Innholdsfortegnelse for May 1, 2021 i Shanken's Impact Newsletter

THE BOLLINGER FAMILY, KNOWN FOR its namesake Champagne brand and other French luxury wines and spirits, has agreed to acquire Oregon stalwart Ponzi Vineyards for an undisclosed sum. Established by Willamette Valley pioneers Dick and Nancy Ponzi in the late 1960s, Ponzi is positioned firmly at the upscale tier. Its core wines include Pinot Gris ($20), Chardonnay Reserve ($40), Tavola Pinot Noir ($27), Laurelwood Pinot Noir ($42), and Pinot Noir Reserve ($70). Annual production is approximately 30,000 cases. New York-based importer and marketer Vintus handles both Bollinger and Ponzi in the U.S. “With Bollinger’s resources, leadership and vision, the development of the Ponzi brand with our distributor partners will only accelerate, particularly given the powerful growth in interest for exceptional Pinot Noir,” Vintus CEO Michael Quinttus told IMPACT.…

E.&J. GALLO HAS MADE ANOTHER PLAY TO BOLSTER ITS RAPIDLY EXPANDING spirits portfolio, agreeing to acquire Impact “Hot Brand” RumChata for an un-disclosed sum. Founded in 2009 by master blender Tom Maas, RumChata’s core offering is a 13.75% abv mix of dairy cream, rum, and a proprietary sweet spice blend, retailing at $22 a 750-ml. The lineup has since grown to include MiniChatas, 25-ml. cups for consumers wanting to add RumChata to their coffee; RumChata Cold Brew; and most recently RumChata Limón. It has also marketed successful seasonal editions like RumChata Peppermint Bark for the holiday season. RumChata roared out of the gate, topping a half-million cases by 2015. In the ensuing years its progress flattened out some, but last year marked a renewed surge in which the brand jumped…

TEXAS-BASED CANTEEN SPIRITS IS SET TO OPEN A NEW 50,000 SQUARE FOOT production facility, as demand continues to rise sharply for its RTD portfolio. Canteen recently earned Impact “Hot Brand” honors after jumping from 90,000 cases in 2019 to more than 500,000 cases last year. The company’s new Austin facility is slated to be fully operational by June. It will bolster capacity for both Canteen’s namesake vodka sodas as well as sister brand Cantina Tequila sodas.…

THE WINE GROUP AND ANHEUSER-Busch have collaborated to produce 101 North, a new California wine brand. Retailing in the accessibly priced segment at $7 a 750-ml., the initial lineup includes Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, and Moscato. Additionally, Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio are available in 500-ml. Tetra Paks retailing at $5 apiece, with each holding three glasses of wine. The 101 North Wine Collection will join Anheuser-Busch’s Beyond Beer portfolio, which includes brands like Cacti Agave Spiked Seltzer, Cut-water Spirits, BonViv and others.…

WITH A STAR-STUDDED LIVE AUCTION featuring chef Guy Fieri, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy and others, Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits and Wine Spectator’s Conscious Collection Auction raised more than $1.6 million for restaurant and bar workers who have been impacted by the pandemic. After days of online bidding, Zachy’s gaveled open a livestream auction April 9, allowing wine lovers to bid on more than 100 exceptional lots of wines, spirits, and unique experiences. The auction raised a combined $1,477,600. That was added to a $100,000 donation from Wine Spectator and $25,000 from Aviation Gin. The top lots? One bidder won the chance to spend three nights at Il Palagio, Sting and Trudie Styler’s Tuscan winery, including a dinner with the music legend, his wife, and their wine-making consultant Riccardo Cotarella.…

ONE OF NAPA VALLEY’S MOST PROMI-nent vintners, Bill Harlan, is stepping away from Harlan Estate after 40 years. “I have often said that, when I reach the age of 80, the time will have come to turn over the leadership of our family winegrowing domain to the next generation,” Harlan wrote in a letter to Wine Spectator. Harlan turns the reins over to his son Will, who will oversee Harlan Estate and Bond, as well as Promontory, at which he has held a leadership role since 2017. Will will also continue to oversee The Mascot, a brand he founded using grapes that didn’t make the cut for the Harlan Estate Cabernet blend. • Edrington Americas has named Raul Gonzalez as managing director, USA, among a number of other appointments to…

WHILE CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN CHALLENGING across the board in the drinks market over the past year, imported wine has been especially vulnerable due to its reliance on the largely closed on-premise arena and tariffs on key countries of origin. Bottled table wine imports to the U.S. fell 8.7% last year, with tariffed countries like France, Spain, and Germany bearing the brunt of the decline, while Italy, Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina managed to carve out growth. But while shipments suffered last year, those numbers don’t tell the whole story. The top 20 imported table wines in the U.S. showed impressive depletion growth of 16.5% to an aggregate 35 million cases—an increase of nearly 9 million cases compared with a decade earlier—as consumers gravitated to well-known brands. That resilient performance shows that…

EVEN AS THE HARD SELTZER CRAZE continues in the beverage alcohol market-place, many vintners are now trying to capitalize on the fast-rising “Better for You” wine segment, as American drinkers continue to crave health- and wellness-oriented products. These new wines boast fewer calories, fewer carbo-hydrates, and even lower alcohol—and most of the brands have zero residual sugar. But marketers also get more bang for their buck, as these healthier alternatives generally sell for above-premium prices at retail. The most widely known and largest-selling brand in the segment—California’s Fitvine—has actually been around since 2015, when it became available in the DTC space. It was launched at retail in 2017, initially at Whole Foods. Fitvine’s wines average less than 1 gram of sugar per liter, or less than 0.09 grams per 5-ounce glass.…

MOËT HENNESSY POSTED NET SALES UP 36% ON AN ORGANIC BASIS TO €1.5 BIL-lion ($1.8b) in its first quarter ended in March. While the company’s results partially benefited from lapping the early part of the lockdown period at the end of last year’s first quarter, its sales are still up an impressive 17% compared to the same quarter in 2019, a fairer comparison. Moët Hennessy’s Champagne volume rose 22% year-on-year in the first quarter, with Europe and the U.S. making gains, while Hennessy Cognac jumped by 28%. Hennessy grew an estimated 19% to 4.7 million cases in the U.S. last year, according to Impact Databank. While noting that the operating environment remains volatile due to the pandemic, the company said that demand continues to be robust in the U.S. overall,…

• OREGON-BASED HOOD RIVER DIS-tillers is launching Timberline Vodka, a new brand. Distilled in a dual-column, 2,000-liter pot still, Timberline Vodka is made with grain and 14 varietals of Pacific Northwest apples, then proofed to 40% abv. Targeted to lovers of the outdoors, the brand has three labels that feature a hiker, a skier, and a snow goose, though the product inside the bottle is the same. As part of the brand’s outdoor spirit, it is a partner of the non-profit The Freshwater Trust, which works to preserve and restore freshwater eco-systems. Timberline is now available to purchase at select retailers in the Pacific Northwest, where it retails for $25 a 750-ml. • CAZADORES, PART OF THE BACARDI portfolio, is rolling out a new line of Tequila-based canned cocktails. Initially…