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FIGURES AND FACTS, PEOPLE AND POLICY, CORPORATE & COMMUNITY
CRAFT BEER IS AT IT AGAIN
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The latest insights from Dan Murphy’s place local craft beer at the forefront of beer retail sales. Figures show craft beer sales have increased by 18.6% in the last 12 months, almost doubling its share of the total beer category at Dan’s. Of those figures, it is Australian craft beers that take up the biggest margin, representing 90% of the craft beer sales. The most popular style in the category is pale ale, which experienced the largest sales increase of 16.8%, followed by summer, tropical and pacific ales. But for winter, Dan Murphy’s Craft Beer Category Manager, Billy Ryan, said it’s the darker styles that customers are picking from the shelves. What’s your most popular beer? Let us know. Email AlanaH@drinks.asn.au HIP HIP HOORAY: TYRRELL’S WINES CELEBRATES 160 YEARS
Operating since 1858, Tyrrell’s Wines has long been one of Australia’s oldest family-owned wineries and now the business is turning 160 years old. Tyrrell’s has a strong family philosophy, leading to five generations working through the business, a legacy that is hoped to continue for many more years to come. Chris Tyrrell, one of the fifth generation family members that has worked for the business said, “160 years of family business is an amazing thing. We are lucky enough to make wine from vines planted by our Great-Great-Grandfather in a time when they had no electricity or any of the luxuries we have today. It is an honour to work with these wonderful assets.” Reflecting on the winery’s most memorable moments so far, two came to mind for the family, including the 1963 release of the iconic Vat 1 Hunter Semillon, which is now one of the most awarded white wines in Australia, and when Tyrrell’s became the first Australian winery to mature chardonnay in French oak in 1973 and enter it into a wine show, a controversial move at the time. To celebrate the significant milestone, the Tyrrell family has released two commemorative museum wines, a 2005 Vat 1 Hunter Semillon and a 2007 Vat 9 Hunter Shiraz to applaud the “past, present and future” of their family’s business.
ABAC APPOINTS INDEPENDENT CHAIR
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Harry Jenkins AO, has been appointed as the new Independent Chair of the Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC), replacing retiring Independent Chair, the Hon. Alan Ferguson. The code is responsible for regulating alcohol marketing and packaging in Australia. Deputy Chair of the ABAC Management Committee, Brett Heffernan (columnist page 20), said everyone was excited about Jenkins’ appointment, with him bringing a wealth of experience to the role. Heffernan explained, “He comes to the advertising control body at an important time, providing strong independent leadership as ABAC continues to evolve in meeting public expectations about alcohol advertising, but also in explaining the functions of ABAC and the rationale behind its decisions.” He added, “Importantly, Harry is highly regarded across the political divide and has a well-known public reputation for not tolerating nonsense.”
Kia-Ora!
has arrived in New Zealand
DE BORTOLI TURNS 90
One of Australia’s largest family-owned wineries, De Bortoli Wines, is turning 90 years old. When Vittorio De Bortoli came to Australia from Northern Italy in the early 1900s, he began what would soon become a thriving family business, turning unwanted shiraz grapes into wine for family and friends. Today, the family winery operates across five regions in NSW and VIC and has been responsible for creating some of Australia’s award-winning wines. Talking of the journey the De Bortoli family has walked, third generation Managing Director, Darren De Bortoli said, “Our family is incredibly proud to be carrying on the work of our grandfather Vittorio and our father Deen in pushing the boundaries of winemaking to produce premium wines that are enjoyable to everyone and which our business is known for.” He added, “From our iconic Noble One, which is now one of the world’s most awarded wines, to igniting Australia’s love of pale, dry rosé with the Rosé Revolution, and producing exciting new wine styles for the modern adventurous wine drinker, we are committed to fulfilling their legacy to ensure De Bortoli Wines remains at the forefront of winemaking innovation.” To celebrate the significant milestone, De Bortoli Wines will be at the 2018 Good Food and Wine Show between now and October, as well as releasing a special limited edition 90th Anniversary fortified wine.
PROMOTE
SIPNOT IS BACK THIS SEPTEMBER
Words by Henry Hardy, Stonier Brand Manager
It’s not every day that you have the opportunity to taste some of the world’s best pinot noir together with some of the industry’s all-time greats. The annual Stonier International Pinot Noir Tasting (SIPNOT) will return in October, showcasing pinot from both the Southern and Northern Hemispheres. Held every year since 2000, both trade and consumers are invited to participate in the blind tasting and subsequent discussion, which will be hosted by Chief Winemaker of Stonier Wines, Mike Symons. The master panel will consist of leading wine journalist and critic James Halliday AM, The Lucas Group Wine Business Development Manager Philip Rich and Wine Marketing and Strategy Specialist Aaron Brasher.
