Cognac exports stay strong despite slower volumes
Cognac export volumes slowed last year but raced ahead in value, new figures have shown. In 2012, Cognac exports increased by 3.2% in volume to a record 168m bottles, and by 16.7% in value, according to Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC) data released...
Indiana might soon blaze its own bourbon trail – legislation that could foster creation of micro-distilleries advances
The Indiana Senate passed legislation Tuesday on a 38-9 vote that advocates believe could lead to the creation of the state’s own bourbon trail. Senate Bill 1296 would allow craft micro-distilleries to operate in Indiana. Businesses could sell hard alcohol on-site or...
Liquor stores could open on Sundays, and they would be allowed to sell items other than alcohol under a wine-in-grocery-stores bill now being weighed in the state Senate in Tennessee
The Senate Finance Committee approved amendments Tuesday that would loosen restrictions on liquor stores in a bid to break the impasse over new alcohol legislation. But the committee put off a final vote on the bill for a week amid signs that the changes still were...
Bulk versus bottle dilemma for South African wine
At South Africa's Rostberg and Co., green bottles filled with a ruby liquid clink as they march along a conveyor belt, destined for wine-lovers from Paris to Shanghai. But if a trend toward bulk shipping continues, the music of the Rostberg bottling plant may be about...
New Zealand hails ‘vintage of a lifetime’
While the warm, dry summer has caused problems for the country’s sheep farmers, New Zealand Winegrowers’ CEO Philip Gregan described conditions as “absolutely perfect for growing and ripening grapes.” With NZWG having shaken off earlier concerns about a potential...
Baijiu expanding outside China
Diageo Plc (DGE), the world’s largest liquor company, will expand sales of the Shuijingfang white spirit to Italy, Spain and the Middle East this year to reduce reliance on the liquor’s home market by tapping Chinese abroad. Overseas sales may rise to 40 percent of...
Economic impact of wine – example Ontario: every bottle of wine produced creates spinoff benefits worth $40, adding up to a national economic impact of almost $7 billion
Every bottle of wine produced in Ontario creates spinoff benefits worth $40, an economic impact study found, adding up to a national economic impact of almost $7 billion and more than 31,000 jobs. The report was commissioned by the Canadian Vintners Association and...
German wine exports continue to slide, down by 15.2% in 2012 compared to 2011
German wine exports slid by 15.2% in 2012 compared to 2011, continuing a declining trend from the previous year, according to statistics released by the German Wine Institute. The drop in the volume of exports in 2012, to 1.3m hectolitres, follows an 11.8% drop in...
Subpremium beers yield ‘Fast Nickels’, but advertising more expensive brews brings in ‘Slow Dimes’
With the beer market inundated by fruity flavored brews, pricey craft brands and Justin Timberlake ads, what ever happened to Joe Six-Pack? He's still there, chugging cheap beers after work, but brewers are dedicating fewer dollars to reach him as the "subpremium"...