- The beverage business blog -
Olly Wehring's unique web log on the global beverage industry, key events, people and his own daily experiences. If you would like to offer your comments, opinions, suggest topics or just have a good rant, please feel free to email: Olly Wehring. |
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Murray mania?
3rd July 2009 12:19
Apparently, we hear, there's a bit of a run on this wine in UK supermarkets this week.
Can't think why.
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Bulmers Pear cider in laxative claim
30th June 2009 15:17
C&C Group's new Bulmers Pear cider in Ireland has not gone down well with a handful of consumers, it seems.
A forum posting on the boards.ie website is headed: "Bulmers pear (best laxative known to man?)"
Several members of the forum then go on to describe, quite graphically in some cases, how they suffered from diarrhoea after drinking the new Bulmers.
One contributor, named 'chem', said: "The stomach was like a bubble machine gone nuts. After the 3rd pint it was like pulling the pin on a grenade."
When questioned about the complaints, a C&C Group spokesperson said in a statement to just-drinks: "Bulmers Pear contains a significant level of high quality, pear juice and like prunes, plums and grapes, pears contain naturally occurring substances which, depending on the quantity consumed and the sensitivity of the individual involved, may not agree with every individual."
It is understood that only a handful of complaints have been received relating to Bulmers Pear.
The spokesperson said that ingredients occur naturally in the pear juice and are not anything that Bulmers has added to the product.
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Vinexpo 2009 - 'It could have been worse'
25th June 2009 20:12
A look of palpable relief beamed from the faces of the Vinexpo press team this afternoon, the final day of Bordeaux's signature wine event.
Organisers of the fair relaxed their haunched shoulders as it became clear that visitor figures were not as bad as anticipated and that a spot of surreptitious scouting for opinions on the show floor had yielded warmer-than-expected feedback.
Estimated visitor figures for the bi-annual show are around 46-47,000 for the five days, just-drinks understands. That is down on the 50,000 visitors from 2007, but it is a mark of the economic times that the 2009 figure is considered a positive result.
It could have been worse and many of the organisers feared that it would be, they have subsequently admitted.
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On the floor at Vinexpo
24th June 2009 18:00
There is one undisputable thing that Vinexpo has over the London International Wine Fair, and that is the sunshine. It is scorching down here.
At least, that's what just-drinks hears. Naturally, I've spent most of today under the artificial lights of Vinexpo's vast array of stands.
Unlike two of the journalist fraternity, who were spotted snoozing away on the acrylic press office chairs mid-afternoon. Empty glasses were within an arm's reach, so draw your own conclusions.
Chatter on the floor today has focused much on the fact that the halls are noticeably quieter. As one exhibitor put it, "it's been pretty dead at times". It must also be said that there is a noticeable lack of our antipodean cousins. A novice would be forgiven for asking whether Australia and New Zealand really make wine.
But, the vast majority of exhibitors interrogated by just-drinks have been very positive about the quality of visitors and the interest that they have received.
And, Vinexpo is very keen to point out that 2009 has heralded the arrival of many new wine producing countries, including Egypt and Madagascar.
One high contender for quote of the day comes from one of the head winemakers at a large company here. "Biodynamic wines are 60% science and 40% Harry Potter," he said, requesting anonymity.
Check just-drinks.com tomorrow (25 June) for more news from the show.
CM
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Coca-Cola's approach to rubbish
24th June 2009 15:36
How's this for a load of old rubbish?
Poor, I know, but on my many (alright, three) walks on the Sussex Downs in the south of England, I've often come across the odd rusting drinks can or two. Were I to head down this week, however, I'd stumble over around 200,000 of the pesky things.
Hats off to Coca-Cola GB, though, for putting these cans to good use – a 50m postcard atop the cliffs of the Sussex coastline to mark the beginning of Recycle Week this week.
Ans worry not, at the end of Recycle Week all these cans will be recycled saving enough energy to keep a television running for 70 years.
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Who is The Stig? Ask Bacardi
22nd June 2009 13:00
Here in the UK, last night served witness to what was, in my humble opine, one of the TV moments of the year. And it was a moment that got one of our own, Bacardi, a mention on national TV.
The return of popular driving programme Top Gear last night saw the unmasking of the previously anonymous test driver The Stig. Now, I won't spoil the surprise for you, but grab your lunch and settle back for half an hour once you've clicked here and fast forwarded to the 30-minute mark.
