Liz Palmer Archives

Top Wine Influencers In 2019 You Need to Pay Attention To

I am so honored and thankful to be part of this community, and be included on this list with other notable wine personalities! Liz Palmer

“Here are the top 20 wine influencers that you need to check out in 2019 —
These are the new critics. Find the influencer that has got the attention of your customer demographic and you have a chance. That’s our no # 1 marketing tip for wineries to double down on. Here is a list of top wine influencers that have a good loyal following on Instagram & Twitter.

1) The Wine Wankers

The Wine Wankers are the Sydney based bloggers who love talking about wine through social media. Their central theme of writing is usually humour. According to the urban dictionary, the definition of wine wanker is “somebody who drinks wine pretentiously in the company of others to show off their knowledge and try to make other people feel inferior.” Conrad & Drew, owners of Wine Wankers spend a lot of time travelling the wine world thus having a large international base.

2) Jancis Robinson

Jancis Robinson is one of the top wine influencers and the editor of the book The Oxford Companion to Wine. She is also a wine judge & a reviewer. She travels all over the world to explore different wines and talks about them on her website and social media platforms.

3) Julien Miquel

Julien Miquel has more than 10 years of experience in winemaking. His current project is the Social Vignerons website on which he shares various content of the world of wine like interviews, wine & food pairings, infographics, etc. In 2015, it was awarded as the Best New Wine Blog by the Wine Blogs Awards.

4) Jon Thorsen

Jon Thorsen aka The Reverse Wine Snob is a wine enthusiast with an open mind and a reasonable budget. This wine blogger is focused on everyday wine drinkers that buy wine for relaxed enjoyment. He had the opportunity to travel to various wine regions like California, Spain, Italy, France, Virginia, Argentina, and Slovenia.

5) Jessica Altieri

Jessica Altieri is certified as a Water Sommelier and the host of “Wine Conversations with Jessica Altieri” on the revolVer Podcast platform. She helps wine brands, wine PR firms, and wine lifestyle brands position their products in front of targeted audiences to promote engagement, brand awareness, and sales by creating dynamic social media lifestyle campaigns as well as live events and promotions. She works with Winemakers, Retail Executives, Marketing & PR Executives and also with Wine lifestyle partners- hotels, fashion & travel.

6) Kelly Mitchell

Kelly Mitchell is an award-winning Napa Valley Journalist who loves to explore scores of wine varietals across the globe. She runs her own website The Wine Siren where she shares the stories of wine creators, farmers, winemakers & artisans. She travels a lot and gains more knowledge wine-making techniques and varietals.

7) Jeff Kralik

Jeff Kralik started the blog the drunken cyclist in 2012. During summer, he used to explore various wine regions like the Loire Valley, Burgundy, Provence, Alsace, Bordeaux, the Dordogne, the Jura, and Champagne. He was fascinated by history, culture, tradition & stories of the producers. His blogs feature wineries, recipes, details of retailers, and various other fun articles.

8) Tim Atkin

Tim Atkin is a UK based wine writer having more than 33 years of experience in the wine industry. He is also one of the top Master of Wine & Wine Critic in the world. He travels the world to visit various wine regions and meet producers of wine to gain insights about the wine-growing areas of their country. Along with writing for his own website, he also writes for various magazines like Harpers, Decanter, Gourmet Traveller Wine, Jamie Magazine and Imbibe.

9) Julie Brosterman

Julie Brosterman is the co-founder of Women & Wine Team. They create dynamic content/ promos/ events & social media strategy to reach a large audience base. They have their own Color of Wine App on which they share various content related to wine.

10) Jamie Goode

Jamie Goode is a London-based wine critic, blogger, author and columnist having a background in Ph.D. in plant biology. He launched his website wineaorak.com which shares various content like food & wine, wine travel, photographs, book reviews, tasting notes, etc.

