Harpers Wine & Spirit Magazine’s Post

Last weekend we attended SommCon Conference & Beverage Expo - a world leading wine and spirits expo comprising of tastings, education, networking, mentorship and competitions. It was our first time exhibiting in the US, and was a bit last minute, but we decided to enter the wine competition, the SommCon 2024 Concours d'Vin. Now we knew that : - the competition was blind - we were being judged against alcohol wines - there was no category for non-alcoholic And guess what? BOLLE Blanc de Blancs and BOLLE Rosé both won Silver medals ! Let’s dwell on this for a moment. A panel of top sommeliers and Masters of Wine, not knowing we were non-alcoholic and judging us against full alcohol wine criteria, gave both of our wines silver medals!! Wow. One judge spoke to us after the results were out saying "I didn't know you were non-alcoholic - we awarded you Silver - that’s incredible" The feedback from the rest of the show was amazing. We had Master Sommeliers, Masters of Wine, CEOs, Distributors, Owners stunned at the quality of our product. This is the standard that BOLLE sets itself. We don't really care to compete with other non-alcoholic wines, we want to be compared to the best wines. Once again, BOLLE has proved itself to be not just a delicious drink but a wine that can go up against alcoholic wines and win! Tasting is Bollieving #wine #competition #winning #bestwine #incredible

Why Is Foley Family Wines Adding Two Stacks and Killowen to Their Portfolio? Uncover the Strategic Move. #FoleyFamilyWines #TwoStacks #Killowen #PortfolioExpansion #WineIndustry #SpiritsIndustry #StrategicAcquisition #PremiumBrands #IndustryGrowth #BusinessInsights

Steering the Course: Insights from Larry Jorgensen, CEO of Wines of Western Australia. From the Historic Swan Valley to World-Class Margaret River, Western Australia’s Wine Regions Embody Diversity and Excellence. Western Australia’s wine industry, once centered around the historic Swan Valley, has undergone a profound transformation since the 1970s. Today, this expansive state is home to nine diverse wine regions, producing just 2% of Australia’s national output yet contributing 20% of the nation's fine wines.  Article provided by Beverage Trade Network. https://lnkd.in/dvdJYEEi

How Tasting Wine Differs From Tasting Spirits - Part 1. Read the full article on the blog: https://lnkd.in/ebuUxZxF GDE SERVICES LLC

Category Check-In: We know the low and no-alcohol beverage space has been on the rise, but it’s always good to hear from the experts. We were enthused to read the latest comments from Cindy L. Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits executive vice president and general manager, Fine Wine, to Shanken News Daily. Key takeaways: 💡 On-premise is beginning to grow in the independent channel as more non- or low-alcohol wines are added as options to wine lists. 💡N/A sparkling options are on the rise with the trend toward regular sparkling consumption vs. special occasion only. 💡The consumers driving category growth are the legal drinking age to 35-year-old group. Read the full take at Shanken News Daily (link in comments). #DrinksIndustry #NonAlcoholicDrinks #NonAlc #ThoughtLeadership

Wine Sales Decline in 2024: How the Industry Can Innovate to Win Back Consumers Amid Growing Competition from Spirits and Cocktails. Food Dive, Dale Stratton, Danny Brager #WineMarketShift #ChardonnayDecline #AlcoholTrends #BeverageInnovation #WSWAInsights.

My Next Webinar: Growing Overall Wine Consumption, What Needs To Be Done. This is a big one and I encourage wine brands all over the world to attend and get involved in pushing the wine category. As we know the category needs to adjust to the changing consumer behaviours and consumptions. I will be moderating a discussion with some actionable insights with some of the leading wine associations heads and wine regions advocates around the world on how we can grow wine consumption. All entrants of London Wine Competition London Competitions and Sommeliers Choice Awards Sommeliers Choice Awards will also get a recorded video and a summary of report on how we can do this. In this talk, we discuss the current issues of having young wine drinkers to drink wine again, how we should make wine more approachable and how we need to position wine for the next generation. The points of discussion: 1. Wine and Consumer: How we can talk to the new consumer 2. Wine and Culture: How we can use current culture to grow wine consumption 3. Wine and Trade: How trade can push wine in new way 4. Wine and big companies: How leading companies around the world can help 5. Wine and transparency: How can we story tell the sustainability and transparency 6. Wine and health: What can we do here Who to attend: (Globally) Wine Associations around the world Wineries Wine trade Date: September 20, 2024 Time: 10 am UK time Please RSVP here and we will email you the Zoom link. See link in story as well. More updates will come on London Competitions and Sommeliers Choice Awards about this as well this week on how to register and what the report will include. Please see the RSVP form here and also which countries and associations will be in my panel. I will be updating the panel speakers as we have more heads join. I also encourage or request BIG wine retailers around the world, companies and brands to attend the call and help the category and pitch in. We want to learn from you on how wine can communicate to young consumers and grow the consumption there. I have take some images in my graphics here to show some great companies doing the communication the right way. Here is the RSVP link: https://lnkd.in/diPbX4HV London Competitions International Bulk Wine & Spirits Show USA Trade Tasting USA Ratings Sommeliers Choice Awards Paris Wine Cup Sommelier Business New York Drinks Guide London Drinks Guide Chicago Drinks Guide #WineBusiness #DrinkWine #Wine

Wine Brands aspiring to grow in the UK market, This is a really beneficial webinar for you as various crucial topics will be discussed. #LondonWineCompetition #BeverageTradeNetwork #BrandEnhancement

We just spent two incredible days at the Oxford Wine Festival, where 1,000 wine lovers tasted 500 wines from 50 wineries—and one little non-alcoholic wine brand. We weren’t sure what to expect, but we stayed true to our belief that BOLLE is a wine brand first, that just happens to be non-alc. The results... We conducted around 400 tastings (customers paid for each one), and the reactions were eye-opening: 5-10%: Actively searching for a good non-alc wine. 30-40%: Tried it before realizing it was non-alc and were stunned "would not have known" 30-40%: Skeptical, but after convincing them to taste, they loved it. 10-20%: Refused to try—“Why pay for something without alcohol?” What stood out was that over 80% of people had tried non-alc beer and liked it. But 0% had previously tried a non-alc wine they enjoyed (literally nobody). By the end, we converted 400 people into Bollievers. Next time someone asks if they like non-alc wine, they’ll say: "Yes, we like BOLLE." #oxford #wine #tasting #skeptical

Fascinating. The composition of U.S. wine consumption has changed completely. In 1960, more than 3/4 of wine consumption consisted of dessert & fortified wine; now, this is just above 2%. In contrast, the table wine segment has grown from 19% to almost 90%. Most of these changes already occurred between 1960 and 1980. https://lnkd.in/e75rBNz6