Drinkbreak’s Post

Always a pleasure drinking wine with Michael, thank you for having me again GB News Key takeaways… - The UK's new alcohol duty system, described as a 'Brexit Freedom', complicates wine taxation by basing it on alcohol strength (ABV), which varies naturally. - The UK, being the second-largest wine importer, will face higher costs and complexities, potentially harming its status as a global wine hub. - Predictable duty rates currently cover most wines, but from 2025, each specific ABV will need a different duty payment, increasing costs and complicating logistics. - Small businesses like my own which pride ourselves on our diverse range will have to streamline and loose the USP - Wine cannot modify its ABV as easily as cider, making the new system especially challenging for wine businesses. - Many UK wine sellers are SMEs, and the new system might force them to reduce their diverse offerings to manage complexities. Solution: Make the current duty system permanent to support businesses and maintain the UK's competitive position in the global wine market, with minimal financial impact on the government. #wine #wsta #wineduty #tax #wineduty #winetrade #wineindustry #wineexpert #winelover

What if B.C. wine wasn’t grown in B.C.? The province’s winemakers are lobbying the province to let them import grapes for this year’s vintage, while keeping tax benefits usually reserved for wine made with B.C. grapes. Why is that? Read our latest:

The Brexiteers finally after three years since brexit and six years since the beginning of the brexit process have something tangible to look forward to and the Remainers can stop wining (misspelt on purpose), they will now sell wine by the pint in UK. Hip Hip Hooray! What a Churchillian victory over the EU! A point of information though for those about to celebrate probably the biggest victory since WW2: A pint is smaller than the usual bottle of wine. A pint is 0.56 litres, the rest of the world typical bottle size is 0.75 litres so yet again Brexiteers have been sold short. Meanwhile here on the continent you can buy wine by the litre, right up to 15 litre bottles. The remainers will have the last laugh since the word pint comes from the Old French word pinte and perhaps ultimately from Vulgar Latin pincta meaning "painted", for marks painted on the side of a container to show capacity, a very European Concept. In fact today In France, a standard 250 mL measure of beer is known as un demi ("a half"), originally meaning a half-pint. A traditional German beer stein is 1 litre and can be up to 2.5 litres... yes in UK we have been sold short on our beer for a long time! Churchill lived to a ripe old age of 90 and was allegedly a functioning alcoholic; drinking whiskey in the morning, champagne for lunch, often a second champagne in the afternoon, martinis and brandy's in the evening. Hitler on the other hand would just drink sweet champagne by the glass he had a sweet tooth, became a vegetarian in later years and Roosevelt repealed prohibition and liked to make his own cocktails. Stalin was Georgian so liked sweeter wines and of course vodka which is served in 0.75 litre bottles, bigger than a pint! Before the 1918 revolution and metrification vodka was served in bottles called shtofs about 1.2299 liters. It appears everytime governments get involved our measures shrink? What's your favourite tipple size this Christmas? Are you celebrating that wine will now be sold by the smaller pint? I am still getting over the screw top wine in UK? Sorry to be old fashioned but personally the screw top its not right neither is a smaller bottle, send it back - cheap! #Bexit #benefits? #wine #uk #politics #france #labellefrance #EU

How to sell wine online like a PRO! Just because you have wine (or spirits) for sale on your website doesn't mean anyone will buy it. Here is a video that will help you do it right 🍷: https://lnkd.in/gb3jsH_m

Once upon a time, back when the world was (more) normal, way back in 2016, a friend contacted me with a wine deal he found. Wine-dot-com (yes, the regular non-kosher one) had an incredible deal on the Domaine du Castel, Petit Castel, 2014. With taxes, shipping, and a (laughable additional) discount of 10%, we paid $296 for the case, or about $24 and change per bottle. Needless to say, we jumped on the deal. We split the case and I happily added six bottles to my growing cellar. Eight years later, sitting with the very same friend, I opened my last one. From prior experience, I knew there was no rush to open it, but felt it was not going to improve in any way. With only a touch of tertiary, I didn't want to risk sitting much longer, with the old adage about grabbing the wine by the horns in mind ... Once again, this Bordeaux blend (Cab, Merlot, PV) did not disappoint. Still vibrant ruby to purple in the glass. I did not notice any bricking at the time. A bunch of people were at the table so I only got a solitary glass. Dark red fruit on the nose, a touch of (now mostly receded) oak, and some leather, earth and dried fruit. The palate showed a mostly young fruit profile, with nice acid, receded tannin, and nice structure - obviously why this "second" wine of Domaine du Castel has aged so nicely. I wouldn't rush to open any remaining bottles, but also feel there's no need to wait. A remarkable deal which has paid dividends over these many years. Once again, well done by Domaine du Castel ELI-GILBERT BEN-ZAKEN! https://lnkd.in/eW76yvjw

