Listen to Industry News and other Insights on the Bevcast Podcast Channel on Soundcloud. Bevcast Weekly News is a news series giving you a quick look at the most important news, trends, and developments of the week.

Bevcast Weekly News is brought to you by Sommeliers Choice Awards, which is an international wine competition that Beverage Trade Network hosts in San Francisco where wines are judged by Food Parability, Typicity, Quality, Value, and Package. Submission is now open for the 2019 Sommeliers Choice Awards.

Please visit SommeliersChoiceAwards.com for more information on how winning a Sommeliers Choice Awards medal can help you grow your wine brand. So gear up for your week ahead – these are our top stories of the week.

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Instagram Gains as a Marketing Platform for Wine Brands

Vineyards and wineries are increasingly tapping into the visual nature of Instagram to build relationships with wine drinkers. Meininger recently profiled the types of tips and tricks that wine brands across Europe are using in order to build their profile and personality.

Using Augmented Reality To Create New Interactive Wine Experiences

The Freakshow wine brand from Michael David Winery has created an augmented reality experience in the form of an interactive face filter app. Wine fans can join the “Freakshow Masquerade” by becoming their favorite character from the Freakshow wine brand. The best face filter will appear on future labels.

France, Brexit, and the Sudden Demand For Cheap French Wine

The uncertainty over Brexit and the future supply of French wine into the UK have created an entirely new phenomenon: British wine drinkers who travel across the English Channel by ferry in order to load up their cars with cheap “plonk.” It’s good business for the sprawling discount wine warehouses in cities like Calais.

Pernod Ricard Announces Launch of New Ten-Year Sustainability Strategy

Spirits conglomerate Pernod Ricard (the makers of Absolut vodka and Jameson whiskey) has created a new company-wide sustainability and responsibility strategy that will extend to the year 2030. It will include initiatives like reducing the company’s carbon footprint by 50% and creating 100% recyclable packaging.

Oregon Sparkling Wines Continue To Attract Attention

While Oregon is primarily known for its Pinot Noir wines, one category that is starting to generate a lot of media buzz is sparkling wines. There are several cool, high-elevation microclimates in the state where it is possible to grow the perfect grapes (including Pinot Noir and Chardonnay) for sparkling wine.

Gallo Signs Up as Major Supporter of Institute of Masters of Wine

While Gallo is consolidating its role in the under-$11 wine segment, it is not completely abandoning the high end of the market. E. & J. Gallo Winery is now the largest global supporter of the Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW). Gallo has 3 MW’s working for the company in senior roles.

In South Australia, Grape Yields Down By As Much as 50 Percent

There is a much different picture in South Australia, however, were hot and dry growing conditions are leading to a dramatic decline in grape yields. In some cases, grape growers are seeing yields fall by as much as 50%. The good news is that growers are predicting high-quality fruit.

Discount Retailers Continue to Roll Out Affordable Private Label Wines

Costco, Trader Joe’s and Target are three leaders when it comes to creating high-quality private label wines at affordable prices. In a recent tasting of 20 different wines from these retailers, the surprise winner was a bottle of wine that sells for less than $5 – Trader Joe’s Charles Shaw Pinot Grigio.

South African Wine Brand Launches New Line of Canned Wines

The canned wine phenomenon is catching on in South Africa as well. Lubanzi Wines from Cape Town will be the first South African producer with canned wines sold in the U.S. market. One major focus for Lubanzi is a more sustainable supply chain, made possible with recyclable cans.

Introducing the 2019 European Wine City: Perpignan

This year’s European Wine City is Perpignan, located in the Roussillon wine region in the South of France. The year’s wine festivities in Perpignan kick off with a Grenaches du Monde competition in mid-April. Other events in 2019 include a French-style pub crawl, summer cultural events, and gourmet food events.

Music + Wine = A New Type of Wine Marketing Experience

Napa Valley wine brand Tarpon Cellars is using the popular music streaming service Spotify as part of its overall marketing and branding. Every bottle of wine will soon include a curated Spotify playlist on the back label. The goal is to enrich the wine experience via music.

New Wine Skills Coming to an Amazon Echo Near You

The voice technology trend is starting to make an impact on the wine industry. Wine Enthusiast magazine has created a new Amazon Alexa skill that will make it possible for wine drinkers to find the perfect food and wine pairing simply by asking the Alexa voice assistant.

Chablis Wine Region Embraces New Sustainability Project for Methane Gas

Over 700 winemakers in France’s Chablis wine region are signing up to be part of an experimental, €48 million project that will help to transform natural by-products of the winemaking process into renewable biogas. This project, one of the first of its kind in the world, plans to be up-and-running by Autumn 2021.

The One Wine From Piedmont That Could Be Ready for a Breakout

When it comes to wines from Piedmont, everyone knows about Nebbiolo and Barbera. But what about Dolcetto? According to Forbes magazine, Dolcetto wines are “charming” and “delicious,” and should definitely be on the radar of wine lovers everywhere for their balanced acidity and medium-weight tannins.

Constellation Selling Portfolio of Lower-End Wine Brands to Gallo

In a blockbuster $1.7 billion deal, Constellation will sell a portfolio of 34 wine brands to E. & J. Gallo Winery. The list of popular brands includes wines that sell for less than $11, such as Ravenswood, Mark West, and Franciscan. Constellation will still retain a number of higher-priced brands as it embraces the wine premiumization trend.

Latest Bulk Wine Market Update For California Shows Supply Excess

Ahead of the much-anticipated 2019 California Grape Crush Report, Turrentine Brokerage is forecasting much higher supply of California bulk wine than in past years due to large yield per acre. There is not a single grape variety or region dominating market activity right now, with supply rising across the board.

Burgundy Prices Have Nowhere to Go But Up

According to Wine-Searcher, Domaine Leroy Musigny Grand Cru is now the world’s most expensive wine, selling for over $22,000 per bottle. Leroy is now more expensive than long-time price leader DRC (Domaine de la Romanée-Conti). Over the past 5 years, the price of Domaine Leroy Musigny Grand Cru has quadrupled.

Cupcake Vineyards and the Summer of Canned Wines

Look for affordable, easy-to-drink canned wines to be one of the biggest trends of the summer. Cupcake Vineyards has released two new canned wines (Sauvignon Blanc and Rosé) that it says are designed for summer festivals, beach vacations, and picnics. Canned wines are portable, sharable, unbreakable and sustainable.

New Zealand Wine Brand Now One of Most Admired in World

For the first time ever, a wine brand from New Zealand – Villa Maria – has been named one of the Top 3 “Most Admired Wine Brands in the World.” The annual list of admired wine brands, produced by Drinks International and Wine Intelligence, includes Penfolds from Australia (No. 1) and Torres from Spain (No. 2).

Wine Australia Looking for Marketing Partners in the USA

Ahead of the upcoming first-ever Aussie Wine Month in the United States, trade group Wine Australia has announced the availability of marketing grants for U.S.-based partners such as wholesalers and importers. The marketing money can be used for promotions, trade tastings, or simply for building awareness of Australian wines.

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Thank you again for listening to Bevcast. Once again, a quick reminder to enter your wines in the 2019 Sommeliers Choice Awards, the international wine competition that is organized by Beverage Trade Network in San Francisco that rates wines by Food Parability, Typicity, Quality, Value, and Package.

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