Market Watch May 2024

A mid all the California winemaking families over the years who've become part of the Golden State’s history, there is one that has flown a bit under the radar. Riboli Family Wines was founded in 1917, and for much of its early history mainly operated in Los Angeles-where it is still headquartered today-and it wasn't until the 1980s that the family began buying vineyards in northern California. Through good times and lean times, the family has always stuck together, and today it’s in its third generation of family management and ownership, with a fourth generation actively involved in the business. The results are impressive: Today Riboli is a prominent producer and importer, with annual volume of 6 million cases and 26 brands in all. You may know them best for…

Gallo Offloads Washington Wines…. Seattle’s Ackley Brands has purchased Columbia Winery and Hogue Cellars from Gallo for an undisclosed sum. The buy bolsters Ackley’s wine portfolio, which also includes Montinore Estate, Tidalstar Vineyard, and First Sight. Columbia and Hogue will add roughly 130,000 cases to Ackley’s portfolio. At press time the deal was expected to close on April 23, with Ackley intending to retain Columbia and Hogue’s employees. The move is part of a wider expansion for Ackley Brands, with the company saying it plans to continue to boost its case production after the purchase. Taub Brings Companies Together…. The Taub family, owners of New York-based importer and marketer Palm Bay International and West Palm Beach, Florida-based fine wine merchants Taub Family Selections, has brought both operations together to…

Miami: Steak House Boasts Asian Influences Across The Menu The traditional American steak house is reimagined at Salty Flame, an Asian-inspired upscale concept opened by V&E Hospitality Group in March in Miami. The restaurant features a large bar that serves classic and new cocktails, as well as wines and sakes, which complement a varied menu of meat dishes, street fare, and sushi. Signature drinks include the Lily Pad, made with Spring 44 vodka, Angostura Orange bitters, ginger syrup, lemon and pomegranate juices, and cucumber, and the Lucky Tsunami, a blend of Lobos 1707 Tequila, Hypnotiq and St-Germain liqueurs, DeKuyper blue curaçao, lime juice, and simple syrup. The venue also offers several updated twists on classic cocktails, including a Zacapa rum-based Old Fashioned and a Suntory Toki whisky-based Mule (cocktails are…

Macallan Horizon Edrington has released the Macallan Horizon, a new whisky debuting in collaboration with luxury car maker Bentley. The single malt Scotch whisky ($50,000 a 700-ml.) is bottled at 46.6% abv and blends together six first-fill Sherry-seasoned oak casks to create the limited release. Macallan Horizon is packaged in a horizontal glass container, enclosed in a ribbon of aluminum, and surrounded by a wood and copper sculpture. The whisky is now available globally in limited quantities. For more information, visit Themacallan.com. Aberfeldy 21-Year-Old Malbec Cask Finish Aberfeldy single malt Scotch whisky, part of the Bacardi portfolio, has partnered with Argentinian vintner Finca Ambrosia on its latest cask finished release: a 21-year-old Malbec cask-finished single malt Scotch. Distilled in 2001, and matured for just over 20 years in Sherry and…

During the Covid-19 pandemic, many bars stayed afloat by offering cocktails to-go, and lawmakers supported the effort to sustain the on-premise industry and encourage consumer spending. Several states have extended their legislation allowing the sales of takeout drinks—or made laws allowing them permanently—at the behest of restaurant and bar operators who thought carry-out cocktails would continue to boost business. But now, as pandemic life stretches further into the rearview, many bartenders and restaurateurs are seeing a slowdown in demand for cocktails to-go. “They were very popular during the height of Covid, as diners had no other option to access high-end, bartender-crafted cocktails,” says Craig Biggins, the general manager of Oak at Fourteenth in Boulder, Colorado. “We still offer to-go cocktails, but there’s little demand for them. However, we’ll continue to…

The Riboli family has mastered the art of honoring its past while embracing its future, without getting too caught up in tradition and industry expectations. As a winemaking force in California for more than 100 years, the Ribolis have long aimed to do business their own way. The family put its winemaking roots in Los Angeles a century ago, and even as other wineries moved to more rural locales, the Ribolis have maintained their winery facility in California’s most populous city. Hospitality has always been a key tenet of the family’s business, and second-generation matriarch Maddalena was a driving force behind creating tasting room experiences for guests during a time when women were not prevalent in the wine world. And now, even though the company has vineyards in Napa and…