Dec 31, 2015
In 1965 per capita consumption of wine (PCCW) was flat from the year before. It neither grew nor decreased year over year It marked the moment when PCCW rates would go on a spectacular 18 year increase of 140% In 1986 the growth of PCCW was flat from the year before and would mark the year when PCCW decreased by 77% over the next 8 years. In 1995 the growth of PCCW was flat from the year before and would…
Dec 9, 2015
Very quietly, and through a series of important posts, the Hinman & Carmichael “Booze Rules” blog has become one of the most important sources of information concerning liquor law anywhere on the Internet. A recent Booze Rules post by John Hinman and John Edwards demonstrates this. Somewhat directly entitled “ABC DISMISSES SAVE MART GRAPE ESCAPE ACCUSATION BUT REFUSES TO ADOPT JUDGE’S DECISION FINDING NO STRICT LIABILITY FOR ABC VIOLATIONS”, the new Booze Rules post demonstrates how the California Alcohol Beverage…
Dec 7, 2015
When a mere four distributors control more than 60% of all wine distribution in the United States, isn’t it time to reconsider the privileged place and government protection from competition that these distributors receive via the state-mandated three-tier system? With the merger of Wirtz Beverage and Charmer-Sunbelt and the reported merger of Southern Wine & Spirits and Glazers, you now have four companies that control 61% of wine distribution in America: 1) Southern/Glazers, 2) Wirtz/Charmer, 3) Republic and 4) Young…
Dec 2, 2015
It has been an interesting year in wine. No single story dominated the wine news. There was no economic disaster. There was nothing that had an overwhelming impact on the wine world. Still, a diverse set of very interesting stories emerged from the U.S. wine world. Below are those stories from 2015 I thought most important, particularly for members of the wine trade. They are in no particular order. However, I can say that the story listed as #1 will…
Nov 20, 2015
Jeff Siegel (aka “The Wine Curmudgeon“) is celebrating his 8th year writing about wine at his blog. Jeff’s is a great blog and despite not agreeing with him on occasion, I’ve enjoyed reading “The Wine Curmudgeon for all eight of the years he has been toiling away attempting to expose the world to low-priced wines (his reviews are almost always of those wines that are $20 and under). But Jeff is in a mood. Recently, he bemoaned with a heavy…