THE COLD SOAK: May 2026

Wine sales are down. New labels keep launching. Nobody seems quite sure what AI is going to do to wine media. And somewhere in the middle of all that, South African wine keeps getting better.

This month, David Clarke and Christian Eedes discuss the state of the industry following the Vinpro/FIA Summit, the growing challenge of attracting new drinkers, and whether wine is becoming harder to navigate than it needs to be.

They also look at recent releases from Anysbos, Hogan, Leeu Passant, Corney Family Wines, Raats Family Wines, Storm Wines and Glenelly Estate, touching on everything from pricing and ratings to the ever-growing number of wines competing for attention.

As always, there are a few disagreements, a few digressions, and plenty of opinions. It's also our longest episode to date. Whether that's because there was more to talk about or because we swapped coffee for wine is left to the listener to decide.