Europe is putting real momentum behind energy efficiency and sustainability, and the wine sector is right in the middle of it. We were at Barcelona Wine Week. The message was that automation and AI are becoming practical tools to run operations better, cut energy use, and make faster decisions based on real data. That is where VinWizard fits, energy efficiency for wineries through automation, connecting operations, data, and control to deliver measurable savings without major infrastructure changes. In Spain, this push is also being driven by the Federación Española del Vino (FEV) and its Digitalization Hub, bringing wineries and technology companies together to accelerate real projects.  

Afternoon Brief, October 30th

Rudy Back in the Fake Wine Game: The world's most notorious wine counterfeiter is at it again – this time with his clients' blessings...

As the world moves into the second phase of its COVID-19 response – gradually easing restrictions and learning to live indefinitely with social distancing guidelines – we can see the first phase has left behind a significant level of inventory that would in normal times have supplied the on-trade. Spain, which implemented one of the world’s strictest lockdowns, has now permitted the reopening of outside terraces of restaurants and bars, albeit at a third of capacity and not in Madrid or Barcelona – a tentative early sign, perhaps, that on-trade demand may at least recover somewhat in the coming months even in those countries hardest-hit.  Many suppliers of on-trade wines have been working to redirect their supply into the off-trade channels and online, mainly to the supermarkets which have remained open throughout the lockdowns and which, in most countries, have been permitted to continue selling alcohol. This redirection is not always possible for supplier