We came to VinExpoNY. We saw VinExpoNY. We left VinExpoNY. As usual it was filled to the brim with suppliers that are incredibly eager to sell into the USA. While visually less crowded then last year,...
Like most of Earth I watched the Oscars last night. Beside the plausible deniability of a Bradly Cooper and Gaga relationship, there was something else that became clear to me. Amidst the multiple nominees...
The wholesale channel has always been challenging, particularly for small to medium-sized wineries, and over the last two decades, things have gotten even harder. Many wineries have responded by focusing...
I have seen things. I have been on the front lines, and it was horrific. The fight was between budgets and brands. The fight was between trying to catch a buyer and having said buyer sneak out the backdoor...
Happy New Year to all. We at BevStrat are so happy to put 2018 in the books. We feel that 2018 was the year that the convergence of sales teams, brands, distributors and importers all came together and...
We are here again. Like clockwork, December comes and everyone in the adult beverage world looks backwards at their successes and failures, otherwise known as depletions, and then look forward in a hopeful...
We at BevStrat hope that everybody had a wonderful holiday weekend that was filled with the ideal amount of family and inventory depletions. We, in my family, fell victim to the never-ending supply of...
Like clockwork every November Wine Spectator publishes their Top 100 wine list. When I was a retailer this list made customers go crazy, they would scramble for the wines, and call every day from around...
Musing from 30,000 feet flying from LA to Chicago. There are a few end-of-year comments that need to be made. I am coming back to Chicago after a brief 30 hours in LA working with two brands. For one brand...
I consider myself smart, just ask me :). I have been selling booze for nearly 30 years in all tiers of the business. One thing I am sure of is that in the 4th quarter 30 + 30 = 30. How can that be? Is...
