With no and low-alcohol categories on the rise and the sober-curious boogeyman around every corner, we needn’t wait for rock bottom to take a hard look at our sales strategy and make a change today.  While much of the wine & spirits industry points the finger at Gen Z & Millennials, the World Health Organization or the Surgeon General, the truth is there’s only one entity responsible for the trajectory of our revenue.  According to Navy SEALs Jocko Willink and Leif Babin in Extreme Ownership, when “problems feel overwhelming and insurmountable . . . it’s our human nature to shift blame, find excuses, and avoid consequences. But taking ownership over what went wrong and accepting the reality of the situation gives you complete control over how you can solve these challenges.” Trying to sell alcohol in 2025 is tough. Plain and simple, no way around it. With that acknowledged, let’s explore what we can do about it.   A Sign of

Afternoon Brief, May 15th

Wine and Basketball: Brands Partner with the NBA and WNBA to Attract New Fans: Leveraging the decades-long link between basketball and wine to attract new consumers...

Afternoon Brief, May 8th

In a Major Pinot Noir Purchase, Constellation Buys Sta. Rita Hills Icon Sea Smoke: The Santa Barbara County winery was a key player in the region’s Pinot Noir and Chardonnay renaissance...

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, February 9th

Preliminary 2023 Winegrape Crush Report at 3.67 Million Tons: The California Department of Food and Agriculture Preliminary Grape Crush Report, containing tons crushed and prices of wine grapes sold during the 2023 harvest, has been released...

Afternoon Brief, February 7th

Prohibition Era Over? State House Passes Bill to Legalize Sale of Liquor, Wine in Small Towns: The House passed a bill that would no longer prohibit Mississippi’s small towns from selling liquor and wine — a Prohibition-era carryover still enforced for municipalities in many “dry” counties...

Afternoon Brief, February 2nd

‘Emergency’ €80 Million Promised to French Winegrowers Amid Farmer Protests: France's government has promised an €80m 'emergency fund' for crisis-hit winemakers, as ministers also try to de-escalate widespread farmer protests covering many agricultural sectors...

Afternoon Brief, January 31st

Washington the Winner in Bad Wine Year: Each year, when many of Sonoma County’s 1,800 certified sustainable winegrape growers gather for the Sonoma County Winegrowers’ (SCW) annual meeting, they want to know what is next for one of the world’s most sustainable winegrowing regions. Today, they learned the answer to their question...

Built by a distributor for distributors, LibDib’s Software Platform is now available for SaaS licensing and technology services   San Jose, CA, January 11, 2024 𑁋LibDib today announced the formation of LibTech, a Software as a Service (SaaS) Division focused on providing platform licensing and services to alcohol distributors worldwide. LibTech makes LibDib’s proven software platform capabilities available for SaaS licensing. Pricing varies based on the experience(s) required, number of data points, and/or the amount of transactions.  LibTech has proven success and is currently transmitting over $1B of orders annually. The platform is highly scalable and has the ability to service distributors of all sizes, in any market.   Salesperson Experience: On and offline sales ordering capabilities with real pricing and availability information, a collaborative sales customer shared cart, sell sheets and lists. Customer Experience: Customized e-commerce with A