|
What's in the
news?
 ere we report
items of note that might be of interest to our readers;
understandably these items are picked based upon what we
view to be of importance to the industry as a whole. We do,
however, hope they will promote further discussion and
research into the topics presented. We will pick up items
from various reliable news sources, briefly review the
story-line and content and then provide additional links or
references to those stories as appropriate. Our coverage can
broaden depending upon our own readers' interests. We will
try and pick stories that have long lasting impact and whose
storyline will be ongoing and worth keeping an eye on.
[A link to Just-drinks.com, for
more up-to-date news, is provided under our summary at the
bottom of this page.]
Current
issues
Many News Items Are Now
Being Covered on
the Home Page
FIRST QUARTER 2007:
Prichard's Rum to Hit Europe. Tennessee craft distiller Phil
Pritchard has been rumored to be visiting Europe and taking
his fine rum with him. Showing that, as for craft
beer, there may be a lucrative European market for US craft
distilleries. Phil will be at the American Distilling
Institute's Rum Distilling Conference in Indiana - March
(28-31, 2007) so go visit him there to get the facts.
Ready to Drink Beverages are on a slump - at least in Europe
- according to recent reports. BACK TO TRADITIONAL SPIRITS
and CRAFT BEERS?
The Womens Voice on Brewing
and Wine: For some neat articles on Beer, Brewing and
Wine see:
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art41400.asp
Americans to sell wood-chip
aged wines in Europe: (Causing a stir if not a "wine
haze" in the European wine community) see:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11763752
Airline
Magazines and Booze!
When I travel
I look forward to reading articles on alcoholic beverages in
the Airline magazines. Most of the time there is one
article of interest in each issue which shows that there is
a lot of interest in such topics by the airline traveler.
Watch this space for the latest developments - these items
will appear on thus rare occasions that we get to travel by
air.
EARLY YEARS'
NEWS
JAN 2006: - BEER FINALLY REDUCED TO ITs ROOT PRINCIPLES?:
Research has now provided the first solid
evidence for the keY components in beer responsible for "The
beer AROMA". Further details appear on the
journals page.
DEC 2005 - MAJOR NEW BOOK WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR THE
INDUSTRY:
"Blue Ocean Strategy: How to create
uncontested market space and make the competition
irrelevant" (2005) W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne - Harvard
Business School Press, Boston, MA. ISBN: 1-59139-619-0.
Creating
new markets for wine and avoiding competition. A novel
approach to business is discussed in this new book by Chan
and Mauborgne. The US wine industry is featured as a
case in point but with the Australians gaining a major
foothold in the US marketplace based upon new strategies and
business principles. This approach would be worth
looking at by brewers and distillers as well as enologists
in the ever competitive and cut-throat world of today. Learn
how to carve out new market space.
WILL YOU STILL BE
RELEVANT IN 2006?
RELIEVING ASIAN DRINKER'S DISTRESS: FLUSHING
SYMPTOMS AND BEYOND.
From the
Wall Street Journal - Tue. Aug. 16, 2005 (Page D6).
About 40% of the Asian Population carry a gene that makes it
very difficult for them to adequately metabolize alcohol.
This in turn puts them at a greater risk of cancers linked
to drinking. But hope may be on the way as several
companies are working on products that may relieve the
flushing symptoms. The condition of "Asian Flush" or
acetaldehydemia is related to the build-up of the "toxin"
acetaldehyde (which will be a feature soon on our Flavor
Corner page). Most of the rest of the world's population can
normally metabolize (and excrete) the toxic acetaldehyde
before it builds up to dangerous levels. The article goes on
to discuss the symptoms or flush factors involved with this
condition, the populations affected by having the gene in
question, the biochemistry behind the condition and the
potential "pill" that will "cure" this flush.
France's power in
the world of wine continues to fade.
Consumers are ever savvy
and they know more about what they want than ever before.
Chris Mercer in "Whining about wine" on the BeverageDaily.com site (30/05/2005) reports on the status of
France in relation to other wine producing countries and
that the decline in interest for French wines is due, at
least in part, to failing to please the modern consumer. The
upshot of the article appears to be "Watch out for new
marketing efforts from the French winemakers" as they
struggle to regain lost ground.
