Market Watch April 2022

A mid all the tribulations of the past two years, the spirits and wine business is still pushing forward. Yes, there has been harm done, most notably to our friends in the on-premise, but here too the growth continues to be very strong. In looking over the new list of our 2021 “Hot Brands,” you’ll see that our cup truly runneth over. On the spirits side, Tequila and whiskies accounted for 60% of the winners. That includes a remarkable 12 Tequila brands—a stunning achievement for a product limited to a very specific regional origin—made only in Jalisco and few other parts of Mexico. Whisk(e)y, which is made all over the world, had 13 winners. The rise of both Tequila and whisk(e)y represents one of the most remarkable stories in modern…

Napa’s Shafer Vineyards Sold…. One of Napa’s iconic wineries is changing hands. Doug Shafer, president of Shafer Vineyards, recently announced that Shinsegae Property, a luxury brand firm based in Seoul, South Korea, has acquired his family’s winery. While neither side disclosed details, the price tag is a reported $250 million. Shinsegae acquired the winery through its U.S. subsidiary Starfield Properties Inc. Shafer winemaker Elias Fernandez and the core wine-making and vineyard staff will continue with the winery for the foreseeable future. The deal includes 225 acres of vines. Shafer, who also will stay on, notes that he hopes the sale will allow him more time to explore projects and focus on the things that made him fall in love with the wine business. “For those who are fans of our…

More than two decades ago, Wine Spectator editor and publisher Marvin R. Shanken was granted a rare interview—the first and last of its kind—with the famously private Ernest Gallo, co-founder and chairman of what was then and continues to be among the world’s largest wine companies. The interview, at Gallo’s home in Modesto, California, nearly didn’t happen, and the full footage has never before been shown publicly. Now it is exclusively available on WineSpectator.com. Shanken explains that the long-withheld film was “a labor of love,” created as a birthday gift to Gallo, who had turned 90 the month before the interview was filmed on April 20, 1999. “To those that don’t really know Ernest Gallo … he was like the Henry Ford of the wine business,” Shanken says. “He created…

“It’s so much more fun to build something than to just go out and buy something.” “Either properly or improperly I’ve always tried to get my people to strive for perfection. We never achieve it. But by trying, we generally improve. I’ve never done anything that’s come close to being perfect.” “Julio always preferred gardening, raising things, being in the field, and he nicely gravitated toward planting vineyards. I, on the other hand, gravitated toward getting to know the retailer, getting to understand marketing, and I spent my time doing that.” “When we made the wine, then of course the next thing was to sell it, using common sense. Go and call the retailer, look his shop over and talk to him.”…

LA: Craft Cocktails Shine At Worldly California Bistro Featuring a cocktail menu that honors the history of Los Angeles and food that celebrates Mediterranean, Asian, and Italian flavors, Ella opened in February in Los Angeles’ Sixty Beverly Hills Hotel. The concept, created jointly by the hotel and Umbrella Hospitality Group, has a bustling bar program in an atmosphere that blends the bistro cultures of Europe and New York. Ella’s creative cocktail menu includes signatures like About Artemis, mixing coconut-washed Ford’s gin, Green Chartreuse, Scrappy’s Celery bitters, house-made falernum, and pineapple and lime juices, and the 21 Grams, made with Hennessy XO Cognac, Woodinville Bourbon, Mister Bitters Honeyed Apricot & Smoked Hickory bitters, house-made salted caramel syrup, and apple cider reduction (specialty drinks are $16-$50). The restaurant also emphasizes natural and…

Teeling Wood Single Pot Still Chinkapin Oak Whiskey Teeling Irish Whiskey, part of the Bacardi USA portfolio, has announced Wonders of Wood Single Pot Still Chinkapin Oak Whiskey. The release ($99 a 750-ml.) is distilled from 50% malted and 50% unmalted barley, matured entirely in new Chinkapin American White Oak barrels, and was bottled at 50% abv. The Wonders of Wood releases see Teeling experiment with more unique varieties of wood, pushing Irish whiskey into new frontiers. Roughly 6,700 bottles of Teeling’s new whiskey will be available in the U.S. beginning in June and July. For more information, visit Teelingwhiskey.com. Midleton Very Rare 2022 Pernod Ricard has announced Midleton Very Rare 2022, the latest release in the collection of rare and high-end Irish whiskeys from Irish Distillers. This year’s edition…