and this week's potential record heat means it will spread fast

Every day of the last three weeks has seen highs at least in the upper 60°s F, without a low dropping below the upper 30°s. We've topped 70°F every day for the last week, and 80°F two of the last three days. So it's no surprise that the vines have woken up.

A Paso Native with Wine in His Blood: An Interview with Direct to Consumer Manager Ryan McGuire

The Tablas Creek team is built on a foundation of people who truly love the culture of wine. For some, that love is discovered later in life, but for our new Direct to Consumer Manager, Ryan McGuire, it has been there since the beginning. As a Paso Robles native who

Did tariffs on imported wines help American wineries? If so it's hard to see.

American wineries faced headwinds in 2025 that included demographic shifts, reduced tourism, and higher input costs. You might think that tariffs on imported wines would have helped. They didn't.

A wet, chilly week gets the 2025-26 winter back on track

After a month of warm, sunny weather that stretched from early January to early February, we were starting to wonder if winter was over and we'd have to start worrying about budbreak. Thanks to 6+" of rain in the last week, we're back on track.

The disconnect between what shipping costs and what people think shipping costs has never been greater

A study published last year reported that 45% of American consumers expect free shipping on any order. Another 42% expected it on orders over $50. Just 5% expected to pay for shipping on orders of any size. That's sobering for anyone in the wine business.

Tasting the wines in the Spring 2026 VINsider Wine Club shipments

A month before each of our semi-annual club shipments, we open them the wines to write the tasting and production notes that will be included. I always think it's fun to give followers of the blog a first look at these notes.

That Drinks Business headline claiming the average price of a bottle of US wine hit $56.78 in 2025 is... just not true

One of the UK's most important beverage trade journals shared a shocking statistic: that the average price of a bottle of American wine had risen 11% in 2025, to $56.78. The only problem? It wasn't true.

Plenty of the choices facing the wine world are hard. Making wines with "American" on the label 100% from US grapes shouldn't be one of them.

More posts

It's not just your imagination. The heat in March was unprecedented.

Understanding for whom wholesale wine sales works, and for whom it doesn't

Budbreak 2026 arrives two weeks early... and this week's potential record heat means it will spread fast

A Paso Native with Wine in His Blood: An Interview with Direct to Consumer Manager Ryan McGuire

Did tariffs on imported wines help American wineries? If so it's hard to see.

A wet, chilly week gets the 2025-26 winter back on track

The disconnect between what shipping costs and what people think shipping costs has never been greater

Tasting the wines in the Spring 2026 VINsider Wine Club shipments

That Drinks Business headline claiming the average price of a bottle of US wine hit $56.78 in 2025 is... just not true

The Wine Atlas Collective: Like a Passport for Your Member Benefits

Highlights from 1000 Blog Posts... and a Thank You

Syrah's Wild Ride in California, from Darling to Pariah... and Back

Introducing Regenerative Organic Certified™ (ROC™): Farming Like the World Depends on It

A great dinner, an amazing restaurant, and a wine that marks the beginning of Tablas Creek

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