Reyka ‘Icelandic’ vodka is opening a bar on a glacier

Cocktails at Reyka’s five-day pop-up are free, if you can get there.

As part of an ambitious new promotion, fans of the Icelandic vodka brand Reyka are being encouraged to try it at the source. No, not at the distillery, but at the source of their water, the Langjokull Glacier. For five days Reyka will be opening a pop-up bar on top of the massive ice sheet—billed as “the world’s first bar on a glacier.”

If you missed your chance to drink gin at a pop-up bar at the North Pole earlier this year, you now have a chance to participate in this unique pop-up.

There are two ways to attend:

The easy way is to enter to win a trip on Reyka’s website – “those selected will be whisked off to the land of fire and ice by air before being taken on an off-road adventure to reach the source of Reyka Vodka and the home of the world’s first bar on a glacier.”

 

Secondly, the more free-spirited types are being encouraged to simply invite themselves: Reyka has posted the coordinates on their website—64.565653°N-20.024822°W—and are essentially saying that if you think you can make your way there, by all means, stop by. (Just please don’t try to make the arduous journey while consuming alcohol, they add. That’s for after you arrive.) Meanwhile, if finding random global coordinates isn’t your specialty, for one day only October 20, you can also book a paid tour through Activity Iceland who will be making a special stop at the bar.

The five-day Arctic Circle pop-up—which will last from October 16 to 20 has been ten months in the making, including teaming with local craftsmen to build the structure before moving it to the site for the opening. The menu will consist of free samples of cocktails made with Reyka Vodka, including the brand’s signature drink, the Puffin Collins. Once the pop-up has ended, the plan is to remove it “without trace” so as not to disturb the beauty of the glacier.

“We’re puffin-chuffed to bring the charmingly offbeat spirit of Reyka Vodka to the world with this one-of-a-kind, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to drink our vodka in the world’s first bar on a glacier,” Rekya Vodka Brand Ambassador Fabiano Latham said in the announcement. “Reyka Vodka is not just made in Iceland, it’s made of Iceland—so where better to host our Reyka Bar than at the very source—Langjokull Glacier!” Technically, I think that depends on your personal definition of the word “better”—but a pop-up bar on a glacier is definitely “cool.”

Fall WestJet wine tasting at The Kelowna International Airport (YLW) 

The Fall Okanagan Wine Festival kicks off tomorrow. One of the first signature events is October 5th’s Fall WestJet Wine Tasting at YLW in the Carson Air hangar at Kelowna International Airport.

The event will have the largest capacity of any indoor wine tasting in the Okanagan, at a venue that will be quite memorable.

Details

Location: Carson Air hangar – Kelowna International Airport

Time

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm

List of some of the participating wineries

Quinta Ferreira Estate Winery

Lake Breeze Vineyards

The View Winery

Rollingdale Winery

Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery

Little Straw Vineyards

Quails’ Gate

Tinhorn Creek Vineyards

Dirty Laundry Vineyard

River Stone Estate Winery

Summerhill Pyramid Winery

Recline Ridge Vineyards and Winery Ltd.

House of Rose Winery

Volcanic Hills Estate Winery

Ancient Hill Estate Winery

Black Hills Estate Winery

Sandhill

Hester Creek Estate Winery

Red Rooster Winery

Okanaganvilla Vineyards and Events Corporation (The Vibrant Vine)

St Hubertus & Oak Bay Estate Winery Ltd.

For further details and tickets:

https://www.thewinefestivals.com/events/view_event/1893/9961

 

Wine Industry Network announces 2020 date for 3-Tier Wine Symposium

The 3-Tier Wine Symposium was established in 2018 specifically for small to medium-size wineries that were keen on gaining deeper insight into the wholesale environment.  The objective of the conference is to leverage the expertise of channel experts to help wine industry executives and owners navigate the complicated, but necessary, world of distributor and buyer relations.

It has never been more challenging with today’s three-tier distribution system. Between the consolidation of existing distributors, the influx of new wholesalers coming online, coupled with an extremely crowded market competing for representation, selection, and management succeeding requires a new and resourceful way of working within the wholesale channel to yield desired results.