Sales booming for more expensive wines. According to Nielsen ratings and the Wine Institute
more expensive wines are gaining in popularity. New wines,
new packaging and new more modern-looking labels are
generating excitement with consumers. Moreover, it is
suggested that the movie (according to recent web reviews)
"Sideways" (featuring a road trip through California wine
country) might be having an impact with respect to wine
sales. [More info. at:
http://www.wineinstitute.com and
http://www.acnielsen.com.]
US Supreme court ruling will have important
ramifications for out of state wine purchases.
Wineries see potential to boost sales following the Supreme
Court ruling in May that paves the way for more direct
(including State to State) wine shipments.
The shakeout will ripple for months as each state decides
how to work with the decision handed down. This was the BIG
news emanating from the news sources on May 16th, 2005. The
sale and shipment of wines by vineyards from State to State
has been fraught with difficulties and controversy for quite
sometime. The US Supreme court decided that current laws
governing such sales were discriminatory and
anticompetitive. For the decision go to:
http://wswa.org/public/media/20050516.html
and to a pdf file of the hearings and
rulings at http://scotus.ap.org/scotus/03-1116p.zo.pdf
(cannot be launched from here). Various on-line news resources reported and continue to
report on the developments of this important story. The
story is worth following by all alcoholic beverage
manufacturers and consumers as the widening of the market
for sales, and the choices, of other alcoholic beverage classes could follow.
Herb may help cure Binge Drinking! Kudzu, a non-indigenous, invasive vine contains a compound
that might help reduce the intake of alcohol in humans.
This according to researchers at the Harvard-linked McLean
Hospital. The web posted news article (May 17, 2005) covered
details of the study and the physiology behind this
compound's effects. [More news at
http://www.mclean.harvard.edu and
http://www.alcoholism-cer.com.]
WHAT DO ADULT CONSUMERS WANT IN FLAVORED MALT BEVERAGES?
Ready to drink flavored malt beverages have seen a decline
in popularity recently but an article published a year ago
might be of interest to those still pursuing this market
area. The brief article, in Progressive Grocer, Vol. 83:
Issue 8 (Special Section, page 4), discusses issues with
regard to flavored malt beverages and what it is that the
older adult consumer is looking for.
Craft Beer Production Grows By 7.0%.
Recent reports show that, nationally, US sales of beer are
down and that distilled beverage sales are on the rise. The
National Brewers will have the clout to fight back the
decline of their beer sales but the good news here is for
the much smaller Craft Brewery Movement. According to the
Brewers Association, the 2004 Craft Beer Industry Statistics
show the 7% growth spurt. Craft brews are increasingly
showing their standing in the market place and with the ever
discriminating consumer. [More information at
http://beertown.org/craftbrewing/statistics.html.]
The Great Beer Deconstruction.
A major grant ($300,000) has been awarded by the US
Department of Agriculture to Mocon Microanalytics to develop
a "Quality Control Detector" that can adjust the components
of a beer to a defined standard. This will follow from a
study as to how variables affect beer ingredients and,
following careful measurements, as to how the various
chemical elements found in beer contribute to aroma and
overall flavor quality. [Source and details: the startribune
on-line; story now removed from the news pages. Story also
posted at
www.siliconvalley.com and information at:
www.mocon.com and
www.mdgc.com.] [Lets hope
they don't forget the consumer in all this work; after-all
the most "perfectly constructed beer" might still be rejected
by the people who, ultimately, matter the most - the
consumer.]
Summary:
The main issue, emanating
from many of the news items discussed above,
appears to be that consumers are becoming ever more educated
and more demanding and discriminating in their choice (and
source) of beverages. Moreover, producers (and marketers) need
to pay heed to the consumer ever more closely in order to
maintain and, ultimately, increase their share of the market.
While we cannot be
held responsible or accountable for the content of material
we report upon we do maintain responsibility for our
interpretation and commentary on any and all news items
reported on this page. However, we do not hold responsibility
for any issues relating to the use or misuse of our
interpretations and comments.
Want even more current news
affecting your industry? One of the best choices today
for FREE drinks industry news, analysis and research
is just a click away. Click on the "Switch" button to
your right to find out how to get more free news from the
folks at AROQ and "just-drinks.com".
GO TO TOP OF
PAGE |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Thumbnail sketch of
a very famous KY Distiller!
|
 |
|
