Category: International
Piedmont winery adopts blockchain closures
Image: The Drinks Business – Multinational closures company Guala Closures has announced that Piedmont-based Vigneti Massa is the first European winery to adopt its Nestgate closures, equipped with NFC technology. Joint-owned by Timorasso pioneer Walter Massa, Vigneti Massa has launched the 2018 vintage of its wines with Guala’s new connected closures.
Read more >
“Nobody knows anything about what sells wine”
California wine maverick Randall Grahm looks back over the bumpy ride that led to the recent sale of Bonny Doon. Grahm, 66, sold Bonny Doon to some wine unknowns whose claim to fame is revamping the brand Lapis Luna. He didn’t get a huge payoff, and while he’ll still nominally be the winemaker, the brand […]
Read more >
How big is the US wine market really?
On January 13th, IWSR issued a press release that pronounced “Wine Consumption in the US Declines for First Time in 25 Years”. Past statements from IWSR suggest that the US wine market was about 360 million 9L cases in 2019. However, based on available tax collection data, bw166 projects that the U.S. wine market in […]
Read more >
EU unlocks more money for wine producers
In the wake of tumbling sales to the US, the EU has found more money for wine producers, to help them sell their wines. The EU has agreed to increase aid for wine promotion activities by 10%, to help boost exports. The additional funding is aimed at supporting EU wine producers hit by the US […]
Read more >
Medieval wine ‘supertanker’ to go on display in Wales this year
Image: The Drinks Business – Part of a merchant ship, constructed in 1449 and thought to have transported wine, is due to go on display at the Newport Ship Centre this year, with a building being sought to house the boat in its entirety.
Read more >
Blog: How wine, art and diamonds defy the laws of economics
Yes, it’s ridiculous to spend $100 on wine that’s only marginally tastier than a $20 bottle, but it’s actually standard human behaviour. More than 100 years ago, an American economist named Thorstein Veblen coined the phrase “conspicuous consumption” to describe this very thing.
Read more >
Wine consumers are caring about wine category over knowledge
Despite decreasing levels of wine knowledge, the world’s wine consumers are caring more about the category, according to Wine Intelligence’s 2020 Global Trends in Wine report. Global Trends in Wine 2020, published this week, discloses how consumers in the world’s major consumption markets for wine have become increasingly involved with the wine category. Conversely, consumers’ […]
Read more >
US wine market is both growing and slowing
Image: Wall Street Trade Report – A new report from Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates shows that although the US wine market grew in 2019, the overall trend is slower. The total growth for the US wine market rose by just over one percent in 2019, slowing from a historic yearly growth of between three and […]
Read more >
Tariff threats pull back from the brink
Image: The Washington Post – A truce has been declared in the US-France trade war, removing – for now – the spectre of 100-percent tariffs on Champagne, although the tariffs are not completely off the table for all other European wine. The ceasefire apparently agreed to on Monday had to do with France’s digital services […]
Read more >
English wine and golf estate plans new winery
Mannings Heath in West Sussex has submitted plans to build a winery, tasting room and restaurant on its 500-acre site ahead of its first harvest this year. The winery will be able to process 150 tons of grapes each year and will be large enough to store bottles of sparkling wine as they mature.
Read more >
The unusual success of this family owned Rioja winery
CVNE, or the Compañia Vinicola del Norte de España (‘wine company of northern Spain’) has operated successfully in the Rioja wine region for 140 years. Two aspects of that legacy are notable. First, it has been run by the same family. Second, during that time there have only been five chief winemakers.
Read more >
Intimidation and shame are holding wine back
Helen Rosner, food correspondent for the New Yorker, stirred up the wine Twitterverse last week by complaining about a page on a wine list. Her actual complaint, which wasn’t clear from her first tweet, wasn’t that she couldn’t understand the list. Instead, she is irritated when she calls a wine something (i.e., “the Benoît Ente”) […]
Read more >
Uncertainty over tariff outcome continues to take a toll
Image: Jeff Quinn – The looming threat of 100 per cent tariffs is already costing jobs, hurting businesses, and causing instability as the wine industry braces for a decision from DC. The impact of the threat alone, and the climate of uncertainty it has created, is already being felt—resulting in layoffs, broken deals worth hundreds […]
Read more >
2019 online beverage alcohol sales grew—yet all is not rosy
According to Rabobank’s Alcohol 2020 report, US online beverage alcohol sales hit $2.6 billion in 2019. Yet, “The industry must take assertive action to address the challenges facing alcohol e-commerce…failure to act could have profound consequences.”
Read more >
Napa wineries are beginning to chat up customers online
Winery websites are increasingly implementing live chats, essentially portals that connect customers directly with a representative. They’re fairly ubiquitous in the world of online retail but rather new to wine, though chats are quickly becoming a critical customer service tool.
Read more >
Where the biggest threats to wine are coming from
Rival premium drinks categories, particularly spirits, are the ones to watch if wine suppliers and restaurant buyers are to keep hold of wine’s share in the on-trade, according to the latest CGA report. The decline of still wine sales in the on-trade has become very much the elephant in the room when it comes to […]
Read more >Load More Articles In This Section
Today's Weather
Wine Industry Directory Buyers’ Guide
Search the Buyers’ Guide for companies, services and brands.