Afternoon Brief, August 24th

Tornado and Hail Devastate Famed Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vineyard: Vieux Télégraphe's Daniel Brunier and other top winemakers report that a violent August storm inflicted heavy damage on La Crau and other choice vineyards...

Old & Obscure Is New & Cool in Wine Country

As climate change charts new, unpredictable temperature and weather patterns, the pursuit of outstanding wine means turning to lesser-known grape varieties.  —Kathleen Willcox Old, rare grape varieties are trending in New World wine countries. The reason? That old bugaboo, climate change. Grapes are delicate, and a change in temperature of a few degrees can turn […]

The world took a drastic shift to the digital world in 2020. Many businesses, specifically ones that strived within the offline world—through brick-and-mortar retail sales, tasting rooms, and events—have had to adapt to the changing world. In brick-and-mortar stores, consumers wanting to buy wine, beer, spirits, cannabis products, and other products can touch the product, twirl it, pick it up, read the label, run their fingers over the package, and decide on the spot if they wanted to purchase it or not. Labels and packaging are extremely important for in-person retail sales. Typically, it takes the shopper around eight seconds to decide what products they will purchase—making that first impression is essential. With the COVID-induced shift to digital retail and ecommerce sales—which is expected to last long after the pandemic is over—how can wine, beer, spirits, cannabis product producers bring the label experience to customers online? TAKE LABELS SERIOUS