When I consulted to a couple big wine industry players, I heard about a new winery that was able to produce a high quality wine at a low cost. They put the wine in stores for $9 per bottle. All their competitors of similar quality sold for $50 each bottle. It didn’t sell. They raised the price to $50 per bottle and suddenly couldn’t keep it in stock. Turns out customers used price as a proxy for quality because there are more wines out there than anyone has time to understand. So customers expected to spend $50 for a wine of a certain quality and this fantastic wine at $9 didn’t match how they bought. In software, if everyone else is selling seat-based licenses for $100, you should do the same. Even if consumption based or one time charges are better for the customer, innovative pricing models risk confusing folks and costing you sales.

UK Government Uncorks Pint-Sized Wine Bottles, Because Who Doesn't Need a Pint of Wine? 🍺 🍷 In a move that has consumers scratching their heads, the UK Department for Business and Trade has announced that pint-sized bottles of wine, equivalent to a full pint at 568ml, will soon be available. It's the kind of announcement that makes you wonder if you've stumbled into a Monty Python sketch. But no, this is reality, and it’s coming to a store near you in September 2024. 🛒 The news, unveiled by State Minister Kevin Hollinrake in the House of Commons, comes with an air of jubilation. It’s part of the government's grand post-Brexit plan to reintroduce a bit of British eccentricity into everyday life. Forget those silly metric sizes; we're back to the good old pint. Because nothing says "Brexit freedom" quite like knocking back a pint of Merlot. Hollinrake proudly declared that this bold new venture would "support the thriving UK wine sector by providing opportunities and more choices for consumers." Because clearly, what wine enthusiasts have been clamouring for is not quality, variety, or even sustainability—but more millilitres. Of course, not everyone is on board with the new pint-sized bottle trend. Scottish National Party (SNP) member of parliament Patrick Grady had a few questions about the government's vision of post-Brexit bliss, suggesting that the government might be inflating the benefits of Brexit, pointing to the more glaring challenges of border checks, business closures, and reduced consumer choice. But who cares about those when you can pour yourself a big ol' glass of Chardonnay? 🤷♀️ UK Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch had a more straightforward response to critics like Grady: "I can't imagine why anyone would be complaining about the sale of pints of wine. If he doesn't like it, he doesn't have to buy it." Well, fair enough. Maybe pint-sized wine bottles aren't for everyone. Just the folks who really, really need to fill their pint glasses with something other than beer. The pint-sized bottle initiative is part of a broader effort to refresh UK food and beverage regulations. But let's be real—when was the last time you saw someone at a dinner party pour a full pint of Sauvignon Blanc into their glass? Sure, it's unconventional, but it could be just the thing to bring a little more British quirkiness into our lives. So, whether you're a wine connoisseur or just someone who is curious, keep an eye out for these pint-sized wonders at your local supermarket. Because in the end, if life gives you pints of wine, you might as well pour a big glass.

All the basics about wine that you need to know are in this Wine Essentials 1 course and we just reduced the price! Sale won't last long, so get yours now before it's over. https://lnkd.in/e6WzA5Zk

The 2024 presidential election is going to be brutally partisan; it's going to result in some wicked and nasty social interaction the likes of which we have not seen. Wine-related brands and companies need to be prepared to avoid allowing their brands and revenues being harmed by this dynamic. In this latest installment of the Fermentation Substack, I offer some observations and advice on how a winery, wine retailer, or wholesaler can stay safe during the coming season of extreme partisanship.

On New Year's Eve, over 360 million people will toast the New Year with a glass of bubbly. Some of the bottles will be labeled Champagne, and some of them will be labeled as Sparkling Wine. So why the difference in labeling? It turns out there are strict requirements for a wine to be called Champagne. These requirements are stridently enforced by the trade group the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin du Champagne (CIVC). In addition to quality requirements such as aging time, alcohol content and residual sugar, the CIVC requires that for a wine to be labeled as Champagne, it must be produced in the Champagne region of France. The CIVC has been very successful at enforcing these requirements through trade agreements. For example, in the U.S., a 2006 trade agreement between the U.S. and the European Union requires that any American wine labels created after 2006 cannot call the wine Champagne. It is enforceable by law. Thus, even an American wine that is very similar to Champagne will most likely be labeled as Sparkling Wine. Whatever you will be drinking at the stroke of midnight, have a wonderful New Year’s! And come back in 2024 for more #LabelFactFriday.