$22 Billion in Inventory: Why Big Alcohol’s Problem Is Everyone’s Problem: Reports that the largest alcohol companies are sitting on $22 billion in inventory should make every independent and mid-size Maker and distributor pause. Not because it’s your inventory, but because it’s clogging everyone else’s shelves…
New data from consumer intelligence platform Tastewise shows once-viral food and drink formats are slipping fast.
Non-alcoholic drinks aren’t just growing in presence on retail shelves — many bar owners are also considering ways to incorporate them into their beverage programs. But it can be a tricky business model to execute, as the industry has yet to figure out the best ways to price zero-proof concoctions. Is a non-alcoholic beverage program …
The VinePair Podcast: Have Bars Bought in Too Heavily to Non-Alc Programs? Read More »
Important figures in the drinks world often leave massive legacies behind their names — think Veuve Clicquot and Jack Daniel’s. But significant parts of their stories can easily go unnoticed, and reviving those lost details is largely the ethos behind Castle & Key. Castle & Key is a distillery located in Frankfort, Ky., that honors …
There are many reasons US consumers aren’t drinking wine, but health isn’t as important as you might think.
On Tuesday (20 January), French President Emmanuel Macron sharply criticised US President Donald Trump after Trump threatened to impose 200% tariffs on French wine and Champagne, a warning that came amid rising tensions over US-European relations and Trump’s push for US control of Greenland. The dispute deepened after Macron declined to participate in a US-led peace …
How a 200% tariff on French wine could impact the US market Read More »
Every year or so, a mainstream media outlet assigns one of its staffers a big, breathy story to inform its readers that California grape farmers are ripping out their vines. Have you heard? Acres plowed under! Horrible! To quote but one example of the sub-genre, a Sonoma-datelined October 2025 dispatch from The Wall Street Journal’s …
Despite a recent overabundance of grapes, California could face a paradoxical shortage of wine this year.
Aglianico is one of the great grapes of southern Italy — the most important red variety of Campania and Basilicata. And until I tasted two first-rate examples from the relatively obscure Molise, I hadn’t realized that the hearty Aglianico is also the signature red grape of that region, Italy’s second smallest, which lies just south …
Much of the unspoken code of conduct for model bar guests sounds like common sense. Be kind. Have patience. Don’t get too drunk. And when bartenders — who have experience working in the bartending trenches — visit a fellow bar, hospitality, anticipation, and graciousness aren’t just second nature; they could well become Olympic sports. Rumor …
Does Trade Etiquette Still Exist Among Bartenders? Read More »