Bourbon Women Association Launch Amber Circle Diversity & Inclusion Initiative

Furthering its educational mission, the Bourbon Women Association has announced its new Amber Circle Diversity & Inclusion Initiative.

This new scholarship program builds on the organization’s Amber Circle mentoring program that started in 2019. It strives to empower women and those from underrepresented communities in the bourbon and spirits industry.

“We are so fortunate to be able to work in an industry that is always embracing change, and opening the doors to others so they can join us is one of the core missions of the Bourbon Women Association,” says Bourbon Women President Maggie Kimberl. “I am thrilled to be able to use the power of this first-ever female whiskey consumer organization to support women in growing their careers.”

The Amber Circle initiatives aims to create programs that benefit a more diverse and inclusive membership within Bourbon Women, and throughout the spirits industry. The program’s mission recognizes the importance of representation from all facets of human experience, including BIPOC women LGBTQIA+ women, and women of different abilities, educational levels and backgrounds.

The inaugural Amber Circle Diversity & Inclusion group of a dozen women will receive training through the Stave & Thief program. Founded in 2014, Stave & Thief was the first bourbon certification program recognized by the bourbon industry, the organization says, and is designated by the Kentucky Distillers Association as its “Official Bourbon Education Course.” The training is by Louisville-based Moonshine University.

“Discovery happens when you push boundaries,” says Board Chair Heather Wibbels. “Amplifying the voices and experiences of the underrepresented in the bourbon community encourages the bourbon industry to reach out and invite more diversity in their outreach to consumers and their own companies. We’re reaching out to members of our community and the whiskey spirits industry to support this initiative to advocate change from the ground up.”

The initiative kicks off with a donation campaign to raise scholarship funds. Individual donations of $250 and corporate donations of $1,000 or more are encouraged, the organization says.

Donations in these amounts may be made through Bourbon Women’s website on the Amber Circle page. For larger donations, contact Maggie.kimberl@bourbonwomen.org.

The Bourbon Women Association is a registered nonprofit organization.

#womeninspirits #womensupportingwomen #womenleaders #bourbon #womeninbourbon #BourbonWomenAssociation #womeninbusiness

Wine Grounds Launches Machine Learning-Based Vintage Scores

Wine Grounds announced this week a revolutionary new vintage quality feature to their food and wine pairing app, Grape Base. Their data-driven approach to determining the quality of a vintage allows industry professionals and consumers to see scores for any wine-growing region in the world. By utilizing machine learning and a proprietary weather model, Grape Base can instantly predict the overall quality of a vintage based on the weather during the growing season, at harvest and throughout the winter.

Grape Base is taking a hyper-local approach to vintage quality and creating scores for the top varietals grown in every officially recognized region, district and or appellation across the globe. Vintage scores will be continually expanded on and made available after the end of harvest in the northern and southern hemispheres. Industry professionals can use the data to make purchasing decisions and project trends in consumer buying habits.

Wine Grounds Founder Chris Hall states, “By tracking and evaluating the weather of a specific region and comparing that to the ideal conditions for the grapes grown there, we can predict the quality of the vintage for those grapes. You can then use those scores to pick the best vintage in a wine shop, from your own rack or out to eat. Somms can ahead on building wine programs that showcase varietals at their very best. It is absolute revolution in wine tech.”

Highlights Include:

  • Weather model can be applied to any region in the world for any grape and it is continuously learning and improving
  • 75+ regions available with scores for the past ten years
  • Search allows users to find scores by region or grape varietal
  • Monthly subscriptions start at US $1.99 after a one-month free trial
  • Grape Base is available in the Apple Store and on Google Play

#wine #winewednesday #wednesday #winetrends #businessofwine #tech #winegrounds #machinelearning #vintagewines #vintagescores #foodandwineapp #somms #wineandfoodpairing #app #AI #winelovers #instawine #wineinstagram #winelife #winemarketing #socialmediamarketing

The Institute of Masters of Wine has announced three new Masters of Wine

The new members of the IMW are of three different nationalities, based in two countries. A special congratulations to Claire Blackler MW (UK), Michael Henley MW (New Zealand) and Siobhan Turner MW (UK).

Currently, there are 419 MWs globally, with 268 men and 151 women living and/or working in 31 countries.

The MWs have proved their understanding of all aspects of wine by passing the Master of Wine exam, recognized worldwide for its rigour and high standards.

