September Trade News
FEDERAL COUNTERMEASURES TO REDUCE DRUNK DRIVING
The Center for Alcohol Policy released its latest report outlining the legislative history of drunk driving in America. The report focuses on laws and countermeasures that the federal government and state legislatures have enacted since 1980 to reduce drunk driving.
These countermeasures include:
- The 21 minimum drinking age
- Open container laws
- Keeping the alcohol industry regulated through a three-tiered system
- A national .08 BAC per se limit
- High visibility law enforcement
- Ignition interlock systems
SELTZER news
- The same top brands remain on seltzer’s dollar share medal stand. White Claw is the gold medal winner at 36.8%, Truly takes the sliver at 27.4% and Bud Light Seltzer get the bronze medal with 8.2%. That’s a 72.4 share of total seltzer dollars between the top three brands.
- Gallo’s High Noon is now the number four brand in terms of total seltzer dollar share, for the 12 week period to July 31 in NielsenIQ total off-premise channels. With a 5.1% dollar share of seltzer, High Noon is beating out the likes of Corona Seltzer in the fifth spot at (3.2%) and Michelob Ultra Hard Seltzer & Vizzy, who are tied at the sixth spot with 2.9% of the category.
WINE news
France, the world’s second-largest wine producer after Italy, is likely to see its production drop between 24 and 30 percent in 2021, taking it to a “historically low” level, France’s Agriculture Ministry announced. It is already certain to fall below output seen in 1991 and 2017, the two most recent years of disastrous harvests amputated by bouts of late frost. “For now, it looks like the yield will be comparable to that of 1977, a year when the vine harvest was reduced by both destructive frost and summer downpours,” France’s agriculture ministry told the Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The Bordeaux wine region has reported outstanding growth of 21% in sales volume and value in the U.S. market, the highest sales increase recorded over a 12-month period since 1986. The results have just been released by the Bordeaux Wine Council and encompass the most recent annualized data available from June 2020 to May 2021. Bordeaux wine sales reached 29 million bottles in volume, representing an annualized turnover of $326 million in value terms.
Growers and vintners in the Champagne region are working nonstop to keep mildew fungus from damaging the grapes and vines of their 2021 harvests, a perennial threat that has been exacerbated by this summer’s heavy rains. Champagne industry experts still remain optimistic about this year’s yield, pointing to the rebounding global demand for Champagne as restaurants and retailers restock after a weak 2020.
SPIRITS news
Americans drink higher volumes of vodka than any other spirit, but if we gauge popularity based on the amount drinkers spend on liquor, Americans overwhelmingly prefer another distillate: whiskey. In 2020, whiskey sales hit $10.8 billion in the U.S., while vodka lagged behind in second place with just $6.9 billion total sales, according to data from the Distilled Spirits Council. So, what state consumes the most whiskey? Yep, it’s the one you’re probably thinking of…
BEER NEWS
- Rhinegeist announced that Mike Parks has been named the new CEO of the company. Prior to this new role at Rhinegeist, Mike served as CEO of TNT Crust, a pizza crust company and he also served as Director of Operations at Diageo. He began his new post in mid-August.
- Cincinnati has the NFL’s number one team! A recent survey conducted SportsHandle concluded that Bengals fans consume more alcoholic beverages during the game than any of the other 31 teams in the NFL.
