Innholdsfortegnelse for July 15, 2020 i Shanken's Impact Newsletter

ANTHONY “TONY” TERLATO, WHO DEvoted his life to bringing great wines to American consumers as a retailer, distributor, importer and winery owner, died June 29. He was 86. “My brother John and I learned everything we know from our father. He taught us so much,” said Bill Terlato, CEO and president of Terlato Wine Group, the company his father established. “We were fortunate to have him for 86 years. We only wish it could have been more.” As founder and chairman of the Chicago-based Terlato Wine Group, an importer that markets top producers including Gaja, M. Chapoutier, Piper-Heidsieck, and Nino Franco, Tony introduced Americans to high-quality wine for decades, particularly Italian wines. He almost single-handedly put Pinot Grigio on the map in the United States. In the 1990s, Terlato’s company…

FRENCH LUXURY GOODS FIRM EPI will become a partner and controlling owner of Folio Fine Wine Partners, a Napa-based importer, marketing and distribution company owned by Michael Mondavi and his family. The price of the deal, which includes a 60% stake in the company but does not include Michael Mondavi Family wines, was not disclosed. EPI, the holding company of the Descours family, owns numerous upscale brands, including Piper-Heidsieck and Charles Heidsieck Champagnes and a significant stake in Italy’s Biondi-Santi. Folio has been the U.S. distributor for Charles Heidsieck for five years. Paolo Battegazzore will continue as Folio CEO with his existing leadership team, while Damien Lafaurie, president of EPI’s wine and Champagne division, will join Folio’s board. “They essentially don’t want to make any changes to management,” Mondavi said.…

AFTER SUPPLY CONSTRAINTS SLOWED growth in the United States for a few years, Cognac’s momentum has accelerated again. Last year import shipments rose 16.6% to 7.9 million 9-liter cases, more than twice their volume of just six years prior. Value growth to the U.S. was even more pronounced, surging 25.4% to over €1.5 billion ($1.7b), according to the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC). Led by Hennessy, which dominates the global market with a nearly 50% share, Cognac hit another all-time high in volume terms last year at more than 200 million bottles. The U.S. is by far the world’s largest market for Cognac, accounting for half of the world’s bottled exports. Hennessy is also the runaway leader in the U.S. and together with second-ranked Rémy Martin, comprises three-quarters of…

THE WINE GROUP HAS ENTERED THE low-calorie, low-alcohol drinks market with Cupcake LightHearted. The line is packaged in 750-ml. bottles and retails at $10. It has 80 calories per 5-ounce serving, with 8% abv and less than one gram of sugar. LightHearted is aimed at health-conscious consumers looking for an alternative to hard seltzers and other lower-alcohol drinks. LightHearted includes California Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Rosé, and Pinot Grigio. “We see this not as a replacement to wine, but as an opportunity to expand usage occasions,” Wine Group CMO Jeff Dubiel told Impact.…

WHILE MARKET CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN IN A STATE of flux lately due to the global pandemic, some of the key trends driving the drinks business in recent years have stayed true to form. Among them, the sterling growth of both American and Irish whiskies has continued unabated. According to Impact Databank, Irish whiskey remained the single fastest-growing segment of the U.S. spirits market in 2019, with an 8.5% increase to 4.63 million 9-liter case depletions. Even amid the pandemic, Irish whiskey is on pace for its 24th consecutive annual volume gain this year. Bourbon and Tennessee whiskies also continue to shine. Since 2010, the U.S. category has expanded by nearly 9 million cases, or more than 56%. Last year, Bourbon and Tennessee whiskies collectively grew by 5% to surpass 24…

TIM FORD OFFICIALLY BECAME CEO OF TREASURY WINE ESTATES ON JULY 1, taking over for Michael Clarke. Treasury’s new leader takes the helm at a time of unprecedented tumult in the market owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, global trade tensions, and other macro factors that will present challenges early in his tenure. Treasury has warned that EBITS for its fiscal year completed in June were down approximately 21% to A$535 million ($374m), including regional declines of approximately 14% in Asia, 37% in the Americas, 16% in Australia/New Zealand and 18% in Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Covid-19 has had “a significant impact on TWE’s trading performance across all geographies,” the company said, adding that it cannot provide earnings guidance for the current fiscal year due to continuing uncertainty in the…

ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO, JORDAN SILBERT, FOUNDER and CEO of Q Mixers, invested heavily in putting together a team to target the on-premise market in the U.S. The group made strong inroads, achieving a national distribution footprint. Last year, the company made a similar investment in boosting its off-premise presence. “This year we were expecting both to be growth engines of the company,” says Silbert. “And the first three months of the year, they were. Then all of a sudden in March bar and restaurant business basically went to zero and retail business has exploded.” Silbert says that Q Mixers more than doubled off-premise sales as people sought to make restaurant-quality cocktails at home. The last three months notwithstanding, the build has been slow, he says, but more and more…

IMPACT: What sets Empathy apart from other DTC and e-commerce models? Vaynerchuk: We wanted to build the best direct-to-consumer wine brand, zeroing in on the $20 price point, where we thought we could really deliver. The name comes from the idea that we have empathy both for the farmers growing the grapes and the consumer, and that we can be the glue between them and bring enormous value to both. It got off to a blistering start, on the back of our digital marketing, influencer marketing, Instagram ads, and features like our service where consumers can text feedback to us, our yearly subscription where you receive wines monthly or bimonthly, and finally, our ambition. Most DTC-only wine brands are cult wines with a mailing list. This was built more like…