Straub Brewery Intros a Wild Berry Sangria Spritzer

Posted on June 23, 2021 by Joel Whitaker

Straub Brewery, founded in 1872 by Peter Straub, a 19-year-old immigrant from Germany, introduces Sabina’s Wild Berry Sangria Spritzer, a bubbly rich ruby red blend with 100% natural fruit juices and a hint of citrus. It is gluten free and has only 80 calories per six ounce serving and is 5% ABV.   It’s named in honor of Sabina Song, who married Peter Straub.

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Air Charter Operator Launches Private Wine Label

Posted on June 23, 2021 by Joel Whitaker

GrandView Aviation, one of the nation’s largest Phenom 300 charter operators, has released its own private-label wine, Altitude Rosé.

In 2021 GrandView Aviation has partnered with Boxwood Vineyards to produce a brand-new Rosé called “Altitude.”  This is the first time GrandView has partnered with the vineyard and the first wine produced by the private charter aviation company.  The name is no coincidence, as it is named after their Altitude+ program, an exclusive program for their highest tier members to receive discounted private charter flights.

The wine is a dry Rosé blend of grapes grown and processed in the Bordeaux-style at John Kent Cooke’s historic estate in the Middleburg, Virginia AVA.  The sustainable vineyard consists of certified French clones exclusively. Grapes are hand harvested, hand sorted and fermented in stainless steel tanks.

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Willamette Valley Vineyards Plans New Winery in Dundee Hills, 4 New Planned Winery Restaurants

Posted on June 23, 2021 by Joel Whitaker

Willamette Valley Vineyards, Inc., a leading Pinot Noir producer in Oregon, today announced that it plans on building a new winery in the Dundee Hills close to the Company’s new boutique, dedicated sparkling winery at Bernau Estate Vineyard.

This new winemaking facility is intended to become the Company’s primary location for producing and bottling the Company’s various brands, and is expected to be built on 40 acres in the Dundee Hills AVA adjacent to Highway 99 that the Company purchased four years ago.

“We believe this property is well-suited for supporting the production and bottling of the multiple brands of our enterprise including Willamette Valley Vineyards and additional quantities of our Domaine Willamette méthode champenoise sparkling brand, which we expect to launch in late Spring of 2022,” stated Winery Director Christine Clair.

Company founder/CEO Jim Bernau explained, “Our winery in the Salem Hills has served us well over the past 34 years, but we believe we have simply outgrown its original design. We produced 175,000 cases at this winery last year on-site and are expecting continued increases in demand in the coming years as our restaurant and retail placements expand and our planned new winery restaurants are built in local communities. We felt that we needed a new, more modern production facility in order to meet this anticipated increase in demand.”

The Company has engaged Steve Martin Associates of Sonoma County, Calif., to assist in the planning, design and development of this winemaking facility.

The Company has also announced that it is looking for candidates to fill a newly established Director of Winemaking and Vineyards position that will report to the Company’s Winery Director.

The Company’s Director of Winemaking and Vineyards is expected to be responsible for the operations of the Company’s wineries and vineyards, which currently includes a team of 65 full and part-time employees and consists of 16 vineyards owned or leased by the Company totaling 490 producing acres. The new Director of Winemaking and Vineyards will also be expected to develop new estate vineyards and produce new brands and products, as well as oversee the planning, building and development of the planned expansion facility.

The Company has engaged WineTalent to lead the confidential search for the Company’s new Director of Winemaking & Vineyards. Interested candidates apply at www.winetalent.net.

The Company said it is planning on opening within the next two years four new restaurants (collectively, the “Winery Restaurants”) in Lake Oswego, Happy Valley and Bend in Oregon and on the Vancouver Waterfront in Washington.  The Winery Restaurants are expected to offer Pacific Northwest-inspired dishes to pair with the Company’s classic Oregon wines as well as offer customers a new membership program.

