Afternoon Brief, January 3
2019 U.S. Alcohol Consumption to Increase While Population Growth Stagnates: In an abstract titled, Alcohol Consumption in the United States: Past, Present, and Future Trends published in the Journal of Wine Economics Volume 13, Number 2, James Fogerty and Derby Voon examined ...
Afternoon Brief, January 2
The Hispanic Consumer Is Key to the Future of the Wine Industry: The growth of the Latino population in the United States is well documented and we know that it will continue to expand. This reality will provide opportunities for growth for many industries, notably in the food and beverage sector ...
Afternoon Brief, December 28
Highs and Lows for Wineries: The South Okanagan wine industry had a tough time with smoke and the threat of fires this summer, but still managed to have a successful year with new events and wineries joining the scene...
Afternoon Brief, December 27
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Was Tricked into Investing in an Israeli Winery, Lawsuit Alleges: The U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman was presented with allegedly fraudulent documents when he agreed to invest $730,000 in an Israeli wine company, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday to a Tel Aviv District Court...
Afternoon Brief, December 26
Beer, Spirits, & Wine - Packaged Imports Grow +8.3% by Value Over Last Twelve Months Through October 2018, Packaged Exports Decline -10.3%: Total beverage alcohol imports (including bulk and packaged) grew +7.7% by value over the last twelve months and grew +5.6% by value over the last three months...
Afternoon Brief, December 21
Indicators of a Buoyant 2019: Judging by the reports Im hearing, 2018 has been a good one for many. Nowhere is that more evident than in the corporate and company Christmas gifts that are appearing on the desks of many in the trade ...
Afternoon Brief, December 20
Trade-Enforcement Agencies Are Ramping Up Their Wine-Sales Investigations: Wholesalers and retailers of wine and spirits had better be aware of the new retail norms. The Washington D.C.-based Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has been ramping up its investigations into legal infractions that break the Tied House Rules ...
Afternoon Brief, December 19
3-Tier Wine Symposium Announced: The Wine Industry Network (WIN) today announced the launch of the 3-Tier Wine Symposium, a one-day intensive educational conference focused on how to best navigate the evolving and complicated world of distributor relations along with how to capitalize on the opportunities that still exist in the wholesale channel ...
Afternoon Brief, December 18
Behind Wine Brand Kendall-Jackson’s Growing Direct-to-Consumer Strategy: Thirty-six-year-old family winery Kendall-Jackson has been selling select wines online at KJ.com since 2004. But with new attribution tools available, it has only recently begun to see a return-on-investment from selling direct-to-consumer ...
Afternoon Brief, December 17
Farm Bill Contains Wine Provisions to Help Vintners: Federal farm bill contains provisions for wine industry. The $867 million federal farm bill recently passed by the U.S. Congress contains provisions that will benefit the domestic wine industry ...
Afternoon Brief, December 14
The Great Haut-Brion Price Hack: It's no surprise that the most expensive wine traded on the Liv-Ex fine wine exchange in 2018 was one that dragged the superlatives from the critics. Such wines are obviously rare and expensive, especially when they come from Bordeaux, but we've found a little hack that could see you getting similar quality for a much-reduced price...
Afternoon Brief, December 13
Opus One Sues Supplier Alleging Barrels Were Contaminated with TCA: A Napa Valley winery has filed a lawsuit for more than $470,000 over the sale of barrels allegedly contaminated with 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA), according to court records...
Afternoon Brief, December 12
Illinois Distributor's Massive Payout to TTB: As the Washington DC-based Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) ramps up its trade practice-enforcement investigations, more wholesalers are appearing on their radar for foul play and Tied House infractions...
Afternoon Brief, December 11
Holiday Horror Stories from the Land of Retail: When trouble strikes in retail, it's often during the holidays. The two-week period around Christmas and New Year's Eve is the biggest time of year for wine sales in the U.S...
Afternoon Brief, December 10
A 31% Increase in Number of California Wineries Makes Financial Success That Much Harder: The global investment firm Rabobank November 2018 Wine Quarterly included a few important takeaways from the Wine Industry Financial Symposium held this autumn in Napa, California. In its introduction to the report, the bank got my attention with this about California: "Wineries of all sizes need to find new owners."
