Afternoon Brief, April 10th

Scientists Launch Wine Bottle Washing Project in Finger Lakes, New York: Glass scientists in New York State are studying ways to wash and reuse wine bottles in order to mitigate rising costs for Finger Lakes producers...

The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara, Announces Spring Winemaker Dinner Series Featuring Jonata & the Hilt Estate, and Grassini Family Vineyards

The popular intimate gatherings take place this April, and May, highlighting superb wines and education by the winemakers, paired with culinary delights from Angel Oak’s Chef de Cuisine, Diego Seitour […]

Afternoon Brief, July 31st

DTC Market Trends Toward a Re-Balanced Standard: The direct-to-consumer wine market is still trying to figure out what the new normal looks like. Is it the pandemic’s hyper growth? Is it the pre-pandemic’s pretty good growth? Or is it something else entirely?

Wine on tap programs nationwide are recognized for collectively saving more than 35 million bottles from the landfill with the use of reusable steel kegs to support their wine on tap programs.  Sonoma, CA, July 24, 2023 – Free Flow Wines has announced 20 new winners at the 10th annual KEGGY Awards, recognizing the exceptional impacts these partners have made in reducing waste from the landfill and CO2 emissions. The KEGGY Awards were created in 2014 to recognize winery partners for their commitment to sustainability by choosing reusable stainless-steel kegs - a truly zero-waste package. Each Free Flow keg holds the equivalent of 26 bottles of wine and will eliminate approximately 1,560 bottles from the landfill over its lifetime.  As of today, Free Flow Wines and their partners have saved more than 35 million bottles, or 53 million pounds of waste, from the landfills and the equivalent of over 63 million pounds of CO2 from the atmosphere. Each reusable steel keg will sa

Afternoon Brief, November 2nd

RNDC Completes Acquisition of Young’s Market Company, LLC : Republic National Distributing Company, the national distributor and broker of premium wine and spirits, announces it has acquired from Young’s Holdings, Inc. the remaining fifty percent of Young’s Market Company, LLC, which includes distribution operations in the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming...

Shep Hyken is the “CAO” (Chief Amazement Officer) of Shepard Presentations, and is a leading expert on the topic of excellent customer service and experience. As well as a nationally known keynote speaker, he is also author of several books on the topic, including The Convenience Revolution (Sound Wisdom, 2018). We recently reached out to Hyken to discuss customer service and experience in the wine industry. Listen to the full interview here or read along below Milton Cornwell: Today I’m here with my dear friend, Shep Hyken, who is arguably one of the foremost experts on delivering amazing customer service, managing the customer experience, and creating brand loyalty. As a keynote speaker, his client engagements take him all over the country (and internationally for that matter!) for companies like AT&T, Disney, Lexus, SAP, American Express, and coincidentally, our local favorite In-N-Out Burger. He is a New York Timesand Wall Street Journal bestselling author and inducted into t