Afternoon Brief: Champagne's Loss Is California's Gain
Wine consumption overall is on the decline, reaching its lowest point since 1996. And while California sparkling wine is far from immune to the gloom, the sunshine state is finding areas of the market that is leveraging with great success, albeit in a few different ways and often simultaneously...
Afternoon Brief: New WSU Study Shows How Scarcity Pricing Helps 'Cult Wineries' Drive Demand
When a product is hard to buy, more people want it. A new Washington State University study reveals that wineries producing cult wines can boost long-term profits by keeping their prices low, creating excess demand that fuels their brands prestige and future revenue...
Afternoon Brief: California’s Historic Rancho Arroyo Grande Under New Ownership
Rancho Arroyo Grande, a sweeping estate covering over 3,500 acres of wild country within the SLO Coast AVA, is under new ownership...
Afternoon Brief, May 30th
Federal Judge Rules Provi’s Antitrust Case Against Southern Glazer’s and RNDC Will Proceed: Today, a federal judge ruled the antitrust complaint filed by Provi, the largest online marketplace for the beverage alcohol industry, against the nation’s two largest wine and spirits distributors, Southern Glazer’s Wines and Spirits (Southern) and Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC), will move forward as the court denied a Motion to Dismiss “in its entirety” filed by the defendants...
Afternoon Brief, May 20th
Wine Comes Roaring Back: Is all the panic about wine's decline much ado about nothing?...
Afternoon Brief, April 23rd
Wine Industry Makes Sustainability Push with New Packaging Alliance: A new alliance of wine brands is launching a push for sustainable packaging solutions across the US wine industry...
Afternoon Brief, February 21st
WSWA's Sipsource Report Tracks 2023 Year-End Losses for Both Wine and Spirits: While there seems to be clear consensus on how difficult 2023 was for the beverage alcohol industry, there is no single agreed-upon view of what this means for the future...
Afternoon Brief, December 8th
Additional Layoffs at Ste. Michelle Indicate On-Going Struggles: On December 6th, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates (SMWE), the largest winery in the Pacific Northwest, announced a substantial layoff. The layoffs impacted approximately 7% of the company’s staff...
Afternoon Brief, March 3rd
Fire & Ice: Can Pruning Practices Mitigate Effects of Climate Change?: As scientists and legislators search for large-scale solutions to extreme weather patterns, wine-growers are look for short-term fixes that they hope will help increase their shot at a successful harvest. For many, that means changing pruning practices...
Janet Llamas Promoted to Chief Financial Officer of Lede Family Wines
(December 8, 2021; Yountville, Calif.)— Tony Baldini, President and COO of Lede Family Wines, is pleased to announce that Janet Llamas has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer. In her new role, Llamas will oversee all financial planning and activities for Cliff Lede Vineyards and Poetry Inn in the Stags Leap District and FEL Wines […]