by Melissa Piper Nelson

In the rapidly burgeoning wine and craft beverage industry, the question regarding the return on investment (ROI) versus specialized training for tasting room assistants (TRAs) pops up frequently by owners, industry trade associations and market researchers. (more…)

by Karen Van Wyk

Brothers Mark and Todd Stricker along with Jay T. Nolan and Jeff McCarthy are the owners of Rush Creek Distilling. An adventurous spirit clearly fits the energy and productivity of this company and is also their tagline. (more…)

by Tamara Scully

Growers know that all areas of their vineyard are not created equal, and all parts of the vineyard aren’t going to perform identically. If the end goal for the vineyard is the same throughout, different management protocols would need to be used as any variables change in order to achieve the same outcome. (more…)

Current advertising embraces the idea of generational segmentation, or developing marketing strategies for each age group. The most recognizable segments are Mature, Baby Boomers and Generations X, Y (Millennials) and Z. (more…)

The New York Craft Brewers Conference, presented by DWS, is the premier craft beer industry conference in the state, bringing together everyone involved in the craft beer industry in one collaborative space. (more…)

by Sally Colby

Michael Paluzzi grew up in a town largely populated by Italian immigrants, most of whom made their own alcohol and served it at every meal. (more…)

by Enrico Villamaino

The Crescent City recently celebrated its largest ever beer festival at the New Orleans City Park Festival Grounds – an unofficial start to the region’s Oktoberfest and a chance for brewers both large and small to exchange ideas and innovations while raising money for worthwhile causes. (more…)

by Courtney Llewellyn

One visit to the Lassiter Distilling Company’s Facebook page might tell you a good bit about the business. The banner across the top of the site reads “Greatness and mischief and damn fine character.” It’s a bold statement, and a blunt one, and it totally encompasses the spirit cofounder Rebecca Lassiter brings to the brand. (more…)

LOUISVILLE, KY – Craft Beverage Expo (CBE) 2018, the only show dedicated to independent beverage producers, recently announced a newly enhanced format to their one-of-a-kind conference and tradeshow for alcoholic and non-alcoholic craft beverages.  (more…)

by Brandon Fralic

Beer festivals abound throughout the United States. For the consumer, these fests are all about fun and discovery: sampling new brews is a great way to spend a Saturday with friends. Breweries get in on the fun too, often going all out in their booth decor and hype. (more…)

by Greg Hitchcock

Ben Applegate is the apple orchard manager for Eden Specialty Ciders of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom region. He has worked in cider production since 2009. (more…)

by Courtney Llewellyn

A canned beverage in the United States is almost always a perfectly hand-sized cylinder that holds 12 ounces of a cool, refreshing drink, be it made of sugar and water or hops and water. (more…)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – The third annual Drink Outside the Grape competition took place in Charlottesville, VA, on Aug. 8, resulting in 83 medals for fruit wines, meads, ciders and fruit brandies; 21 golds, 33 silvers and 27 bronze medals in addition to the five “Best of Category” winners. (more…)

NEW YORK – Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo recently announced the results of the second annual New York State Craft Beer Competition, which featured 642 New York State-brewed beers. For the second straight year, Brooklyn-based Threes Brewing took home top honors, winning the Governor’s Excelsior Cup. Gold medals were awarded to 23 beers from breweries across the state. (more…)

Hop Disease: Viruses and Viroids

Hops are fruit, and plants are susceptible to four diseases in the United States. Three of these belong to the same family – American hop latent virus, hop latent virus and hop mosaic virus. The fourth and most important is apple mosaic virus. (more…)

When it comes to evaluating your business, are you more of a numbers cruncher or an introspective learner? Can you be both? Should you be both? (more…)

by Rebecca Jackson
When he first met his wife Wendy, Donald Furrow-Scott hated wine, but he was more than happy to help her and her parents, vintners Roger and Judy Furrow, plant Cabernet grapes in 1984 in the family vineyard near Smith Mountain Lake, VA. (more…)

by Hope Holland
With a full year of unusual and persistent rains that followed late spring cold snaps, any farmer in Maryland could not be blamed for feeling a little put upon. Add to that the threat of having the tail end of a large hurricane threatening you with more rain, and being darn well discouraged is almost a given, especially when it comes right in prime harvesting time. (more…)

by Courtney Llewellyn
Mead has been made across the world, from ancient China to ancient Greece, from the savanna of Africa to the tundra of Scandinavia. King Harald Fairhair united Norway back in the ninth century, and today one of his descendants, through many generations, is working toward uniting lovers of drink through his passion for authentic mead. (more…)

by Laura Rodley
The shutters are wide open again at Old Nick Williams Company Farm and Distillery and the aroma is delicious. The distillery was shuttered in 1919 due to prohibition. (more…)

by Enrico Villamaino III
Years of academic study and worldwide travel have led a West Coast couple to an unexpected place and occupation: proprietors of New Orleans’ only cidery. (more…)

by Karen Van Wyk
Nine years ago, Bittercube, a slow crafting bitters production company, was birthed. Two gentlemen, Ira Koplowitz and Nick Kosevich, left well paid bar managing careers to explore an exciting adventure in the creation and distribution of bitters. What kind of unique venture have they developed? (more…)

by Tamara Scully
In many vineyards, the prevalent practice is to have a grass alley with an herbicide strip under the vines. A focus on enhancing vineyard sustainability, through the implementation of practices that promote soil health, decrease nutrient and chemical leaching and minimize erosion, has led to research trials on the use of under vine cover crops. (more…)

Intention is often used to describe what a person is thinking or feeling, but it more readily defines a person’s aim or plan. Customers visit your business with a plan – to visit, tour, check out the surroundings and, hopefully, purchase a product or service. You and your employees are responsible for determining a customer’s intention and helping to fulfill their expectations. (more…)

by Catie Joyce-Bulay
What Nick Gunn of Benchgraft Cider Consulting loves even more than making cider is helping others make it. “I like teaching and I like to consult,” said Gunn, who has over 14 years of cider making and orcharding experience. “I enjoy the startup phase of businesses and I get to help grow the industry.” (more…)

by Chad Storlie, Adjunct Professor of Marketing, Creighton University
What is customer experience? Customer experience has exploded over the past several years as a concept in Google searches as well as business literature. Broadly, Customer experience (CX) is the totality of interactions (good + bad + indifferent) that a customer has with a business’s products, services and supporting functions.  (more…)

by Courtney Llewellyn
CULVER CITY, CA – Adam Guttentag and Bryan Baird met in the 1980s while playing rugby and attending Williams College in Western Massachusetts together. Guttentag traveled to Japan right after college to teach English for a year … which turned into five years. Baird studied in Japan and fully intended on moving there after finishing his graduate studies. (more…)

by Sally Colby
Will and Ashlee Kimberley realize they don’t represent the average upstart vineyard and winery operation. But the young couple had a passion, created a plan and are now operating a successful winery and event center in Inwood, Iowa. (more…)

by Paul Burdziakowski
When Longboat Key, FL, natives Vic Falck and Geordie Rauch went to California in the summer of 2010 their main focus was on completing their service in the Navy following their recent enlistment. When they returned to Florida five years later they did so with a newfound friend who had a talent for brewing beer and the dream of starting their own craft brewery. (more…)