Sparkling wine is a bright spot in today’s challenging wine market. It ranks third among wine categories in sales, behind Cabernet and Chardonnay, and is the fastest-growing varietal.[*] The lower alcohol and light, fizzy taste appeals to the healthy mindset of today’s consumers, and the lower price point appeals to their stretched budgets. Sparkling wine is also a natural entry point for younger generations to engage with wine, as it delivers the fruity flavor and familiar effervescence they favor.  Mark Garaventa, Chief Commercial Officer and General Manager of Healdsburg, California-based custom production and crush facility, Rack & Riddle, provides insight. “When I started here in 2009, drinking sparkling wine was a celebratory event, unlike the Europeans who drank it daily. Now that trend is developing here and driving the growth.”  Rack & Riddle has grown from its 2007 founding by Rebecca Faust and Bruce Lundquist to become America’

Rack & Riddle, the #1 custom sparkling wine producer in the United States, has created CALSECCO a new California sparkling wine category developed to drive growth and attract young 21+ Gen Z and Millennial consumers to premium California sparkling wine.  “CALSECCO represents a new generation of sparkling wine—deeply rooted in tradition yet distinctly Californian. The winemaking legacy of California has proven its place among the world’s great wines. While we have excelled in still wines and Méthode Champenoise sparkling wines, the premium category for wines crafted in the Italian method remains untapped,” said Rack & Riddle General Manager Mark Garaventa. “We have the right climate and terroir here in California to grow the finest sparkling wine grapes in the world,” Garaventa added. “Consumers are thirsty for modern, fruit-forward wines, making the U.S. market perfectly primed for CALSECCO. Rack & Riddle has exclu

Afternoon Brief: Seaport Strike Could Spike NYC Wine Prices, Leave Produce Rotting Offshore, Experts Warn

A looming longshoremen's strike at seaports across the East Coast is slated to hammer New York City's supply chains -- and experts said the labor action could lead to a spike in wine prices, in addition to hundreds of tons of fruit going bad on ships stuck outside the harbor with no place to dock...

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

JUNE 28, 2024 – Winners have been announced in the 17th annual Women’s International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWWSC). The competition, which took place June 10-12 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.  “As always, the International Women’s Wine & Spirits Competition shined a spotlight on hundreds of deserving wines,” says Debra Del Fiorentino, owner of Wine Competitions Management & Production, which organizes and presents IWWSC. “And even though entry is open to all winemakers regardless of gender, I found it gratifying that six of this year’s sweepstakes wines were created by women. And our overall wine winner also was named Best Woman Winemaker

Afternoon Brief, June 17th

Winery Owners, Guests Flee as Point Fire Erupts in Sonoma County Wine Region: Guests enjoying an afternoon of wine tasting at Capo Creek Winery on West Dry Creek Road were forced to flee after the wind-driven Point Fire broke out Sunday afternoon in the heart of one of Sonoma County’s most iconic wine regions...

Despite the prevailing gloom and doom in the trade press, there's a silver lining for many adult beverage brands. They're not just surviving; they're thriving with double-digit growth and more! This article examines adult beverage brands' strategies to thrive in the current market.  This excerpt is from Ben Salisbury's speech at this week's webinar. Reserve your spot here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/3717134754795/WN_iFljab26T9q_cLmO5jjSyQ#/registration  Times have changed. Have YOU?  Before we dive into the 3 keys to boosting your revenue, let’s briefly set the stage. The 3-tier landscape has dramatically shifted within the past six or seven years, with the extreme proliferation of new brands and a historic consolidation within the wholesale tier.  The result has been an immense reduction in the capabilities of wine and spirits distributors of all sizes. The ratio of brands to sales reps has become ridiculo

More than just a purely marketing element of packaging, a scientific study demonstrates the protective role of capsules and foils on bottles of still and sparkling wine. Like any food product, wine bottles in retail areas and storage locations must ensure impeccable sanitary safety for consumers. To better understand bacteriological contamination on the necks of wine bottles, a laboratory, in collaboration with the Crealis Group—an international specialist in overcapping solutions—conducted a study on wine bottles with and without capsules or foils. The Capsule and Foil AN UNDISPUTED HYGIENIC SHIELD The capsule and foil represent an effective hygienic shield against the transmission of bacteria and mold. This is the conclusion from laboratory tests commissioned by Crealis from the CSI, the European reference center for the verification and certification of material and product compliance. To compare the hygienic quality of wine bottles with and without capsules and foils, a

Afternoon Brief, May 22nd

O’Neill Vintners & Distillers Acquires Ram’s Gate Winery and Creates New Luxury Wine Division: O’Neill Vintners & Distillers Founder and CEO Jeff O’Neill has been a co-owner of the brand since 2011, and now takes complete ownership of the brand and property, creating a new luxury wine division...