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The consolidation of distributors in the wine and spirits industry continues as evidenced by Impact’s latest data as of April 2014.

US Wine and Spirit Distributor top 10

The third annual U.S. Beverage Alcohol Forum was held at the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America convention. The USBAF is a partnership between the WSWA and the U.S. Drinks Conference, in collaboration with Brand Action Team, Next Level Marketing and MHW, Ltd.

USDC Organizers l. to r. Mike Ginley, Jeff Grindrod, John Beaudette, Steve Raye

The Forum, held on Tuesday, April 30, was led by top opinion makers in the industry who covered topics such as trends, technology, digital marketing and distribution of wine and spirits brands in America. Over 200 delegates attended the event representing importers, suppliers, wholesalers and on – and off-premise accounts from all over the world. “We were pleased with the turnout and response from attendees,” said Steve Raye, Managing Partner of the marketing consulting company, Brand Action Team. “We received great feedback on both the session topics and speakers alike, most particularly in regard to the usefulness and practicality of the information presented.”

The conference began with an in-depth look at how brands can avoid the common mistakes made by wine and spirit brands entering the U.S. market for the first time. John Beaudette opened with a presentation on the distribution challenges new brands face when launching in the U.S., and identified current and developing solutions for successful market penetration. Beaudette was joined by TTB headquarters executive Gail Davis and United Distributors President Doug Hertz. Gail provided the audience with insight on current and potential changes impacting product labeling, and Doug identified approaches brand owners could use to maximize their chances for distribution.

The second session was moderated by Mike Ginley, Founder and Partner of Next Level Marketing, who gave a detailed overview of the structure, volume and trends of the U.S. beverage alcohol market, supported by a candid panel session led by noted mixologist, Tony Abou-Ganim.  The following session was presented by Jeff Grindrod, Managing Partner of Brand Action Team, and gave a detailed overview of emerging digital tools suppliers are using to monitor and manage growth.  The concluding session, “Digital Retail Marketing” was led by Steve Raye and provided an in-depth look at new digital and social media tools that are available to assist on- and off-premise accounts to drive customer loyalty and leverage word of mouth.  Mike Ginley of Next Level Marketing noted that the turnout was significantly increased from last year, “and we’re quite pleased with the positive feedback we received.”

Conference sponsors included Western Carriers, JF Hillebrand, Overton, Mast Capital Partners and Nixon Peabody, as well as media partners Beverage Media Group, Beverage Information Group (Cheers, Stateways, Beverage Dynamics), Tasting Panel Magazine, Bar Business Magazine.  For more information on the U.S. Beverage Alcohol Forum, contact Steve Raye at Brand Action Team or visit www.USDrinksConference.com

We’ve just announced that we’re opening a new Consumer PR practice and plan to open an office in New York City to house it.  Amber Gallaty will head up the project.  She joins us from the Thomas Collective with a boatload of experience in wine and beer Consumer PR, event management, trade tastings and other key areas.   Location for the office is still pending, but we’ll keep you posted.

SmarteRita a new ready to drink margarita brand will be featured on Fox Business News tomorrow.  Founder Kelly Shuman will be interviewed on why she developed the brand.  Check it out live or on demand at http://live.foxnews.com

Watch Live or on demand at http://live.foxnews.com

That’s right, my first…and only…pick for a wine bar that will blow your mind.  The real estate folks say “location, location, location.”  Well, Faust Wine Bar in Budapest not only has the most fabulous location, but getting there is half the fun.  It’s tucked away at end of a labyrinthine pathway in the cellars of the remains of a 16^th Century Franciscan church that also happens to be part of a modern Hilton Hotel in the Castle District on the Buda side of Budapest.  We’ll get back to the wine bar itself shortly, but it’s the path you have to follow to get to this place that is equally as fascinating as the wines on the list.

My pictures don’t do the journey justice, but they do give you inkling.  Take a hard left at the lobby of the new part of the hotel and head past the ruins of the “new” part of the church.  There’s a small sign on a stand and an arch and doorway that seems pretty normal, but definitely downstairs.  You’re wondering if it’s open when you arrive at another sign in front of a wall built of bottles, and some gold leaf lettering on a window reading “Faust Wine Bar”.     But this isn’t it; it’s just the sign telling you to keep walking.  This leads you through a winding hallway with remnants of the church on display, including the red marble traditionally used for gravestones.  We’re at the church’s foundation level, but we continue down some more stairs.

Wondering if the place is open, we come to a very old door with some modern signage; enter and walk down another flight of steps and it starts to feel like the “Faust” name might be a harbinger…you feel like you’re walking into the bowels of the earth with stonework that is getting older and rougher in appearance.

Down another flight of stairs decorated with plastic grapevine and you’re greeted with a tableaux of a desk with wine bottle and glass and a  straw dummy…from the top of the stairs, you could swear it’s a real person until you get closer and see that it’s just a set.  Feeling a bit more confident that the place might be open you see another archway and think, I must be there.

But no.  Take another hard left through a very, very, very old wooden door with old iron hinges and there’s another hallway and the stonework becomes much older and rougher.  Old looking wall sconces through off a dim light evocative of what this must have looked like pre-electricity.  And there’s another hallway, and another flight of steps….going down.  At the end you see a few white Christmas lights and you think, well this must be it.

Nope!  Down a spiral staircase, to an entranceway that would do Edgar Allen Poe proud.  Two display cases frame a doorway that is up about 5 steps and lit just dimly enough to frame a tantalizing glimpse into the tasting room.  Whew!  It feels like you walked about a quarter of a mile, and about 100 feet down.  Enter the tasting room and you are in a small (50 x 20 feet or so) cellar reminiscent of the Canava caves in Santorini, only this one is has an arched ceiling carved out of the very bedrock of Castle Hill.  Eroded wall niches are richly lit with candles giving the room a warm, but moody ambience.  Against the far wall are some built-in racks to store the wine, and a small service table to the left of the entrance.  No running water, no internet, the only inkling of modernity are the small electric lights on the racks and the mandatory sprinkler piping for the fire suppressant system. As you walk in you hear “szívesen látott”  Welcome! In Magyar (a language which is said to be related to Finnish, but there are a couple of of Finns in the wine bar who tell me that’s what they heard to, but it’s unrecognizable to them) and you’re greeted by the bright smile of Gabor Nagy, the proprietor who leases the space from the Hilton.  He explains the place has been open only two years, and yes, it’s a bit of a challenge to get to (think how hard it is to get inventory down here!)   but pretty nice when you do arrive.

Check it out next time you’re in Budapest…www.gbwine.eu

Here is a comprehensive list of the most important spirits and wine trade events and tasting competitions for 2013 in (sort of) chronological order.