It would be fair to say creating the 76th edition of Drinks Trade magazine has been a very different experience to the previous 75.
The saying, “we’re all in this together” may be highly over-used and evokes annoying advertising slogans, but the reality seems to support the theory as wide-ranging fallout from COVID-19 has made 2020 a year to forget.
A meme that jumps to mind depicts the ruling out of time travel as a theory, noting that, if true, someone would have returned to warn us by now.
The team at Drinks Trade is committed to bringing you insights, interviews and information covering retail formats including, online, travel, off-premise and on-premise, and during these times we are doing that in a more condensed format, with the same quality writers and insight from industry leaders such as The Advantage Group.
Consumption is definitely up in some areas, and contrary to premature reports, categories such as Champagne are doing well. We’ll have a much closer look at this in the summer edition with our annual tasting and Sparkling special.
In this edition, we talk to Felicity Carter on how International Wine is sold overseas, and ask Ken Gargett to take a closer look at the ubiquitous Sancerre, and the home of sauvignon blanc. He also unveils some of the beauty associated with the wines of Provence. If we can’t travel there, grab a glass from the south of France and dream of turquoise bays and super expensive yachts.
We also had the pleasure of sitting down with Kristy Ryan, one of our industry’s rising stars, to get her view on the current climate and her journey in the drinks industry. As head of sales for the family business William Grants and Sons, Ryan lives and breathes quality spirits with a legacy stretching back to the 19th century, alongside an enviable track record of innovation and bringing brands to life such as Sailor Jerry and Hendricks.
A highlight for this edition is the 2020 Australian Drinks Awards. The Drinks Association's annual event was reformatted this year to be a 30-minute broadcast via Zoom. The results of these prestigious awards start on page 23, with insight into how and why the suppliers and brands have won. John McLoughlin leads the section with an overview of the Advantage Survey results, underpinning the awards.
We also talk to Diageo's Chris Shaw (pictured main) about what winning Supplier of the Year meant to the company.
There were two Drinks Trade tasting panels tackling Pale Ale, Dom Roskrow reports from around the world of whisky and our feature interview is with the team at Young Henrys.
Here’s to a strong recovery in the run up to this Christmas and summer trading season.
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