When: Monday 15 October 2018 Where: Myer Mural Hall, Melbourne Time: 6pm-9.30pm To register: Call the winery on (03) 5989 8300 or email henry.hardy@stonier.com.au SCRATCH-N-SNIFF ALCOHOL LABELS ARE NOW A THING
Move over Augmented Reality labels, alcohol marketing has stepped back in time and resurrected scratch-n-sniff technology to stand out on the shelves. Earlier this year, Captain Morgan released Watermelon Smash in the US - a watermelonflavoured rum with a scratch-n-sniff label. Now Winc has debuted the first scratch-n-sniff wine label for its Cocomero Rosé. The California wine brand has been producing rosé for the last few years, but released its scratch and sniff label with the 2017 vintage of Cocomero, which means watermelon in Italian. The 12.5% pink from the 2017 vintage is made from barbera and has notes of watermelon, honeysuckle and rhubarb, and is described by Winc as a “bright and juicy” rosé that’s “light-bodied, dry and bursting with watermelon flavour.” “The fun starts before you open the bottle. Smelling the fragrant watermelon will make you want to pop it open immediately,” Winc claims. The technology was invented in 1965 by 3M and is created through micro-encapsulation - the desired smell is surrounded by microcapsules that break easily when gently rubbed. It hit peak popularity around the late 1970s through to the early 80s. While it’s not quite scratch-n-sniff, Pernod Ricard did step outside the box with its recent advertising campaign, creating strawberryscented posters to launch Beefeater Pink gin. The posters were installed in one of London’s busiest tube stops, Oxford Circus. Michael Scantlebury, Creative Director at Impero - which was responsible for the campaign - said that with social media marketing reaching saturation point, brands must “work extra hard to cut through the sheer amount of content and ads our industry puts in front of consumers every day.”
LEADING DRINKS SHOW RETURNS THIS SEPTEMBER
After last year’s successful Commercial Drinks Show, the country’s leading liquor industry event has been reborn and reimagined as the Drinks Collective Show and will be occurring on 10-12 September 2018. With the help of four experts from the industry - Kirrily Waldhorn (Beer Partner), David Messum (Wine Curator), Nigel Weisbaum (Spirits Ambassador) and Mitch Wilson (Bar Ambassador), the event is now focused on recent trends and needs found in the $16 billion on-premise liquor industry. “We’ve worked with the event team to create a show and content that has been specifically tailored to reflect current industry trends and demands,” said Waldhorn. He, along with the other three experts, will appear at the event and share what they have learnt from their many years of experience. In addition to presenting the best drinks of the year, the Drinks Collective Show will offer attendees the opportunity to join educational sessions and master classes to improve their own companies within the industry. Head to drinkscollectiveshow.com.au to register or for more information.
Winners will be grinners: 2017 AWLOTY Awards recipients
THE SEARCH IS ON FOR AUSTRALIA’S BEST WINE LIST
Established in 1994, this year marks the 25th anniversary of Australia’s Wine List of the Year (AWLOTY) Awards, charged with recognising and rewarding the most outstanding wine and beverage lists, large and small, from restaurants, wine bars, cafés, brasseries, pubs, clubs and hotels across the country. AWLOTY Awards have played a significant role over the years in uplifting the quality of wine lists nationally, encouraging restaurateurs and sommeliers to raise the bar alongside other programs such as the Court of Master Sommeliers, Wine & Spirit Education Trust and Institute of Masters of Wine. The awards have grown over the last 25 years both in the number of entries and awards, which today cater for the best wine lists in each state, city and regional, of all sizes, alongside other beverages such as beer, non-alcoholic and aperitifs, as well as the venue’s food. These are judged by an esteemed panel of 30 wine professionals, including Master Sommeliers and Masters of Wine including Co-Chairmen of Judges Peter Forrestal and Brian Julyan MS, and Deputy Chairs, Toni Paterson MW and Jeni Port. A record 400 venues have entered into the AWLOTY 2018 Awards. Keep an eye out for the results on drinksbulletin.com.au on the evening of Monday 23 July.
Staff at a Sydney CBD restaurant dumped two unconscious female patrons on the street after letting them drink 16 shots of spirits within 40 minutes. Gangnam Station Korean restaurant in Sussex St is facing a range of sanctions due to the incident, described by the Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority as one of the worst breaches of liquor laws in NSW in recent years. In evidence detailed in a police report, three women entered the restaurant at 7.55pm on 9 November last year and ordered shots of soju. After each patron drank their eighth shot at around 8.35pm, two collapsed forward and became unconscious. Staff and other patrons carried the two women out of the restaurant and dumped them on the footpath. One of the women vomited while being carried. Police patrolling nearby noticed people gathered around the unconscious women and called an ambulance that took them to hospital. The Authority has imposed a ‘first strike’ on the restaurant’s licensee, Sunhwa Kim, under the NSW Government’s Three Strikes disciplinary scheme. The Authority is also proposing to reduce Gangnam Station’s closing time from 2am to midnight and require it to have a security guard trained in the responsible service of alcohol on the premises from 8pm each night. NSW Police has fined the restaurant $2,200 for permitting intoxication, and Liquor & Gaming NSW is considering taking further action.
