Benriach’s 2 New Whiskies Debut in U.S.

Benriach Distillery announced the U.S. debut of two expressions that reflect the traditional methods of Scotch whisky-making dating back to the earliest days of the Speyside distillery.

Benriach Malting Season ($148), the first expression in a century to be produced entirely using barley malted from the distillery’s historic floor maltings, and Smoke Season ($71.99), a small batch release that captures one of Benriach’s time-honored seasonal production techniques, will be available in limited quantities in select markets.

In a nod to the distillery’s mothballed history where it remained in operation through floor malting and producing peated whiskies for other distilleries, Benriach’s expressions reflect the time-honored practices that now only occur once per year and are released seasonally.

Brown-Forman is the importer.

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Chateau Quintus Acquires Chateau Grand-Pontet

Château Quintus is acquiring Château Grand-Pontet, a Grand Cru Classé, located in an exceptional position just a few meters from the village of Saint-Emilion and only 1 km to the north of its existing parcels. This property is surrounded by three prestigious Premiers Grands Crus Classés: Châteaux Canon, Clos Fourtet and Beauséjour Bécot, on the Western plateau of Saint-Emilion.

With the addition of these parcels, Quintus also becomes one of Saint-Emilion’s largest properties, representing 45 hectares (111 acres), 42 (104 acres) of which are planted in vines.

At the same time, Domaine Clarence Dillion named Mariette Veyssière as Manager of Quintus.

Domain Clarence Dillion was founded on June 1, 1935, and named after its owner, the American financier Clarence Dillon,[1] who bought Château Haut-Brion in 1935.  It’s current president is Prince Robert of Luxembourg, great-grandson of Clarence Dillon.

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Shipping Woes Delay World Atlas of Beer

Crowded ports, containers in the wrong place, labor shortages all have contributed to challenges for all sorts of businesses.  Now we learn that publication of the World Atlas of Beer has been delayed until Nov. 2 because of shipping delays.

When the thrid edition debuts on Nov. 2, its detailed maps will describe crucial trends in major territories and features such as matching beer with food and how to pour different kinds of beer complete the picture.

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A-B Signs as Sponsor of Age-Verification Technology

The move by Anheuser-Busch follows an earlier announcement that MillerCoors Beverage Co. is sponsoring the still-in-development digital identification solution that enhances current age-verification systems and protects user privacy.

TruAge, developed by NACS, the global trade association that represents the convenience and fuel retailing industry, and Conexxus, its standards-setting partner, makes the traditional carding experience more convenient and accurate. It addresses age-verification beyond the traditional store register to online ordering, home delivery and curbside pickup, which have grown in popularity during the pandemic.

TruAge, developed by NACS, the global trade association that represents the convenience and fuel retailing industry, and Conexxus, its standards-setting partner, makes the traditional carding experience more convenient and accurate. It addresses age-verification beyond the traditional store register to online ordering, home delivery and curbside pickup, which have grown in popularity during the pandemic.

New pilot tests for TruAge are now underway at Russell’s Convenience stores in Hawai’i, and other companies expect to pilot the technology at their stores later this year. TruAge previously had been tested at select liquor stores in Maryland and West Virginia and successfully demoed at the NACS Leadership Forum in May.

“Our initial tests demonstrated that the TruAge solution works and works fast—posting verification that protects the cashier in a fraction of second. These additional tests are designed to pressure-test the convenience features as we move toward both stand-alone app-based solutions as well as solutions that can be folded into existing retailer apps,” said Conexxus Executive Director Gray Taylor. “In both cases, TruAge provides the most effective, convenient solution to date to age verify customers quickly while protecting their privacy,” he said.

New pilot tests for TruAge are now underway at Russell’s Convenience stores in Hawai’i, and other companies expect to pilot the technology at their stores later this year. TruAge previously had been tested at select liquor stores in Maryland and West Virginia and successfully demoed at the NACS Leadership Forum in May.

“Our initial tests demonstrated that the TruAge solution works and works fast—posting verification that protects the cashier in a fraction of second. These additional tests are designed to pressure-test the convenience features as we move toward both stand-alone app-based solutions as well as solutions that can be folded into existing retailer apps,” said Conexxus Executive Director Gray Taylor. “In both cases, TruAge provides the most effective, convenient solution to date to age verify customers quickly while protecting their privacy,” he said.

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A-B to Distribute ShineWater

Anheuser-Busch’s network of Wholly Owned Distributors (AB One) will distsribute ShineWater.  ShineWater isn’t an alcoholic beverage, but is described as a “ready-to-drink hydration beverage with 100% of the daily recommended vitamin D.”

Founded by a former FDA physician, ShineWater was orginally based in Charleston, S.C.  But it reformulated, rebranded and relocated to Bay City, Mich., last year.  In the last year, sales have grown 10-fold, it says.

“Within months, our six flavors were leading total sales of all emerging brands in our category,” says Ryan Coon, CMO at ShineWater. “ShineWater’s new partnership with AB ONE will allow us to deliver ‘Sunshine in a Bottle’ to people in more markets, making a positive impact on many lives.”

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Organic Wine Market Seen Growing at 10.8% CAGR

That’s a projection by Transparency Market Research.  If correct, the organic wine market valuation would hit $30 billion by 2030.

To support that projection, Transparency says more consumers are buying organic products, spurred by growing environmental concerns.   Organic wines aren’t just for drinking, the study says.  They are also in high demand across varied industries such as pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, bakery goods, and confectionery. This aside, the product is increasingly used for different medical purposes, owing to the presence of resveratrol, which offers numerous health benefits such as improving immunity levels and metabolism, preventing diseases and ageing, and maintaining body warmth.

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