11) Luiz Alberto

Luiz Alberto is a Boston based blogger & the founder of the editorial Wine Hub. He judges international wine competitions and uses social media to share his passion for wine. The Wine Hub features various content related to Wine & Food, Wine Tasting, etc. It has also various blogs related to wines.

12) Joey Casco

Joey Casco has a website TheWineStalker.net on which he writes contents like educational long reads, smaller post, original memes, recipes & a lot of wine reviews. Except for blogging Joey also loves teaching people about wine. One day he wishes to be a wine educator.

13) Alder Yarrow

Alder Yarrow is a California based US wine & restaurant blogger. His wine blog Vinography is one of the highly famous websites. It has various content which features Wine Reviews, Restaurant reviews, Book reviews, Wine news, images, etc. He is considered one of the top 20 influencers on social media.

14) Cathrine Todd

Cathrine Todd is a New York-based wine blogger who runs her wine blog called Dame Wine. She is a WSET Diploma graduate and now a freelancer. Earlier she spent many years selling various wines from around the world in the Manhattan market. She likes to travel to lots of interesting food/wine destinations as often as possible.

15) Michelle Williams

Michelle Williams is a Texas-based freelance writer & is a WSET Level 3 Advanced certified. She has her own wine blog website called the Rocking Red Blog. She writes about wine, food & travel. Most of her work appears in Snooth, The Daily Meal, USA Today’s 10Best Eat Sip Trip, Basil & Salt Magazine, Food Wine Travel Magazine, Plano Profile Magazine & Casa Life Magazine. She is considered one of the top 15 most influential person in wine. She travels globally to experience wine regions in the first hand.

16) Liz Palmer

Liz Palmer is Toronto and London UK based award-winning author, wine journalist & founder of Upsocial Wine & Spirits Agency (a digital and influencer marketing agency). Her articles have appeared in the top magazines like Forbes, Huffington Post, China Wine News, Wine Picker Magazine, and more. She is also an international wine judge. In 2017, she was also appointed Dame Chevalier de L’Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne in an official ceremony in Paris.

17) Marilena Barbera

Marilena Barbera is a winegrower who is based in Sicily. She pursued her law degree from international law in Florence & her masters in tax & financial planning in Verona. She fell in love with winemaking while she was working at her family business, Cantine Barbera. She is fond of travelling.

18) Meg Maker

Meg Maker launched Terroir Review, a journal about nature, culture, food, wine & place. This journal features writing, wine reviews, other writers, photographers, and artists—to share their perspective and expertise. Meg travels extensively to taste with producers & hear their stories. Her work has been appreciated in The New York Times, Daily Beast, Brain Pickings, BuzzFeed & more.

19) Dusan Jelic

Dusan Jelic owns Wines of Balkan, a digital wine marketing company which share relevant vinous information and connect wine lovers from all over the world. The ultimate goal is to turn wines of Balkans into a strong regional brand, genuinely respected in the world of wine lovers of all colours and from all walks of life.

20) Katherine Cole

Katherine Cole is a Harvard graduate and an executive producer of The Four Top, a national food-and-beverage podcast. She is also the Communications Director at Vin Agency, brand design and creative firm serving the fine wine and craft beverage industry. She is featured in a documentary American Wine Story and has also contributed to national and international food and wine publications.”

Source: Sommeliers Choice Awards and Beverage Trade Network

Champagne exports overtake domestic consumption in 2018

Estimated figures for total shipments during 2018 show that more Champagne was consumed in foreign markets than France for the first time in over 50 years.

The two presidents of the Comité Champagne, Maxime Toubart and Jean-Marie Barillère announced last week that declining shipments in mature European markets – especially France – and growth in countries such as Australia, US and Japan, had affected the balance of global Champagne consumption.

Most notably, it had tipped the scales in favour of exports, with, from this year, more Champagne shipped to countries outside the domestic market than were sent to the trade in France.

Because, according to Barillère, France had consumed more Champagne than the rest of the world combined since the middle of the last century, this recent development was a major milestone.

