BIGSHOTS: BROWN FORMAN RETAILER OF THE YEAR
BRYAN ANDERSONreceived this year’s Brown-Forman“Retailer of the Year” for Massachusetts. The awards were presented to retailers across various states at theAmerican Beverage Licensees’ 2O14 Annual Convention. In 1976 Bryan Anderson opened his first store on Cape Cod followed by Andy’s Market in 1983. Andy’s has grown with the Town of... Read More
SCOTCH IS SO SMOOTH
NEVER BEFORE has there been such demand for Scotch whisky. Unfortunately, we are a culture of instant gratification and Scotch is a spirit that needs years of aging. A new report from Rabobank, titled NOW THAT’S SMOOTH, provides both an assessment of the category as well as suggestions for managing... Read More
TENNESSEE GETS TOUGH
TENNESSEE WHISKEY comes from Tennessee, Scotch comes from Scotland and tequila hails from Mexico. The rules are the rules, right? Actually, it’s far more complicated than that. The latest chapter in the Tennessee whiskey wars revolves around the finer points of making whiskey in the Volunteer State – specifically, where... Read More
WINEBOW MERGER
FINE WINE importers and distributors Winebow and The Vintner Group have agreed to merge their operations to create The Winebow Group, LLC with a combined distribution network covering 14 states and Washington DC. The company will distribute wine and spirits under the Winebow Distribution name in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Illinois, New... Read More
SNOBBY WINE THIEVES
JUST CALL them robbers with discerning palates. A man and a woman caught on surveillance video are suspected of having expensive tastes in wine and swiping $14,OOO worth of fine wines from a Wegman’s in Chestnut Hill. Some of the bottles stolen were priced at more than $1OOO each, police... Read More
CORAVIN HAS SOME QUIRKS
The Coravin – a device that sought to revolutionize the wine industry by allowing wine to be poured from a bottle without re moving the cork – has officially been recalled. The Consumer Products Safety Commission website states that the product “can cause wine bottles to break during pressurization, posing... Read More
TOMATO WINE GOES INTERNATIONAL
YES, THAT’S RIGHT: tomato wine. Against all odds, vino made from tomatoes is making it big. A small wine producer near Quebec City is planning to expand production of his one-of-a-kind wine recipe that is made with tomatoes. After four years of production, Pascal Miche, the president of Domaine de... Read More
WINE FOR THE MIND
SCORE ONE for wine in the ongoing health benefits debate. In a study conducted by researchers from Charité University in Berlin and published in the JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, overweight people who take resveratrol supplements have better short-term memory. Before and after the six-month study began, participants took a memory test,... Read More
FORMULA ONE BUBBLY
No question that Champagne sets the standard, but sparkling wines of character and elegance – and price – are also made in other places, even places not French. Today we’ll consider those of Cantine Ferrari in Trentino. Located in Italy’s far north, the vines grow on south-facing slopes at between... Read More
USA CHARDONNAY
IT’S BECOME almost a reflex among segments of the wine community to dismiss domestic Chardonnay. How could something this popular be any good? A common prejudice I hear sommeliers express regards Chardonnays whose aromas or flavors reflect even a trace of oak contact as examples of the wine industry using... Read More