Anheuser-Busch may not use mares in a hitch, but the Martins do. Clydesdale mares make great pulling horses, and they also produce little Clydesdales. “I’m a firm believer that the cheapest part of horse ownership is the purchase of the horse.” For instance, shoeing a horse can cost $200 to $500 and must be done every month or two. And do they eat! Their appetites are as big as they are. (Concord Monitor).
Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board’s retail sales grew 26.4% over Fiscal 2020, the agency reported.
E-commerce sales in fiscal 2021 totaled $16.8 million, a 37.3% decrease in dollar sales compared to the prior year due to the reopening of most Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores as of July 1, 2020, and an increase to in-store shopping. When compared to pre-pandemic dollar sales and transactions for 2018-19, sales for 2020-21 were up by 236.6% and the number of transactions increased by 285.1%.
Total dollar sales for canned and non-canned ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages increased by 91.3% over 2019-20, with sales of canned RTD wines and spirits increasing by 336.3%.
In 2020-21, dollar sales for tequila increased by 52.3% over the prior fiscal year. Benefitting from the trend toward premiumization, sales of products in the $40 to $60 price range increased by 81.2%, while sales of products in the $20 to $40 price range increased by 48.9%.
A total of 53 counties had unflavored vodka as their top spirits category. American whiskey followed with 13 counties. Canadian whisky was the top category in Greene County.
California cabernet sauvignon was the top wine category in 26 counties, while another 19 counties had box red wine as the top wine category; beverage wine followed in 14 counties, and California chardonnay followed in eight.
The top three counties — Allegheny, Philadelphia, and Montgomery — accounted for almost 35% of statewide sales.
Growing cover crops under grapevines in vineyards can reduce erosion, enhance soil health, reduce herbicide use and improve water quality, according to a team of Penn State researchers, who suggest that growers can promote improved sustainability in production as part of a marketing strategy that may result in consumers being willing to pay more for wine.
“With so many wineries not only in Pennsylvania but throughout the country vying for consumer dollars, emphasizing sustainability is one way to differentiate themselves from competitors,” said researcher Kathy Kelley, professor of horticultural marketing and business management. “We know that Gen Z and millennial consumers, especially, have a profound interest in sustainability and are very environmentally conscious.”
A large percentage of both groups — and many older consumers, too — will respond favorably to winery marketing that emphasizes the sustainability of their operations, she added.
“But in today’s world, sustainability can mean almost anything, and we’re seeing a consumer group that wants to be educated and wants to know exactly what is going on with sustainable wine production,” Kelley said. “So, being descriptive about what it actually means to include cover crops in a vineyard is a way to be attractive to them.”
Cover crops in vineyards are increasingly relevant, contends another member of the wine and grape team in the College of Agricultural Sciences, Michela Centinari, associate professor of viticulture. She pointed out that excessive precipitation events have greatly increased in frequency and severity in some grape-growing regions, including the U.S. Northeast, due to climate change.
“These heavy downpours result in myriad problems in vineyards, including erosion and soil runoff, nutrient leaching, excessive vine vegetative growth, and diseased fruit,” she said. “The negative impacts of excessive precipitation events on vineyards are made worse by the maintenance of bare soil under the vines.”
Centinari co-authored a study to determine whether vegetation growing under and around vines could solve these problems, and it turns out it can. In findings recently published in Frontiers of Plant Science, Centinari and Justine Vanden Heuvel, a plant scientist at Cornell University, demonstrated that either natural or seeded “under-vine vegetation” can help mitigate many of the problems associated with excessive precipitation.
The cost of seeding and mowing under-vine vegetation — or cover crops — can be far greater than applying herbicides, Kelley noted, but she suspected that many consumers are willing to pay more for a wine they know is produced more sustainably. To find out, she conducted a study to characterize several wine consumer groups that were “likely” to sample — taste before purchasing — wine from vineyards using cover crops.
