As we all know, marketing wine and distilled spirits presents unique challenges. Beverage alcohol marketing requires awareness of trade practice and other laws, including a complex web of federal and state regulations addressing the range of permissible promotional activities. The tricks of the...

POSTED BY Theresa Barton Cray As we near the close of a challenging year for the alcohol beverage industry, suppliers are understandably looking for creative marketing campaigns to boost sales. Unfortunately, given the highly regulated world of alcohol beverage marketing, creative marketing ideas...

One standard marketing principle is “Don’t market to yourself.” In other words, just because a message or strategy makes sense to you, it does not mean it will resonate with your audience. We are human, and it is easy to fall into the trap of viewing the category, consumer, or competitive set in a...

Wakefield Taylors Wines and 1800 Milenio Take Top Honors July 14, 2025 — Winners have been announced in the 18th annual Women’s International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWWSC). The competition, which took place recently in Santa Rosa, Calif., was founded on the premise that the majority of wine...

MAY 18, 2021 (Santa Rosa, Calif.) — Experience Rosé, a wine competition that focuses exclusively on expressions of pink wine — sweet, dry, and sparkling — has announced results of the 2021 contest. Taking top prize this year is Naked Wines’ W. Donaldson 2018 Sonoma Rosé from famed...

SPARKLING WINE TAKES TOP HONORS FOR FIRST TIME EVER April 12, 2021 (Santa Rosa, Calif.) — Winners have been determined in the 2021 Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge (NCWC), and for the first time in the event’s nine-year history, a sparkling wine has bested the competition. Sonoma-Cutrer's...

Garrison Brothers Distillery and Ledson Winery Take Top Honors (March 17, 2025) — Winners have been announced in the fourth annual Los Angeles Invitational Wine & Spirits Challenge. A merlot from Ledson Vineyards & Winery (Sonoma County, Calif.) and a small batch bourbon from Garrison Brothers...

JUNE 28, 2024 – Winners have been announced in the 17th annual Women’s International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWWSC). The competition, which took place June 10-12 in Santa Rosa, Calif., was founded on the premise that the majority of wine purchased for home consumption is bought by women. The...

OAK FARM VINEYARDS AND STEELBOUND DISTILLERY TAKE TOP HONORS IN 2024 LOS ANGELES INVITATIONAL WINE & SPIRITS CHALLENGE MARCH 6, 2024 – Winners have been announced in the third annual Los Angeles Invitational Wine & Spirits Challenge. A Barbera from Oak Farm Vineyards in Lodi, Calif., and a Bourbon...