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New Backbar Data Shows White Claw Losing On-Premise Market Share of Hard Seltzers

Posted on June 23, 2021 by Joel Whitaker

White Claw is down 15.4 share points in the first two quarters of 2021, according to a new analysis of on-premise hard seltzer data from Backbar, the largest alcohol inventory management platform for restaurants and bars. Backbar, which is used by over 10,000 businesses to streamline beverage operations, analyzed data on inventory market share for the hard seltzer segment.

In 2020, White Claw products accounted for 60.4% of the hard seltzers in on-premise accounts. Data from June 2021 shows White Claw’s market share dropped to 45% of all hard seltzers.

White Claw Hard Seltzer products still dominate the on-premise sector, with White Claw Black Cherry (13.2%) and White Claw Mango (9.22%) making up the top two products in market share. White Claw Natural Lime (3.46%), White Claw Raspberry (3.33%) and White Claw Ruby Grapefruit (3.33%) all fall within the top 10 products by share.

The top five hard seltzer brands in Backbar are White Claw (45%), Truly (17.4%), High Noon Spirits Co. (10.4%), Bud Light Seltzer (10%), and Bon & Viv (1.28%). High Noon saw the largest gain of share points year-over-year, growing by 6.3 points in the first six months of 2021.

Backbar data shows that High Noon and Truly’s market gain has been driven by new, innovative product releases. Truly’s growth has come through its Lemonade product line, led by its Strawberry Lemonade offering and successful launch of its Punch line of products. High Noon’s tropical flavors (Pineapple and Watermelon) drove its growth, appealing to bar operators and consumers with the seltzer’s brand position of “real vodka + real fruit juice.”

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Mighty Swell Spiked Seltzer Intros Variety Pack

Posted on June 23, 2021 by Joel Whitaker

Mighty Swell, the award-winning Austin, Tex., craft spiked seltzer brand, launches its new Tropic Variety Pack – the second variety pack from the brand.

The Mighty Swell Tropic Variety Pack will debut three refreshing new flavors including Mango Raspberry, Pineapple, and Blood Orange, which will be featured alongside the brand’s newly reformulated grapefruit. As with the original variety pack, the new tropical version features twelve 12-ounce, 100 calorie cans with 5% ABV, no added sugar and just three grams of carbs.

As part of the launch, Mighty Swell is simultaneously rolling out a new campaign throughout its retail network, promoting the new flavors with signage and end caps that ask consumers to “Tropic Like It’s Hot” throughout the summer.

The new Mighty Swell Tropic Variety Pack launches with a suggested retail price between $14.99 – $17.99 and is available in 23 states at select retailers such as ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, Harris Teeter, HEB, Total Wine & More and Whole Foods.

“With another endless summer just on the horizon, Mighty Swell is taking consumers’ taste buds on a trip to the islands with our new Tropic Variety Pack,” said Mighty Swell CEO John Beal. “Our new innovations are the perfect balance for summer, offering consumers incredible tropical flavors minus all the calories – making it a must-have for all your summer adventures.”

Mighty Swell also introduced 19.2 oz single-serve cans in both Pineapple and Blackberry. Like its 12 oz cousin, the 5% ABV single-serve cans are high in flavor and low in calories, with just 5 grams of carbs and 165 calories per can. These cans will retail between $2.29 – $2.49 and will be sold at HEB, Whole Foods and many grocery and convenience stores to come.

The brand will also extend its popular 6-pack offerings to include the newest Pineapple flavor to the mix – retailing between $8.99 – $9.99 at stores in 23 states. All Mighty Swell products are sweetened with natural white grape juice, certified gluten-free, OU Kosher certified and crafted with no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives.

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Kopf Vineyards Buys 21.5-Acre Vineyard from Sequoia Grove

Posted on June 23, 2021 by Joel Whitaker

The sale was reported by Wine Business Insider.  We could not independently verify it, and terms were not disclosed.   Wine Business quoted Sequoia Grove’s president as saying fruit from the vineyard will supply Sequoia Grove.

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