When you think of Brazil, you think of many culturally relevant markers- beaches, carnival, churrasco (Brazilian barbecue) and feijoada (the classic rich black bean, pork, and sausage stew), the two ‘national dishes’, and perhaps, as a beverage, cachaca, the powerful sugar cane distillate that is akin to rum and goes down so easy (especially in a caipirinha). What you likely don’t consider is their wine industry which, albeit largely unrecognized outside of Brazil, is healthy and thriving. Continue reading »

A tough question to answer. First off, the period that starts essentially around Halloween and ends just after that long brunch on New Year’s Day is probably the most important time of year for anyone in the wine (and spirits) biz as more than a disproportionate amount of sales and consumption happen in this time frame. When you hear your trade friends toss out that end of the year phrase OND what they mean is October/November/December- the holy trinity of wine sales quarters! Continue reading »

I was intrigued by an article that came out recently on Wine Business.com speaking of younger folks drinking habits with regards to their enjoyment of Champagne and other bubbly. This study, conducted via five focus groups by Sonoma State University and led by Dr. Liz Thach and Dr. Janeen Olsen (assisted by European based Dr. Steve Charters MW) is quite informative, and I suspect has been conducted to shed light on the buying habits and perceptions of younger LDA consumers to wine companies and producers of said fizzy wines. While there were some aspects of this study that were very encouraging with regards to the place of bubbly in the mix, others were not so. Read on… Continue reading »