“Exports have overtaken France for the first time,” he said, before adding, “Well, since the early part of last century – when Champagne was mostly exported, and not consumed very widely in France,” he stated.

“It was in the 1920s that the French market for Champagne developed, and grew and grew, and from the start of the 60s France became the largest market in the world for Champagne,” he continued.

This prompted Toubart to add, “So, it is the first time in the modern history of Champagne that exports have been bigger than France.”

Domestic sales for Champagne have also been on an almost steady decline since a peak in 2007, when France consumed as much as 188m bottles of the fizz, compared to 150m by the rest of the world. Driving the growth in exports for Champagne have been markets outside Europe, in particular, the US, Japan and Australia, although increasing sales in a range of smaller emerging markets have also contributed.

Indeed, it is an evolution that proves the increasingly global nature of Champagne consumption, making, as reported last year, Champagne sales “more balanced” than ever before, with 30 markets now consuming over 0.5m bottles annually.

Looking ahead, Barillère expects the spread of Champagne consumption to become even more evenly split between the major areas of the world.

“We saw last year that exports of Champagne to Europe were overtaken by those to ‘the rest of the world’, and now we see that total exports are now bigger than the French market,” he began.

“If this trend continues, then in 10-20 year’s Champagne will be one-third France, one-third Europe, and one-third the rest of the world, or it could be higher], depending on where there is wealth development,” he added.

Toubart said that markets outside Europe were growing because the houses had redirected their marketing investments from France to US and Asian markets.

“The French market is decreasing, and so Champagne houses have invested a lot of money in new countries,” he commented.

Barillère explained, “The maisons have focused their marketing activities on countries where there is growth in GDP, and population development, and where the level of wine consumption is growing – it’s why, for example, we have invested in the US.”

The French market for Champagne has been declining for two main reasons.

Firstly, the sales of grower Champagnes direct to consumers in France has diminished, and secondly, the number of promotions on entry-level Champagnes in French supermarkets have fallen, in line with a reputed fatigue among domestic consumers for the retail technique.

While Champagne is seeing shipments decline for inexpensive Champagne in mature markets, the premium branded sector is doing well, both in Europe, but, as noted above, particularly in the US, Japan and Australia.

As a result, Barillère said that turnover for Champagne in 2018 was “stable”, and may even have increased to a level slightly above last year, which was a new record for Champagne.

In other words, the region may have lost more than 5m bottles in shipments for 2018, but the past year could represent the largest ever turnover for Champagne, with the higher revenue accounted for by sales of more branded bottles, and an increased demand for pricier cuvées, especially from consumers in countries outside Europe.

Source: Drinks Business

Cognac Reports Record Export Growth

For the fourth consecutive year, exports of Cognac have increased, reaching record numbers in both volume and value.

With nearly 98% of total production exported, the Cognac appellation continued to grow its export markets in 2018, with growth of more than 3% in volume and 2% in value. 204.2 million bottles of cognac were shipped in 2018 – resulting in 3.2 billion euros (roughly 3.6 billion dollars) in revenue.

Dynamic Growth in All Major Markets
Cognac exports to the NAFTA Zone (represents 44.4% of exports) continue to make progress, with 90.6 million bottles shipped in 2018 for an increase of 5.2% in volume and 0.7% in value. The United States continues to be Cognac’s largest market with 87.4 million bottles shipped in 2018.

The East Asian market continues to grow, with 60.1 million bottles (an increase of 5.6% in volume and 3.7% in value). The exports to China continue to drive growth in the zone despite a slight decrease during the second semester.

Continental Europe exports have declined (-5.3% in volume and – 2.2% in value), for a total of nearly 39.4 million bottles shipped. This decline can be attributed to the difficult economic and political times in some of its markets.

Continued Potential for Development in the Rest of the World
Increased exports also continue in other areas with high potential for Cognac in countries such as South Africa, Vietnam, and the Caribbean. Exports to these markets rose by 10.4% in volume and 7.1% in value. Additionally, these new areas of opportunity represent more than 6.9% of total exports, or nearly 14.1 million bottles.