Thereafter, click here to understand what on earth he was blethering on about.
And, if you can't be bothered with these simple yet, I concede, time-sapping instructions, then simply click here to find out the identity of Bacardi's secret weapon.
It's worth it, though.
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Duffy, Coca-Cola and the great British public
19th June 2009 18:08
There is a stereotype that says the British are too fond of rules. Rules, like queuing, help everybody to know where they are and what they should be doing.
One must lament the prospect of new rules, but once in place, the rules must be followed, because they are the rules.
I am from the UK and I will admit to having felt unsettled in places where chaos has appeared to be the only rule, such as the mind boggling roundabout at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Seriously, have you seen it? There are no lanes.
A series of complaints against The Coca-Cola Co and its advert featuring Welsh singer Duffy have again this week reminded the world of the British public's pedantic love affair with the rulebook.
In the ad, Duffy takes a break from a gig and, after a sip of Coca-Cola, rides her bike to the shops, before returning to the gig for an encore.
Unfortunately, Duffy did this in the dark.
"18 viewers challenged whether the ad could be seen to condone behaviour prejudicial to health and safety, because Duffy was not wearing reflective clothing and did not have lights on her bicycle," said the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) this week.
The ASA threw out the complaint, arguing that the dreamy soundtrack and bike ride through supermarket aisles "set the cycling sequence apart from reality".
It seems that some viewers also set themselves "apart from reality". Do these people really have that little to worry about?
Chris M. Dep ed.
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Alcohol advertising on the internet
18th June 2009 15:30
France's Senate has at last seen sense and decided to overturn a bizarre attempt to ban alcohol publicity on the internet.
French Senators this week voted to amend France's Loi Evin, which has governed alcohol publicity since 1991, to include the internet.
The move should mark the endgame in what has been nearly 18 months of limbo for wine, beer and spirits firms operating in France.
In February 2008, the National Association for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Addiction won a court battle against Heineken, arguing that its online publicity was illegal. France's Loi Evin makes no mention of the internet, therefore internet publicity is not legal, argued the campaign group.
A Paris court judge agreed, sparking a bizarre chapter in the history of alcohol in France.
Chris M.
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Belly's gonna get you
17th June 2009 17:21
It turns out that all the UK Government and industry campaigning to get consumers to wise up to their daily alcohol unit intake may be off the mark.
At least, it may be for men.
Instead, a new survey out today shows that a third of men worry that their drinking will lead to bigger bellies and "man boobs".
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Euro's sterling effort sinks the booze cruise
15th June 2009 17:17
After going to the effort of building a tunnel to France, under the auspices of European unity, the euro's recent strength against sterling has negated one of said construction's main attractions - the ability to get cheaper booze more quickly.
Not only has the euro's recent strength against sterling played havoc with French wine exporters, it's also stopped everybody in the UK from traversing the moat to buy wine en France and cart it back.
Wine retailer Majestic said today that a slowdown in "booze cruises" to northern France has forced it to take a GBP5m write-down charge on its business over there. It has also shut a warehouse in Calais. Apparently, euro's strength has made French wine too expensive for it to be worth the effort.
Whoever pulls the strings up above clearly has an apt sense of timing, for, as Majestic announced the news, euro slipped to its lowest level against sterling this year - at GBP0.84.
At various points earlier this year, however, the two currencies have been near parity.
According to Majestic, even a 17% rise in duty tax on wine last year in the UK has failed to prop up the booze cruise to France, which for several years has been as close as much of the UK gets to an annual pilgrimage.
Naturally, there will be many others in the UK drinks trade, and also the bean counters in Her Majesty's Treasury, counting their blessings at this turn of events.
Chris M, dep ed.
Your Comments
Was in Calais...last week
Carrefour empty....."wine adviser" told me if Brits do not return son....they will por new world wines in the tunnel..as the French never drink them..joking(I think)
martin kember
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What's this?
Your Comments
Just back...... Great show for....... i. "new world" brand managers to understand they are not that important. ii. small stand holders to drink 15 coffee's and smoke 40 Gitanes as they have no visitors. iii.If you show a spirit brand at this show..it means it is a 2nd tier brand! iv.Club des Marques area looks empty and pretentious in this market situation. v.food good...however, our latin cousins need lessons in the concept of a "queue" regards,Martin
martin kember