In France, November 21 was “Beaujolais Nouveau Day,” a time when the people from the wine-making region of Beaujolais come together to celebrate the harvest and the young wine’s official release.
As the clock strikes midnight, revelers pop bottles of the Gamay-based wine, fermented only a few weeks, and wine-growers roll barrels of Beaujolais Nouveau through the torchlit streets of Lyon.
But this year, the new 25 percent tariff on French wine imposed by the Trump administration is worrying winemakers from the region.
With the U.S. staking claim as the second largest market for the red wine, accounting for more than 15 percent of total exports, producers have already experienced a dip in margins due to the tariffs.
“This is going to be a hard blow, we will need to work hard to bounce back,” producer Jean-Baptiste Duperray told Reuters.
Feeling they had little choice but to absorb the costs imposed by the tariff, Beaujolais Nouveau winemakers are hoping that the new taxes will only be temporary.
According to David Ratignier, vice president of the Inter Beaujolais Association, U.S. consumers will not feel the impact of the tariffs with prices of the wine set to remain steady, between $10 to $15.
“We realized (U.S. policy) can change in a morning with a simple tweet from Mr. Trump. If Trump changes his mind overnight, everything will be ok,” Ratignier added.
Here’s hoping we can raise a glass to that.
