A chaotic month of tariff threats and policy reversals has forced wine industry players to rethink pricing models, product sourcing, and customer communication.
APR 11, 2025
In March, Mykel McIntosh was ready to shutter her St. Louis wine bar, squeezed by a looming 200 percent tariff on the European wines that filled her cellar. A few weeks later, she’s back in business—sort of. A sudden pivot in U.S. trade policy offered temporary relief, but it didn’t bring clarity. Like wine merchants across the country, McIntosh is navigating a volatile tariff landscape where business plans shift by the day.
On April 2nd, the Trump administration announced a 10 percent blanket tariff on nearly all imported goods plus a set of “retaliatory tariffs” on certain regions. For the wine industry, this added up to a 20 percent tariff on imports from the European Union, 30 percent on South African wines, and 10 percent on those from Chile, Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina. But just a week later, on April 9th, Trump issued a 90-day freeze on those specific “retaliatory tariffs” — while still enforcing the 10 percent blanket tariff…
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