The Gypset: Ops Update, CBMA & News
Spring has officially arrived, bringing a fresh wave of energy and renewal to the vineyards and spirits world alike! In this Gypset edition, we're highlighting the latest retail trends, showing a positive shift for wine and spirits, along with important regulatory updates to keep your shipments moving smoothly. As the weather warms up, it's the perfect time to plan your upcoming inventories and secure your space on our next sailings.
Operations Update
Four Bank Holidays in France may delay pick ups:
May 1 (Friday): Labor Day (Fête du Travail)
May 8 (Friday): Victory Day 1945 (Victoire 1945)
May 14 (Thursday): Ascension Day (Ascension)
May 25 (Monday): Whit Monday (Lundi de Pentecôte)
TTB Alert: CBMA Q1 2026 Importer Claims on Hold Due to Data Transmission Error
The TTB is advising all importers to delay submitting Craft Beverage Modernization Act (CBMA) refund claims for Q1 2026 due to a data transmission error in the ACE system that inflated imported quantity figures for entries filed between January and mid-February 2026. Submitting claims now using the corrupted data risks claim rejection and downstream compliance complications. The TTB expects the data correction to be completed by end of April 2026.
Source: TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) | March 27, 2026
A Twist of News
Wine and Spirits Show Improved Retail Trends Year-to-Date
Source: Shanken News Daily | April 27, 2026
Both wine and spirits have posted measurably better performance in NielsenIQ and Circana off-premise channels so far in 2026, with wine dollar declines narrowing from -4.5% to -5.5% in 2025 down to roughly -1.2% to -1.4% year-to-date. Spirits-based RTDs continue to surge approximately 20%, holding as the one clear category-level bright spot.
American Whiskey Exports Fall 19% Year-on-Year - Canada and EU Bans Bite Hard
Source: The Drinks Business | April 2026
American whiskey exports declined 19% in 2025 to $1.08 billion -- a $250 million drop driven by two simultaneous shocks: Canada's ban on U.S. spirits (effective March 2025) cut shipments to that market by 57%, and EU retaliatory tariff anxiety caused a 35% plunge across Europe as buyers had front-loaded orders in late 2024. Japan also fell 28% to $57 million. The bright spot: markets outside Canada and the EU grew a combined 13.2%, showing that the damage is geopolitically concentrated rather than structural.
Five Key Talking Points from Vinitaly 2026
Source: The Drinks Business | April 2026
Italy's flagship annual wine trade fair drew 90,000 attendees to Verona -- including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who used the stage to defend the newly elected Pope Leo XIV amid U.S. criticism, turning a wine fair into an unlikely geopolitical backdrop.
