🍷 Are Yeasts More Than Just a Tool?

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Happy Monday! We hope you have a great week. In this week’s DECORKED digest, you will read all about yeasts, tips for wine reps, market intelligence, industry news from Italy, new advertising opportunities for wine, and much more. Keep reading!

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INTERESTING THIS WEEK

🍾 New competition bubbles up in Europe’s sparkling wine market READ HERE

🍷 Emirates launches elite wine learning experiences for cabin crew READ HERE

🌟 Dolly Parton's California Chardonnay is now widely available READ HERE

📝 Does wine go bad? Here's how to tell if yours is past its prime READ HERE

 🔎 9 terms and trends wine professionals are sick of seeing READ HERE 

🗞 Mayor wants to ban cruise ships from Bordeaux READ HERE 

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HOW WINE REPS CAN LAND NEW RESTAURANT AND RETAIL ACCOUNTS

In the relationship-driven beverage alcohol industry, sales reps face challenges like distributor consolidation and a flood of new wine products. Success hinges on leveraging industry events, engaging winemakers, and thorough research, especially for cold calls. Persistence, follow-up, and using technology and social media are crucial for maintaining and building buyer relationships. Ultimately, understanding buyer needs and maintaining personal connections are key to long-term success. In this competitive landscape, it’s essential to stand out by aligning with buyers' priorities and supporting their operations. Continuous effort in nurturing these relationships ensures not just initial success but sustained growth and trust over time.

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TIKTOK OPENS DOORS TO ALCOHOL ADVERTISING

Wine marketers are optimistic about TikTok's new advertising rules, which allow them to target the platform’s 170 million U.S. users, many of whom are ideal wine consumers. With TikTok's user base aging and gaining disposable income, it presents a valuable opportunity for wine brands to reach new audiences and break free from Meta’s dominance in social media advertising. Despite initial hesitations due to legal restrictions and TikTok's irreverent culture, marketers are eager to explore its potential for brand awareness and sales. As TikTok users already discuss wine extensively, the platform’s personalized content algorithm and user-generated content make it a promising space for innovative wine marketing strategies.

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INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS EXAMINES POTENTIAL MARKET FAILURE IN GRAPE AND WINE SECTOR

Dr. Craig Emerson has been appointed to conduct an independent impact analysis of the wine and grape sector’s regulatory options, focusing on fair trading, competitive relationships, and risk allocation. Announced by Federal Minister Julie Collins, this analysis is part of a $3.5 million government support package to ensure the sector's long-term viability. The review follows concerns raised in the Food and Grocery Code Review and aims to create a more transparent and balanced marketplace. Industry body Australian Grape & Wine (AGW) supports the analysis, emphasizing its importance for future sustainability and encouraging all stakeholders to participate in the process. Dr. Emerson’s report will assess potential market failures and provide recommendations for regulatory or other interventions.

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SECRETS OF THE WINE LIST SLEUTHS

Wine Services, a discreet Bordeaux-based company, provides detailed market intelligence for top wine producers, informing them where their wines are listed in high-end restaurants and how they compare to competitors. Founded by C. Marcorelles in 2010, the company has grown to nearly 200 clients worldwide, including prominent names in Bordeaux, Tuscany, and California. Wine Services offers subscription-based reports that help wineries optimize their market performance, though it does not track actual sales or stocks. The company, now led by CEO Caroline Meesemaecker, continues to expand, including launching a spirits division.

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WHY VINTNERS ARE PAMPERING THEIR YEASTS

The idea of trees and other organisms being sentient has gained traction, reflecting a broader recognition of intelligence in nature. This shift in perspective has influenced winemaking, with some vintners treating yeast not just as a tool, but as sensitive collaborators in the fermentation process. This approach, driven by climate change and a desire for authenticity, involves both traditional and innovative methods like in-vineyard fermentation, temperature control, and even music therapy. These practices aim to harness wild yeasts' natural characteristics, enhancing the wine's expression of terroir while ensuring successful fermentations.

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AI, WINE EXPERTS, AND WINE APPS: WHATEVER NEXT?

Professor Barry C. Smith explores the philosophical and practical implications of AI's growing influence in the wine industry. While AI is making strides in fields like medicine and language processing, its ability to replicate human wine tasting remains questionable due to the complex, multi-sensory nature of tasting, which involves smell, taste, and touch. Despite skepticism, AI could impact wine tasting through data analysis and machine learning, potentially challenging human experts by identifying patterns in wine chemistry that even seasoned professionals might miss. However, the debate continues over whether AI can truly replicate or enhance the human experience in wine appreciation, with doubts about its capacity to engage with the sensory richness and subjective nature of tasting.

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ITALIAN WINE INDUSTRY HITS ROUGH GROUND

The Italian wine sector is grappling with severe issues due to financial instability and adverse weather. Moncaro in Marche, a major producer of Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, is deep in debt and struggling with high production costs and reduced grape yields. The cooperative is under judicial oversight and facing market stabilization measures. In Sicily, Cantine Europa, a key producer of Grillo, is also in crisis and has sought help from Colomba Bianca. Both cooperatives are working to manage these challenges, but the sector remains troubled by economic and climatic factors.

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WINE REGION OF THE WEEK: CASTILLA LA MANCHA, SPAIN

Castilla-La Mancha, southeast of Madrid, is a major Spanish wine region known for both bulk and increasingly high-quality wines. It grows a range of grapes suited to its harsh, continental climate, including the widely planted Airen and several red varieties like Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon. The region features Europe's largest wine zone, La Mancha, and eight Vinos de Pago estates. Although modern winemaking has improved its image since Spain joined the EU, much of the wine is still mass-produced. Castilla-La Mancha’s extreme climate and vital river waters support its viticulture, while the region is also notable for its cultural heritage, including connections to Cervantes' "Don Quixote."

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GRAPE OF THE WEEK: BOBAL

Bobal, a dark-skinned grape native to Utiel-Requena in southeast Spain, is one of the country’s most planted varieties, following Tempranillo and Airén. Traditionally used as a blending grape, Bobal is now gaining recognition as a varietal wine, known for its dense, chewy texture and flavors of chocolate and dried berries. It thrives in the dry, continental climate west of Valencia and is used in wines from several DOs including Valencia and Utiel-Requena. Outside Spain, Bobal is also grown in small quantities in Roussillon, France. The name "Bobal" is believed to derive from the Latin "bovale," meaning bull, due to the shape of its grape bunches.

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