Exports Increase for V.S., V.S.O.P and Older Categories
The export of V.S. (50% of total volume), and V.S.O.P. (almost 40% of total volume) continue to grow in volume and are up by 2.6 and 3.5% respectively. Value for both remained stable (only down by 0.3%).
Representing 11.5% of total volume, the older categories witnessed a growth of 7.5% in volume and 6.3% in value.

The 2018 Harvest Supports Positive Export Figures
With a total volume yield of 126.8 hl/ha (compared to 88.95 hl/ha for the previous harvest) or a yield of pure alcohol of 13.06 hl AP/ha, the production in barrels will be between 970,000 and 980,000 hl AP.

This level of production would be greater than the region’s original business objectives which had been estimated at 902,000 hl AP put in barrel this year, a figure that many trade professionals feared would be too low to meet the demand.

The growth of shipments during the year confirms the forecasts announced by the BNIC’s (Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac) business plan. BNIC President Patrick Raguenaud states, “Cognac professionals remain confident in the future prospects and are ambitiously planning to ensure the demands of export markets are always met.”

Source: BNIC

The 5th International Rose Symposium – Marseille, France January 22, 2019

I’m very excited to be invited to the 5th International Rosé Symposium / Rencontres Internationales du Rosé.

The Symposium is hosted by the Provence Wine Council (CIVP), and the Rosé Research and Experimentation Centre, which takes place in the magnificent setting of the Mucem in Marseille on Tuesday, January 22, 2019.

The Symposium, this year, is focusing specifically on research and insights related to rosé wine.

The international speakers are members of the scientific, technical and wine-growing community, and will share their research and studies related to rosé wine.

The 2019 themes will focus on the future of rosé wines, revolving around three major challenges for the industry:

• Adapting to climate change
• Ecological transition
• Changing consumer patterns

The morning will be held as a plenary session, which will include the three major challenges. The lunch cocktail lunch designed by Gérald Passedat.

The afternoon sessions include technical or think-tank workshops, and the presentation of several innovations from fundamental or applied research.

Watch for my followup report.

Website: https://www.rencontres-internationales-rose.com/home.html

Canadian Rapper Drake launches Champagne range called “Mod Sélection”

Canadian rapper Drake has expanded his drinks empire, once again teaming up with American drinks entrepreneur Brent Hocking to launch a Champagne range called Mod Sélection.

Described as “the purest expression of balance and terroir produced in champagne today,” the House of Mod Sélection dates back to 1892 and has produced Champagne for over five generations in the Vallée de la Marne.

According to Mod Sélection: “The house practices minimal interventional throughout harvest, press, and production, ensuring the purest display of balance and terroir in every cuvée. Only grapes demonstrating optimal levels of sugar, acidity, and maturity are selected for press.

“The most delicate extraction and juice selection, meticulous settling, natural clarification, and rigorous control of fermentations are carried out with exacting precision to preserve the balance, purity and finesse unique to Mod Sélection house style and production.”

In the bottles in Mod Sélection range include Mod Réserve Champagne (US$300) and a Mod Rosé Champagne (US$400) that are available to pre-order now in 750ml bottles, with magnums and jeroboams in the works. The metallic brown bottle is adorned with handcrafted delicate flowers, and each individual bottle is unique in its design details.

In a promotional video to announce the launch, Drake said: “The product is great, the presentation is great, and hopefully the representation is great as well. We’ll enjoy this run. It should be a long one and a strong one. I think the full package is there.”

Drake and Hocking first worked together back in 2016 when they launched Virginia Black Whiskey. Last year, they offered an IPO for the whiskey, hoping to raise $30 million to fund domestic and international expansion, sales and marketing, and working capital.

Website:

Social
#BLESSTHISHOUSE
@MODSELECTIONCHAMPAGNE

Source: Drinks Business