Innehållsförteckning för December 2024 från Market Watch

The modern California wine business was built by families—a wave of new, family-owned wineries that began in the 1960s and continued to blossom for years, captivated by the dream of growing grapes and making wine in the Golden State. But then the generations began to change, and in more recent years that shift brought changes in ownership too, with many family vintners selling out to larger players. Today the landscape of California wineries is very different than it was in those days, with more consolidation than anyone would have thought possible. But some family-owned wineries still survive and thrive, and J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines is one of them. J. Lohr was founded in 1974 by Jerry Lohr, who grew up on a South Dakota farm. From his early youth,…

Glenmorangie A Tale Of Ice Cream Moët Hennessy’s Glenmorangie has released A Tale of Ice Cream, the latest dessert-inspired limited offering from the single malt Scotch brand. The 46% abv malt ($100 a 750-ml.) is a blend of whiskies aged in both ex-Bourbon casks and casks specially toasted to extract more vanillin from the charred wood. The limited edition whisky is available in select retailers. For more information, visit Glenmorangie.com. Glen Grant 25-Year-Old Glen Grant single malt Scotch, part of the Campari portfolio, is launching a 25-year-old expression in the U.S. The new 46% abv 25-year-old ($1,000 a 750-ml.) is part of the brand’s Glass-house Collection, which also includes a 21-year-old whisky ($360) that debuted earlier this year, as well as a 30-year-old bottling ($3,000) that will hit the market…

Savory cocktails are not exactly new, but they’ve certainly grown more creative—and more popular—in recent years. “The Dirty Martini and the Gibson are great examples of savory cocktails that have always been around,” says Corey Tighe, bar manager at Quain-trelle in Portland, Oregon. He adds that in 2007 when Don Lee at the famed New York City speakeasy PDT created the Benton’s Old Fashioned, featuring bacon fat-washed Bourbon, the fat-washing technique took off and spurred the creation of more savory cocktails. “That’s when the bacon fat-washed Bloody Mary train began, and now every menu has at least one savory drink,” he says. “To me it seems like bartenders got bored of only using fruits, and savory ingredients opened more avenues for creativity.” Valerie Diehl, bartender and cocktail creator at Wildweed…

Stoli Group USA Files For Bankruptcy…. Stoli Group USA has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a Texas district court, claiming assets of $100 million to $500 million and liabilities of $50 million to $100 million. The company, which says it’s experiencing financial difficulties amid challenges within beverage alcohol—and was hit by a major cyberattack recently—is continuing to operate as it attempts to restructure. Stoli’s core vodka is estimated at over 1 million cases in the U.S. The brand was down 12% by volume in control states in the year to date through October. The portfolio also includes Elit vodka, Kentucky Owl American whiskey, and Cenote Tequila. Stoli is owned by Russian-born billionaire Yuri Shefler, who was exiled from Russia two decades ago, with his SPI Group now based in…

EVERY YEAR, MARKET WATCH MAGAZINE sister publication Impact Newsletter salutes the top performing wine, spirits, and beer brands in the U.S. market over the past decade with its “Blue Chip” Brands awards. Amid economic fluctuations, changing consumer tastes, and geopolitical upheaval, these standout brands have continued to thrive in the drinks market over the long term. To meet Impact’s Blue Chip criteria, brands must show at least ten consecutive years of volume growth, or average annual compound growth of at least 2% from 2013 through 2023 with positive growth in at least eight of those ten years. In addition, the brands must have maintained gross margins of at least $25 million last year. Whiskey And Tequila Shine This year, 35 spirits brands earned Impact Blue Chip honors. All of these…

D.G. Yuengling & Son stands out among leading U.S. beer marketers as an independent, family-owned brewery that produces only beer—not a flavored-malt beverage nor hard seltzer in its portfolio. It was also the fastest-growing beer marketer among the top ten last year. Oh, and it’s the oldest brewery in the country. The Pottsville, Pennsylvania-based brewery is certainly unique in an industry where the vast majority of malt beverage volume is sold by multi-national and publicly owned conglomerates. Moreover, while its competitors market products from coast to coast, Yuengling’s footprint is currently limited to 26 states, stretching from the Eastern Seaboard to the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. At a time when the U.S. beer market continues to bleed volume and lose share to other beverages, the perseverance and…

Alex Bookless has been in the food and beverage industry for over 20 years and “most of that time has been spent at craft cocktail bars,” she says. But her love for hospitality goes back before she started making elevated drinks. “I’ve worked in restaurants my whole career, including one café that put me, at the very much not-legal age of 17, in charge of making Bloody Marys and Mimosas during brunch shifts,” she says. “That’s when I developed the bug for marrying my love of hospitality with my creative side.” The San Francisco native moved to Washington, D.C. in 2004 for graduate school and soon after transitioned into hospitality full-time. From 2009 to 2014 she led the bar program at the original iteration of The Passenger bar before briefly…

Off-Premise News: LibDib Brings Platform To Washington, D.C. B2B e-commerce platform LibDib has expanded to Washington, D.C., bringing the three-tier compliant alcohol marketplace to the nation’s capital. With the announcement, producers can sign up to list their products on LibDib, while bars, restaurants, and retailers are now able to access the marketplace. According to LibDib, the marketplace contains thousands of listings, with a particular focus on small batch and unique wines and spirits. LibDib operates in 16 markets in the U.S., including its partnership with RNDC—RNDC On-Demand—which is the name of the platform in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Kentucky, Indiana, and Georgia. On-Premise News: Wally’s To Open New Hybrid Space Wally’s Wine & Spirits is in expansion mode, with the retailer planning to open a new 4,000-square-foot retail and dining space…

LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault has announced new leadership at Moët Hennessy, installing LVMH CFO Jean-Jacques Guiony as CEO of the drinks unit, and naming his son Alexandre Arnault as deputy CEO. The appointments are effective February 1. Guiony replaces Philippe Schaus, who has been with LVMH for two decades and “has decided to begin a new chapter in his career, focusing on non-executive roles,” according to the company. Schaus will stay on to support the new team during the first half of next year. Guiony has served as CFO of LVMH since 2004. The younger Arnault, 32, joins the luxury giant’s wine and spirits division from Tiffany & Co., where he is currently executive vice president of product and communications. Prior to that he helmed the Rimowa luggage…