Valpolicella Soars in 2021

The Valpolicella Wine Consortium has recently announced the numbers for the first five months of 2021.  The numbers show around 30 million state seals were issued for the Valpolicella, Ripasso, Amarone and Recioto origins, which is 18% over 2020.

Compared to 2019, the increase is 14%.  Amarone, which after a disastrous January 2021 (-24.5 %), accelerated to a sensational 38 % increase by May 31. According to the consortium’s analysis, these are the best figures of the last decade. “A total of 7.4 million bottles were brought to market in this period, two million more than last year. Not only is the quantity excellent, but the performance also gives us hope. According to the latest price list of the Chamber of Commerce of Verona, the open goods have increased by 4.5 percent,” Christian Marchesini, president of the consortium, states. The figures are due to a combination of the restrictive measures of the consortium as well as the high flexibility of many small businesses, which immediately knew how to move on unfamiliar terrain like e-commerce and food retail.

Valpolicella achieved an overall growth of 14 % after a strong pick-up in the month of May (+48 percent). Ripasso closed with an increase of twelve %. Stocks are down for all typologies of Valpolicella, especially Amarone and Recioto. In May 2021, five million bottles less were registered than in May 2020 (-8 percent).

Source:  Valpolicella Wine Consortium

Global alcohol consumption will bounce back to pre-Covid levels by 2023

Global alcohol consumption will return to pre-Covid levels by 2023, according to recent IWSR data, with the market already showing signs of recovery.

Projected to grow by 2.9% in volume by the end of 2021, the research forecasts that total alcohol consumption will reach pre-Covid levels within two years and will continue to increase steadily until 2025.

Total alcohol volume decreased by 6.2% globally during 2020, affected by lockdowns and other restrictions.   Total wine and beer volumes are both forecast to be down about -9% in 2020 and are unlikely to regain volumes for several years.   However, within the wine sector, sparkling wine volume consumption is anticipated to recover to 2019 levels by 2023, along with the rest of the alcohol market. Premium-and-above Prosecco is expected to be least impacted by Covid, and premium-and-above still wine forecast to recover lost volumes by 2022.

This growth will be boosted by several factors including the growth of ecommerce which is up 45% from 2019; to reach US $29 bn in 2020, and RTD’s, the industry quickly adapting in key markets and the increasing sophistication of the at home occasion in many markets.

“In many global markets Covid-19 accelerated the impact and growth of key industry drivers, such as the development of ecommerce, premiumization, the rise of the home premise, moderation and the need for convenience in product formats,” said the IWSR’s CEO Mark Meek.

“These are the trends that will also underpin the industry’s resilience as it pivots to meet consumers where they are in the years to come. Additionally, across many markets, some segments of the population now have significantly more disposable income than they did in 2019, some of which will be spent on beverage alcohol products.”

Another trend set to give alcohol a leg up is product premiumization, according to the IWSR, with premium-and-above wine and spirits forecast to increase by 25.6% in total volume between 2020-2025 compared to 0.8% volume growth over the same period for brands in lower price tiers.

Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris 2021 Focuses on ‘Bouncing Back’ in Digital Format

Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris 2021 has moved to digital format for this year, it will be providing live sessions focusing on the recovery of the wine and spirits industry called ‘Bouncing Back’ – the dates are June 8, 2021 – June 29, 2021.

Webinars, roundtable debates and exclusive interviews will go live every Tuesday on 8, 15, 22 and June 29.  Sessions will be dedicated to the new major trends in the sector including online sales and the digital sprint, the tasting revolution and sustainability.

New on-demand content will also feed into Vinexposium Connect every Thursday in June.

The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) will host a webinar on the guiding principles of sustainability and its environmental, social, economic and cultural aspects, while the IWSR will present the results of its latest report on trends and outlook to 2025 for wine and spirits consumption.

There will also be virtual tastings with Marc Almert, ASI (International Sommeliers’ Association) 2019 World’s Best Sommelier, focusing on ideas and tips for remotely stimulating the senses.

Heini Zachariassen, CEO of Vivino, will also take the floor to explain how his business tackled the health crisis and outline his strategic ambitions.

Vinocamp & La WineTech will provide an overview of solutions for improving online sales, featuring good practice to make a success of e-commerce sales.

At the end of last year Vinexposium made major changes to its schedule for 2021 due to the pandemic. In addition to moving Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris, Vinexpo New York, Vinexpo Hong Kong and Vinexpo Bordeaux have all been postponed until 2022.

