United States – The Cellar Club

Morningreport | 21 April 2023

Sales of New Zealand wine have increased in the US – “a bright spot in an otherwise declining import sector”, the New Zealand Winegrowers industry body says.

The increase, for 2024, marks the sixteenth year in a row that retail sales of New Zealand wines within the US have gone up, the new report from alcohol sales analysts Impact Databank. And it comes on the heels of threats from US president Donald Trump to impose a 200 percent tariff on alcohol imported from European Union countries, amid unfolding international trade tensions.

New Zealand Winegrowers director Fabian Yukich told Morning Report it was promising news, amidst otherwise challenging conditions.

“That publication goes out to a lot of people who make decisions about buying New Zealand wine, so it’s pretty important … that we’re getting all this good news from the US right now, where things are otherwise a bit gloomy in other parts of the industry … people see it and they say, well we better order some more New Zealand wine,” Yukich said.

New Zealand is particularly known for the “flavours and aromas” of our sauvignon blank, he said.

“If you look at it from a global perspective, we are less than 2 percent of the world’s production – the trend at the moment is moving away from red wines and towards white wines, and it’s moving towards those more aromatic fresh white wines, so the trend is all in New Zealand’s favour.”

“So the wine’s that we make they are also very sustainably made, and we do take a lot of time to promote that around the world, and that is also in our favour because people do like to buy wines that are sustainably produced.”

Yukich said despite retail sales in the US increasing, retailers were being slow to restock New Zealand wine on their shelves, “and we are feeling that a little bit in New Zealand.”

“They’re unstocking – so that means less sales in the short term … less imports from New Zealand at the moment … but the outlook in the long term is good. Just about every other country’s sales at retail level are reducing, and wine in general is reducing – against that backdrop New Zealand wine is increasing … the long term picture is good.”

Picking has just begun for this season’s sauvignon blanc, but in the face of declining consumption in New Zealand and international, some growers in Marlborough have recently been advised to leave some of their crop unpicked.

“In the last three years we’ve had three massive crops, that Mother Nature has delivered – and this year’s no different to 2022 and 2023, where the vines are delivering a lot of grapes,” Yukich said.

“And the wine companies are saying ‘well look, we need to temper that against what is actually being exported out of the country’.

“It’s not great news for our growers… but the long term outlook is good.”

Michael Rubikam and Lisa Rathke | Mar 17 2020 | stuff.co.nz

A US distillery owner who grew increasingly angry as he saw the skyrocketing price of hand sanitiser has decided to do something about it: He’s temporarily converting his operation into a production line for the suddenly hard-to-find, gooey, alcohol-based disinfectant.

Eight Oaks Farm Distillery is temporarily converting its operation into a production line for hand sanitister. [MATT ROURKE/AP]

Eight Oaks Farm Distillery filled its first 20 bottles this week, a batch destined for charitable groups that need hand sanitiser but haven’t been able to get it due to the coronavirus pandemic. The family-owned distillery plans to dramatically boost production this week and distribute the bottles to charities as well as offer them at farmers’ markets where it sells its spirits and through its website.

The price: whatever people decide to donate.

“We are in a national emergency,” said brewery founder Chad Butters. “What’s the right thing to do? The right thing to do is support this community by providing something that is in desperate need. We’ll flood the valley with hand sanitiser and drive that price right down.”

Chad Butters, founder of Eight Oaks Farm Distillery, at his facility in Pennsylvania. [MATT ROURKE/AP]

Other distilleries are also putting their spirits to work to help fill the shortage of hand sanitisers. Green Mountain Distillers in Morrisville, Vermont, is giving away a hand sanitising solution and Durham Distillery in Durham, North Carolina, is donating one to hospitality colleagues, using high-proof alcohol and other ingredients. Patrons must bring their own containers.

“We wanted to do something that would be as positive as possible,” said Harold Faircloth, an owner of Green Mountain Distillers.

Smugglers’ Notch Distillery, also in Vermont, plans to launch a hand sanitiser later this week at its Waterbury and Jeffersonville sites. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Vermont’s efforts to respond to the virus outbreak.

“I know I have a unique opportunity to help out a little bit and keep my staff employed,” said co-owner Jeremy Elliott, who said 40 per cent of his business comes from bars and restaurants, which are closing in some other parts of the country.

The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, a trade group, has been in touch with federal regulatory agencies as well as the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force to clear red tape and “make sure we can be quick and nimble and fill a need in the marketplace”, said chief executive Chris Swonger. “We all want to do our part.”

Swonger said government agencies have been very receptive.

Customers can decide how much to donate for a bottle of hand sanitiser. [MATT ROURKE/AP]

At Eight Oaks Farm Distillery, about 115 kilometres north of Philadelphia, workers experimented with high-proof alcohol, aloe and glycerine to get just the right consistency. The recipe is based on one published by the World Health Organization.

As word got out about what Eight Oaks was up to, the distillery began hearing from people and groups in need, including a pediatric cancer organisation and a woman whose 12-year-old son has heart disease and was desperate for hand sanitiser to help keep him safe.

“I cannot find it anywhere and this virus is especially dangerous to him,” she wrote to the distillery.

Stories like that are why Butters was so disgusted with price gougers who were selling sanitiser online for more than US$300 an ounce – and why he decided to shift his company’s focus.

“We’re trying to make sure we continue to provide a paycheck for our employees and support our community however way we can do that,” he said.

The family-owned distillery plans to dramatically boost production of hand sanitiser this week and distribute the bottles to charities. [MATT ROURKE/AP]

For most people, the new virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death. The vast majority of people recover.

Beyond the humanitarian impulses of individual distillers, the liquor industry also has a vested interest in seeing the virus threat dissipate quickly, given its economic reliance on bars, restaurants and other hospitality and entertainment venues that have been shuttered by the outbreak.

Brad Plummer, spokesman for the American Distilling Institute and editor of Distiller Magazine, said he’s been seeing a lot of talk among distillers interested in converting part of their operations to hand sanitiser.

“The hospitality industry is going to be decimated by this and they are our primary clients. We’re looking for ways to help in the response to this, but also to find other ways to look for revenue streams,” he said.

Tag: United States

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