by Meredith Galante | Jan 28, 2020 | Wine & Spirits
If you go to Napa Valley’s Vineyard 29 and walk around the crops, the grapes almost look like they’re in bandages. But the bandage is actually a water-measuring device that sends the results to a computer. The data helps take the guesswork out of assessing whether the grapes are healthy. It makes the wine better and helps produce stronger vintages.
Winemakers are collecting as much data as they can to help create better production. The processes include drones flying in the sky to measure reflectance rates and software to measure the control tanks connected to those water-measuring bandages. (more…)
by Meredith Galante | Jan 21, 2020 | All, Wine & Spirits
The days of the milkman may be long gone…but the alcohol delivery days are just getting started.
Customers don’t even need to talk to someone to order their favorite Malbec or gin. On-demand apps, such as the booming Drizly, enable consumers to order alcohol delivered to their front door as quickly as within an hour in some major cities. With 80% of all drinking taking place off-premises, according to LEK Insights, getting alcohol from an app is a convenient and easy way to drink at home.
Drizly, which has made $67 million to date, reported a 700% year-over-year sales increase, so if liquor stores and brands are not on the app, they’re missing a huge revenue opportunity. (more…)
by Meredith Galante | Jan 14, 2020 | Wine & Spirits
The buzzing you hear in a vineyard is not coming from bees or any other insect, it’s the sound of a drone in the sky.
In a world where climate change ravages crops and prices generally keep rising, winemakers are saving money, fighting climate change, and saving time all through the use of drones.
Drones are driving down the cost of pesticides, fertilizer, and labor. They even help save water. Drones analyze the needs and health of crops when climate change is making them more unpredictable. Overall, drones help winemakers save time, and the wine is better because them. (more…)
by Rachel Donais | Jan 13, 2020 | General BI, Manufacturing & Supply Chain, Wine & Spirits
Everyone has his or her unique way of analyzing data to find the right answers. This is why self-service in a business intelligence tool is so important. It’s also why drag-and-drop dashboards are so appealing. I am not stuck with what someone else decided is a good way to look at the data. I can focus on what is important to me. Still, in the end, I need to share my findings with other people in a way they like if I want to get my point across.
Dimensional Insight’s “Stamps” are pre-designed charts that can be updated with different data and filters with a few clicks. Users can build dashboards in minutes. Let’s examine a hypothetical scenario to see how you can use these Stamps to optimize your analytics experience. (more…)
by Meredith Galante | Dec 23, 2019 | Wine & Spirits
A staggering 402 new gin brands have entered the spirits market since May 2016, 367 of which are premium brands.
Gin sales produced about $2.89 million in the United States in 2019, according to Statisa. Gin consumption in 2018 grew faster than any other spirit or alcoholic beverage, according to Fortune. The market is expected to continue to grow another 1.5% by 2023.
“Focusing on the craft and quality aspect of gin will encourage consumers to trade-up to buy better quality gin as a special treat for themselves,” William Grant & Sons predicted in a statement. William Grant sells Hendrick’s Gin.
While the thirst for premium gin is high, brands are still working to ensure their brand stands out. They’re experimenting with everything from flavors to colors to ensure it does.
(more…)
by Meredith Galante | Dec 17, 2019 | Wine & Spirits
If you’re at a bar and look around at the patrons, you might be surprised to find most of them holding an orange drink in their hand. At bachelorette parties, smiling women stare at the camera, holding skinny silver cans.
The cocktail bar patrons are drinking Aperol Spritzes and the bachelorette attendees are sipping spiked seltzers. Both groups are gravitating toward carbonated alcoholic beverages and sales in this category are spiking. Aperol sales are up 25% and the spiked seltzer market is valued at $550 million.
It’s hard to ignore that for consumers, bubbles are no longer just for champagne.
(more…)
by Meredith Galante | Dec 10, 2019 | Wine & Spirits
As the New Year begins, many consumers will be drinking less. Terms such as “Dry January,” meaning a month of no alcohol, have gained popularity for people looking to swear off alcohol after too many holiday parties.
But this shift toward drinking less is not reserved just to January. As Millenials continue to make up a larger segment of alcohol consumers, this health-focused group is reaching for low- or no-alcohol wines in a trend called “mindful drinking.”
This is a rising trend that smart distributors won’t ignore. (more…)
by Meredith Galante | Dec 5, 2019 | Wine & Spirits
The new “roaring ’20s” are nearly upon us, and this time they will look very different than they did last century, especially for the wine and spirits industry in the United States.
When 1920 started, so did Prohibition. But as 2020 starts, the wine and spirits industry is booming more than ever. So what will the next decade hold? So far the themes appear to be classic wine, canned cocktails, and technology.
We’ve compiled your guide to the top-10 trends to look forward to in 2020 and beyond as we enter this new decade. (more…)
by Meredith Galante | Nov 27, 2019 | Wine & Spirits
When ordering a cocktail at a bar, customers are used to the main ingredient being a liquor such as gin, vodka, or tequila.
But more and more often, wine is being used to create a new drink of choice for customers, lower the alcohol content of cocktails, and enable bartenders to cut back on pouring too much straight liquor.
“When used in cocktails, wines reduce the need to add excessive amounts of alcohol (that can make a drink too boozy) and can add a softer sweetness than syrups,” said a report by Southern Glazer, the US’ largest distributor of drinks.
According to Forbes, 23% of bartenders said they’d use rosé in their cocktails. With rosé sales up 48% from last year, capitalizing on the popularity of the popularity of it and other wines makes sense for brands and bartenders.
Wine is getting new life as a cocktail ingredient – and no, we don’t just mean just spritzes. Let’s look at why. (more…)
by Meredith Galante | Nov 19, 2019 | Wine & Spirits
The Millennial drinker loves experimenting and trying new things. But there’s often another motivation for them ordering flashy, rainbow-colored cocktails: their Instagram feeds.
For liquor brands, suggesting cocktails that can make a customer’s Instagram feed pop can benefit your sales and referral business. Instagram is a new way to reach, and market, to a larger audience.
After all, when young people post about alcohol they do so in a positive, social context 97% of the time, according to a study conducted by the Journal of Medical Internet Research. In these posts, people are holding drinks 67.2% of the time.
The pretty cocktails help give the evolving consumer both a good-tasting drink and a great experience. (more…)