Registration and further details https://bit.ly/VinexposiumConnect

#wineevent #winetasting #vinexpo #wineparis #vinexpoparis2021 #winenews #winetrade #instawine #wine #sommelier #winemarketing #onlinewineevent #recovery #winelovers #wineeducation #digital

 

 

 

“Tastry” uses Chemistry + AI to Analyze Wine and Generate Flavor Profiles

A California startup that taught a computer to “taste” wine is using technology to help winemakers improve their wines and attract new customers.

Founder Katerina Axelsson says Tastry uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze “tens of thousands of wines a year,” generating vast reams of data to help winemakers and retailers target their products more effectively.

Ms Axelsson formed her idea as a chemistry student working at a winery, where she noticed “idiosyncrasies” in how wine was evaluated. A 100,000-gallon tank of wine would be divided in two and sold to two different brands, where it would end up in different bottles, sold at different prices and receive different scores from critics, she states

She began analyzing wine samples, identifying thousands of compounds. Using AI, she could see how these compounds interacted with each other, creating the wine’s flavor profile. She then took that profile and used machine learning to compare its flavor, aroma, texture and color with other wines in the database.

The method allowed Axelsson to develop a wine recommendation app, which was launched on screens in the wine aisles of retailers in 2019. Through a quiz, consumers could input their flavor preferences, and the software would recommend a suitable wine with 80-90% accuracy at the first attempt, she says, rising to 95% with additional input form the user. Tastry’s system now powers its BottleBird wine recommendation app.

Tastry has also begun working directly with winemakers in the United States. Brands pay to have their bottle analyzed “and in exchange they would have access to what we call an insights dashboard, where they can identify how their wine is perceived in their market of opportunity, on a store, local or regional level,” says Axelsson.

One client is O’Neill Vintners and Distillers, one of the largest wine producers in California. To produce some blends, it combines wine from “upwards of 30 different tanks” to create the desired flavor profile, according to Marty Spate, vice president of winemaking and winegrowing.

The company is using Tastry’s AI to “streamline” the blending process by suggesting which tanks to use. “[Tastry is] not a replacement for the modern winemaking team,” he says, however, “that data can be pretty powerful.”

But in an industry steeped in artisan tradition, there are some critics of its algorithmic approach.  “It’s like having a computer analyze a piece of art,” says Ronan Sayburn, master sommelier and head of wine at 67 Pall Mall, a private members club for wine lovers in London.

“I don’t know how keen people would be on following what a computer tells them to drink, based on what they had previously,” he says. “I think part of the appeal of wine is forming your own opinions.”

Sayburn concedes technology can be useful to the amateur, for recommending serving temperature, aeration time and food pairings. “But when it comes to something which is a very emotive subject, I think there’s got to be human contact,” he argues.

Axelsson agrees that Tastry is not a substitute for a sommelier. But she says the scalability of her product makes it possible to analyze more wines per year than a human could ever taste.

Her company will start offering services in Europe later this year in collaboration with an online retailer, and is already thinking beyond wine, having conducted tests for beers, spirits, coffee and fragrances.

In the meantime, she’s happy to spend time winning over the naysayers.

“It takes time to educate any industry about AI and its benefits,” she says. “But if the use case is there and the value proposition is there, I think it’s just a matter of time before people really embrace it.”

Source :CNN Business London

#Womeninwine #womeninwinebusiness #womenintech #womeninscience #womenwholead #winetrends #winenews #winelovers #wine #winelovers  #tastry#wine #wineapp #tastryai #winetasting #artificialintelligence #ai #tech #technology #science #sensoryscience #senses

Les Dames d’Escoffier and Crafting for a Cure Foster a Unique Fundraising Wine and Gift Basket Auction

Crafting For a Cure is pleased to introduce, “Uncorked a wine and gift basket silent auction taking place from June 15th to June 24th, 2021 in support of 2 critically important causes.

“We are delighted to partner with Crafting For a Cure and to contribute to the success of Uncorked,” said Liz Palmer, President, Les Dames d’Escoffier (Ontario) 

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/ontario-non-profit-partnership-fosters-a-unique-fundraising-wine-and-gift-basket-auction-890461509.html

#pressrelease #news #canadiannews #womeninwine #womeninhospitality #womeninfood #womensupportingwomen #womenledauction #wineauction #wineauctionontario 

#redwine #whitewine #wine #winetasting #winetime #winestagram #vino #instawine #winelovers #CraftingForACure #charity #makeadifference #donate #craftkits #philanthropy #inspiration #funding #donations #beinspired #giveback #notforprofit #torontoevents #torontowineevent #womenwholead @crafting4acureca @lesdamesontario