Protea Financial provides outsourced operational accounting for wineries and select beverage businesses. We support everyday operations and real-world challenges by functioning as an integrated accounting department, providing the depth of support typically found in larger internal teams, without requiring a winery to build one from scratch. Our motivation is simple: to provide accurate, timely financial information so business owners can make confident, informed decisions. Everything we do supports that goal. Everyone deserves better accounting, and we are here to help you meet that goal. Full-Spectrum Operational Accounting We are your full operational accounting team. We support a broad spectrum of services, from transactional accuracy to cost accounting, financial management and reporting, and forward-looking financial insight. Core Accounting & Close Strong reporting begins with disciplined execution. We manage: Transaction processing and bookkeeping Accounts receivable proce

Wakefield Taylors Wines and 1800 Milenio Take Top Honors July 14, 2025 — Winners have been announced in the 18th annual Women’s International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWWSC). The competition, which took place recently in Santa Rosa, Calif., was founded on the premise that the majority of wine purchased for home consumption is bought by women. The IWWSC judging panels consist entirely of professional women in the wine and spirits industries — winemakers, distillers, marketers, buyers, sommeliers, educators and journalists.  This year, Wakefield Taylor Wines 2024 Estate Riesling and 1800 Milenio Extra-Aged Añejo took top honors. Wakefield Taylor, a heritage winery in Australia’s Clare Valley (a region known for quality Reislings), wowed judges with its “mouthwatering citrus blooms” and “gentle salinity.”  A representative from 1800 Mileno remarked, “1800 Milenio is backed by 11 generations of tequila-making e

Introduction Coopers have long recognized the importance of forest origin in shaping the sensory qualities of wine, yet relatively little research has been conducted to understand the underlying factors driving these effects. With access to oak sourced directly from several prestigious and historically significant French forests through our company-owned stave mill in northeastern France, we saw a unique opportunity to investigate how forest terroir contributes to wine expression. This study was conducted for our TW Boswell brand of French oak barrels and aimed to evaluate whether specific forest origins impart distinct chemical and sensory characteristics to wine. We selected three single-origin forests – Allier, Tronçais, and Nièvre and a blend composed of Bertranges, Bercé, and Russy – to compare the influence of each on wine aged in barrels crafted with TW Boswell’s proprietary toasting profiles. Our goal was to better understand the role of f

Building on its successful operations in Kenya and South Africa, Guala Closures is now investing in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and one of the fastest-growing markets. Lagos, April 23, 2025 – Guala Closures, a world leader in the production of closures for the spirits, wine, water, beer, non-alcoholic beverage, and edible oil markets, inaugurated yesterday its new greenfield manufacturing facility in West Africa, strategically located in the Lagos Free Zone. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Ugo Boni, Consul General of Italy in Lagos, Adesuwa Ladoja, CEO of Lagos Free Zone, Andrea Lodetti, CEO of Guala Closures, and other executives of the Group. This expansion represents a key milestone in the company’s growth strategy, strengthening its commitment to the African market and enhancing its presence in one of the continent’s most dynamic economies. The Nigerian plant will serve West African markets and can supply anti-counterfeiting safe

The Southern Hemisphere harvests have wound down and their sizes seem variable: while Argentina’s and South Africa’s appear to have come in close to their downwardly-adjusted averages, Chile’s is estimated to be approximately 25% short; the crop sizes in Australia and New Zealand remain harder to quantify, with some grapes – mainly reds in the former, whites in the latter – unpicked to assist in balancing supply.  It is mid-spring in the Northern Hemisphere, meanwhile, and despite some inclement weather across Europe through March, the vineyards of France, Italy and Spain appear in good condition. March was also wet in much of California, which has now experienced three consecutive winters of average or above-average snowpack for the first time since 1998-2000. It likely that the grape market more than conditions will dictate the 2025 harvest size in California, judging by the number of vineyards across the state yet to be pruned.  The bulk mark

The introduction to our Global Report of August 2023 started as follows: “Another month of limited buying activity has passed by on the world’s bulk wine markets, with the traditional lull during the Northern Hemisphere summer holiday season now exacerbating the quietness. Pockets of activity exist but these feel like exceptions in an altogether quiet landscape.” Last year’s “pessimism in all major producer countries about the long-term drift away from wine consumption” is continuing through 2024, but shorter crops and the return of China as a buyer in Australia have helped make the landscape appear a little more active.  Some exporters have experienced a better year. Shorter European crops in 2023 were followed by shorter Chilean and South African crops in 2024, tightening availability of generic and varietal whites that were already in better supplydemand balance than their red counterparts. Versus disappointing sales last year, Spain’s

Afternoon Brief, March 29th

Omar Khan Has Pleaded Guilty to Identity Theft: Omar Khan, the bon vivant who allegedly swindled fine-wine insiders out of at least $9.5 million, pleaded guilty to identity theft on Thursday, less than one month after the FBI arrested him at John F. Kennedy International Airport...

Afternoon Brief, March 1st

Federal Government to Spend $177 Million to Help Canadian Wine Industry: The federal government announced a plan to help the Canadian wine sector Friday during a visit to Lightfoot & Wolfville Vineyards in Wolfville, N.S...