“We’re excited to continue the conversation that began last year at the inaugural 3-Tier Wine Symposium. More now than ever, access to expertise is key to succeeding in the wholesale channel, and that’s exactly what attendees can expect again this year,” says George Christie, President & CEO of Wine Industry Network.

The Date is set for: May 7th, 2020

With a new Location:
Hyatt Regency Sonoma Wine Country
170 Railroad St. Santa Rosa, CA 95401

 

Further details can be found at: Wine Industry Network (WIN) wineindustrynetwork.com

Wine Enthusiast names Germany’s Mosel Valley as “2019 Wine Region of the Year Nominee”

Wine Enthusiast magazine has named one of Germany’s 13 wine regions – the Mosel – as a Wine Region of the Year nominee for its esteemed, annual Wine Star Awards.

Each year, the awards honor the outstanding achievements made by individuals, companies, and regions in the wine and beverage world. This year’s 20th annual Wine Star Awards features 16 categories, including the prestigious Wine Region of the Year award.

“If you’ve ever been to the Mosel Valley, home to some of the steepest and most spectacular vineyards in the world, you’ll never forget the valley’s breathtaking landscapes and iconic wines,” says Monika Reule, Managing Director of the Deutsches Weininstitut (German Wine Institute). “The Mosel’s designation as one of Wine Enthusiast’s Wine Regions of the Year nominees is just further proof of its incredible winemaking prowess.”

In the nomination announcement, Wine Enthusiast describes the Mosel as “Germany’s most iconic wine region” and as a “classic cool-climate winemaking region.” Regarding wines from the Mosel, the magazine writes that they “represent both an enduring historic gravitas as well as a contemporary renaissance” and are “renown for Riesling, but also an increasingly diversifying portfolio of other white and red wines”.

“The wineries of the Mosel are honored by the nomination,” says Ansgar Schmitz, Director of Moselwein e.V. (Mosel Wine Promotion Board) “Our producers are grateful for the recognition from both wine critics, like Wine Enthusiast, and wine lovers, especially in the United States, our biggest export market.”

This Marks the First Wine Star Awards Nomination for One of Germany’s 13 Wine Regions.

“I was thrilled to hear that the Mosel has been nominated as Wine Region of the Year by Wine Enthusiast,” says Ernst “Ernie” Loosen, Owner and Winemaker of Dr. Loosen, one of the region’s renowned wineries. “The Mosel is a very special place, producing a vibrant and intense style of Riesling that is just not possible anywhere else in the world, and it’s very rewarding to see this recognized by an important U.S. wine magazine.”

The Wine Star Awards winners will be announced in Wine Enthusiast’s special “Best of Year” issue later in 2019 and honored at a black-tie gala in San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts on January 27, 2020.

German Wine Institute: www.germanwines.de

Wine Paris 2020 set to launch initiative to identify and understand eco-friendly certifications

Wine Paris is launching a new initiative “Wonderful” which will be aimed at helping global buyers identify and understand the eco-friendly certifications and endorsements developed by winegrowers, estates, co-operatives, and negociants.

The aim of “Wonderful” will be to “improve visibility for winegrowers, estates, co-operatives and negociants that have committed to at least one organic or eco-friendly scheme; clarify existing certifications and endorsements, top buyers, while also highlighting market and consumer developments; and signpost future trends and solutions”.

In order to achieve this, the dedicated “Wonderful” day February 11 2020 will comprise of presentations, round table debates and workshops in which trade and industry experts will share their experience of the market.

Topics selected for the day include: Family portrait: gaining a better understanding of the range of organic and eco-friendly certifications; How valuable are organic certifications in the global marketplace? Does biodynamic winegrowing change the flavor of wine? When vine growing goes green, what are the effects on supply, with more to be added.

Wine Paris, which is It is organized by Comexposium and overseen by 13 French wine marketing boards, is poised to welcome over 2,200 exhibitors at its second international trade show in 2020, with more than 30,000 visitors expected to attend the event.

In addition to “Wonderful”, other new features include ‘Wine Match’ – a 100% business and 100% online networking system designed for all exhibitors and visitors to help participants arrange pre-planned meetings with targeted and bespoke contacts.

https://en.wineparis.com/