Kelley and colleagues recently reported in International Journal of Wine Business Research that 72% of 956 wine consumers from the mid-Atlantic region surveyed were willing to pay $18.99 for a 750-ml bottle of wine, which included a $1 surcharge to cover associated sustainable production costs, including cover crops. Additionally, of that group, 26% — 195 wine consumers — indicated that they would be willing to pay $20.99 for that same bottle of wine.
Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS) launched a new website, StandardDrinks.org, featuring a drink calculator and resources to assist adult consumers in making responsible decisions regarding alcohol consumption.
The website includes the definition of a “standard drink,” which contains 0.6 ounces of ethanol (the pure alcohol that is in all beverage alcohol), and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans’ recommendation for moderate drinking for adults of legal drinking age who choose to drink: up to one standard drink per day for females or up to two per day for males.
The site highlights the fact that there is no beverage of moderation, only the practice of moderation and features examples of “standard drink equivalents,” including: 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits (40% alcohol by volume [ABV]), 5 ounces of wine (12%ABV), 12 ounces of beer (5% ABV), or 12 ounces of a canned, ready-to-drink (RTD) beverage (5% ABV).
“Knowing the definition of a standard drink and understanding drink equivalence are essential aspects of responsible alcohol consumption and are key educational components of StandardDrinks.org,” said Dr. Amanda Berger, Ph.D., DISCUS Vice President of Science and Health.
Visitors to the site can use the interactive calculator to input the volume, or container size, and the ABV of their beverage to see how it measures up to one standard drink.
“Today’s beer, wine and spirits products come in a range of containers with varying alcohol content, which makes the ability to calculate standard drinks even more critical,” said Berger. “The drink calculator gives consumers a way to see how their beverage of choice compares to one standard drink as defined by the U.S. Dietary Guidelines.”
Other resources on the site include educational consumer videos with Kathleen Zelman MPH, RDN, LD, nutrition expert and former director of nutrition at WebMD. In one video, Zelman uses popular RTD beverages to demonstrate the importance of understanding the alcohol content of these products and how they compare to the definition of one standard drink.
“As a dietitian, I counsel adults to keep track of their alcohol consumption by knowing the ABCs of ABV and how the alcohol content of the drink they choose relates to one standard drink,” said Zelman. “The Dietary Guidelines are arguably the most important road map we use to promote public health, and this new website will help to inform adult consumers about the government’s guidance on alcohol.”
The site links to additional resources on alcohol consumption from sources such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Responsibility.org, the distilled spirits industry’s not-for-profit foundation to prevent drunk driving and underage drinking.
Dr. Berger stated that the new website is part of DISCUS’ commitment to promote the U.S. Dietary Guidelines as a USDA MyPlate Strategic National Partner.
“Over the decades, DISCUS has distributed several thousand copies of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines on alcohol to physicians, nutritionists and other health professionals,” said Dr. Berger. “Through this new website, the distilled spirits industry will continue to do its part to help disseminate the messages of the Dietary Guidelines.”
The website also notes that some adults should not consume alcohol at all and recommends that visitors discuss alcohol consumption with their physicians, who can determine what is best for them based on individual factors, such as family history, genetics and lifestyle.
Croft, one of the original founding port houses, launches the first ready-to-drink Pink Port & Tonic cocktail, presented in a stylish and convenient pre-mixed 250ml can. This first pre-mixed and ready-to-drink Croft Pink & Tonic canned cocktail is 100% recyclable and is available in the U.S. market now, after launching first in the United Kingdom and Portugal.
“Croft’s rich heritage and history spanning over four centuries has inspired us to maintain a pioneering spirit,” says Adrian Bridge, Managing Director of Taylor Fladgate. “By releasing the world’s first-ever rosé Port, and now first rosé Port cocktail, we continue to innovate and bring versatile, refined options to the market that have the future in mind while staying rooted in tradition.”
“Croft Pink is defined by an abundance of rich, berry plump fruit with a delicious exotic quality and spicy character,” says David Guimaraens, Technical Director and Head Winemaker of The Fladgate Partnership. “By combining Croft Pink with the perfect amount of proprietary tonic, the result is a delicious cocktail, bursting with character that will surprise and delight even people who are not familiar with this outstanding Port.”
