Wine – Keep It Overproof!

Gambrinus Takes Texan Mindset to “Domestic” Space

Dear Client: Gambrinus’ Spoetzl Brewery (makers of Shiner Beer) is entering the “classic” beer space with a classic of its own: Texas Special. Indeed, the company is digging deep into its vault to revive the heritage brand, believing it has found white space in the increasingly crowded space of domestic, er American lagers with a decidedly Texan approach. It plans to compete in the space this year with Texas Special at a “fair” price point and sizable investment, all while keeping a healthy distance from the notable Shiner brand. We’ll dive deeper...

Champagne prices plunge as UK grocers intensify pre-Christmas discount battle

With Black Friday approaching, UK supermarkets have unleashed a fresh wave of aggressive Champagne discounting. Own-label bottles have dropped to as low as £11.58, while major brands are also being swept into “double-bubble” promotions as grocers fight for festive market share. As we predicted last month (DB 19/09/2025), the Champagne discounting in UK grocers has stepped up a gear. With Black Friday only one week away, we have seen the lowest price for Champagne in the grocers drop to just £11.58 at ASDA on the current ‘double bubble’ deal, while Tesco has...

Distribs Across the Country Share Best Practices

Dear Client: We’ve talked to a ton of distributors over the past week to get a feel for how they’re adapting in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. One common theme, no matter the person’s time in the beer industry, “I’ve never seen anything like this.” One distributor described it to me as, “It’s like flying a 747 right above the treeline. You’ll probably be okay, but you can’t make any mistakes.” We are truly in uncharted waters. So with essentially every wholesaler learning on the fly right now, we figured it would...

On-Premise Closed for Business

Dear Client: The on-premise is now shut down in more than half the states in the U.S. In our latest tally, we identified 28 states that have ordered bars and restaurants to shutter. Here’s what the updated list looks like: California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida (bars, nightclubs shut down, but restaurants can still operate for now at 50% capacity) Illinois Indiana Iowa Kentucky Louisiana Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota New Hampshire New Jersey New York North Carolina Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Utah* Vermont Washington West Virginia Wisconsin AND...

Naked Wines suspends orders but indies carry on

Online retailer Naked Wines has announced it is not taking any more orders for the time being but many independent and fine wine merchants in the UK and elsewhere are stepping up their deliveries. Naked Wines announced earlier this week that it would not be taking any more orders for the time being due to a spike in demand. An exact reason for this was not made clear in a notice sent to members earlier this week but it is highly likely due to stock piling caused by coronavirus worries. On the other hand, with more people working from home or self-isolating, many independent and fine wine merchants...

Customers boost online retailer sales but fulfillment concerns remain

Specialist wine retailers are reporting booming online wine sales as customers turn to online delivery, but there are some concerns about maintaining fulfilment. Tom Ashworth, CEO of Yapp Brothers said the Wiltshire-based wine merchant had seen its busiest week online since Christmas. Sales were up 70% organically compared to the previous year, without any additional marketing to achieve it and paidsearch traffic (ie traffic coming from google ads) was up 100% on last year. “Last week’s online activity was much more dramatic than normal and we saw some quite hefty orders,”...

Many More Mandatory On-Premise Closings; The Rise of the Neo-Speakeasy?

Posted in Beer, Industry.

Dear Client: By now, over 20 states have all announced the closure of bars and restaurants in wake of COVID-19, while still allowing carryout and delivery. That list includes: California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Illinois Indiana Kentucky Louisiana Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota New Hampshire New Jersey New York Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island Vermont Washington And D.C. Notably, some of those states mentioned above are offering up solutions to these on-premise establishments during this temporary shutdown. As Wine & Spirits Daily reported yesterday, the Distilled...

London wine club 67 Pall Mall to remain open, quoting Churchill

Despite the escalating Covid-19 crisis in London, private members’ wine club 67 Pall Mall has today announced its decision to stay open with rousing words from wartime British statesman Winston Churchill. In an email sent to all members by 67 Pall Mall founder and CEO Grant Ashton, it was stated that in was in both the interests of the club’s customers and its staff to stay open. Ashton wrote, “We believe that our two foremost responsibilities as a business is to you, our members, and our duty of care to our staff by keeping them all fully employed.” Having acknowledged...

The show goes on: New products that would’ve launched at ProWein

Despite ProWein’s cancellation due to the ongoing threat posed by coronavirus (Covid-19), business in the trade goes on, even though the show on this occasion has not. Here’s db’s rundown of products that were due to be launched at ProWein this week and the alternative plans producers are having to make to showcase them. Digital seems to be the way forward, as producers scamble to get their new launches in front of customers and clients, but as one exhibitor said, “We’re working with our clients as best we can – by video conference and email – to try...

Wines from Spain annual trade tasting postponed

Wines from Spain has announced it will postpone its annual trade tasting in London. The event, which was meant to take place at London’s Sky Garden on 31 March, will be moved to a later date. More than 60 leading importers and exporters were due to present their Spanish wine portfolios to the British trade including a selection of the latest vintages and releases available to the UK market. Fernando Muñoz, director at Wines from Spain, said the industry body had been monitoring the evolution of the Coronavirus outbreak in the UK and in Spain in the run-up to the end of the month. “Whilst...

Tag: Wine