About the Exam

The MW exam consists of three parts: the theory and practical exams taken at the end of stage two and the research paper submitted at the end of stage three. The RP is an in-depth study on a wine-related topic from any area of the sciences, arts, humanities, or social sciences. Only when an individual passes the third RP stage of the MW exam do they become a Master of Wine.

In addition to passing the exam, and before new members have the right to use the title Master of Wine or initials MW, they must sign the IMW’s code of conduct. By signing the code of conduct, MWs agree to act with honesty, integrity and use every opportunity to share their understanding of wine with others.

The stage two theory and practical exams were cancelled in 2020 and postponed earlier this year. They will now take place in seven venues across the globe from 31 August to 3 September 2021. Candidates who pass this part of the MW exam will move to the final RP stage later in the year.

The top countries where MWs are based around the world are Australia (28), Canada (10), France (18), Germany (10), New Zealand (16), the UK (209) and US (57).

#mastersofwine #mwvintage2021 #winenews #wineeducation #wine #winetasting #winelover #winetime #winestagram #winelovers #instawine #winelife #winery #winewinewine #redwine #winegeek #winelovers #instanews #womeninwine

Wine News: Light-to-moderate wine drinking can lower heart attack risk

A recent study published in the peer-reviewed journal BMC Medicine has found that light-to-moderate wine drinking can be beneficial to your health, including those with heart disease.

According to the study, entitled ‘Association of alcohol consumption with morbidity and mortality in patients with cardiovascular disease’, patients with heart disease who drank six grams of alcohol per day (on average) were associated with a 50 % risk reduction of heart attack, stroke, and even death.

Even those who averaged eight grams of alcohol consumption per day would see a 27% reduction in death risk compared with those who did not drink, the study found.

Vinepair states that in the United States, an average pour contains 14 grams of alcohol.

Comprising assessment of over 48,000 patients with heart disease, the research found that, while even increased alcohol consumption up to 62 grams per day was not associated with a heightened risk of heart attack, “non-drinking patients should not be encouraged to take up light drinking because of well-known adverse effects on other health outcomes, such as cancers.”

“Our findings suggest that people with CVD (cardiovascular disease) may not need to stop drinking in order to prevent additional heart attacks, strokes or angina, but that they may wish to consider lowering their weekly alcohol intake,” study co-author Chengyi Ding said, per Reuters.

She did note once again however that “Alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk of developing other illnesses.”

Study – https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-021-02040-2

 

#winenews #wine #winelovers #ww #winewednesday #winescience #instawine #winestagram #winetasting #winetime #redwine #whitewine #rosewine #wineinmoderation

Trivento is named the world’s best-selling Argentine wine

Concha y Toro’s Trivento is celebrating becoming the leading Argentine wine brand in the world, with sales of over US$256.2m a year according to a new report from the IWSR.

Over the past five years, the winery has doubled sales around the world thanks to a long-term business plan and successful marketing campaigns such as 20” TV campaign in the UK and a sponsorship deal with Major League Soccer (MLS) in the US.

“We are very proud of this achievement, and it is the result of the efforts of so many people, from our workers in the vineyards to those who represent our wines in international markets,” said CEO Marcos Jofré, Trivento.

Trivento’s top-dog status emerged from the 2020 report from global consulting firm IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, which delves into the alcoholic beverage market and its trends.

Trivento has been on an upward curve in key markets over the past 10 years. In 2013, it became a leader in the category of Argentine wines in the Caribbean and Europe. In 2020, it consolidated this position at a global level with an international strategy which focuses on value, expanding distribution channels at the right moment and strong moves into top retailers both online and in store.

The brand has been particularly successful in the UK, where Trivento Reserve Malbec is the number one red wine brand, according to NielsenIQ. It is also in the Top 10 of all wine brands in the UK.

In the US, in 2020, the winery became one of the top three selling Malbecs in the country (IRI). The US is Trivento’s second most important export destination in terms of volume, with Florida representing 30% of sales in market.

South Korea meanwhile saw huge uplift in 2020, with sales up 935%. Brazil also recorded strong increases in sales up 88%, with great expansion in online and retail channels.

“This is the result of a clear and precise commercial strategy that’s made Trivento grow into a premium brand that’s focussed on key markets,” said Felipe Rossel, global marketing director.

#Wine #Vinos #WineLovers #Winestagram #InstaWine #InstaWineLovers #Argentina #Vinos #ArgentinaWines #Bodega #WineTime #Drinks #Gastronomy #TriventoArgentina #winesofargentina #winenews  #Malbec #DiscoverMalbec #DiscoverTrivento #Winefrommendoza #Winefromargentina #redwine @triventous #triventous