Drinks Trade - WINTER 2020

your news, your views Winter 2020 issue 75

VIEWPOINT

SIMON MARTON JOINS STARWARD

ALCOHOLIC SELTZER Will Aussies go for it?

CANADIAN CLUB 1 IN 3 DARK RTDS CONSUMED ARE CC

Jack Mann Cabernet Shines

Aperol for the seasons

BROWN FORMAN INTRODUCES NEW MD

White Bay Beer Co Opens

Certainty.

@hardyswines @hardyswinesAU For more information contact your Accolade Wines Business Development Manager or call 131 492

*Awards, medals & trophies received across Hardys wines from 1971 to 2020 at national and international wine shows

Enjoy Hardys responsibly

DISCONNECT FROM WORK AND RECONNECT WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS Upgrade your Aperitivo at home with fun new recipes, virtual art classes, video backgrounds and more PLUS the chance to WIN an exclusive Spritz Pack every week, delivered to your door.* *T&C’s Apply.

LEARN TO COOK & CREATE WITH APEROL SPRITZ

Editor’s Note “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.

Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” - Marie Sklodowska Curie Change is a constant; those that embrace and adapt will be successful.

CREDITS PUBLISHER The Drinks Association

www.drinkscentral.com.au All enquiries to: The Drinks Association Locked Bag 4100, Chatswood NSW 2067 ABN 26 001 376 423 The views expressed in Drinks Trade are those of the respective contributors and are not necessarily those of the magazine or The Drinks Association. Copyright is held by The Drinks Association and reproduction in whole or in part, without prior consent, is not permitted.

Other Drinks Association publications include:

This time last year, we were planning our relaunch edition of Drinks Trade, changing the frequency, increasing the page count, enlisting the best writers, and enhancing the digital offering, all while maintaining industry-leading print distribution. Our industry partners supported the transition as we produced our seasonal publications alongside the annual Drinks Guide and the new-look website: www.drinkstrade.com.au. We embrace the change towards digital, but fully recognise that print is still a crucial part of the conversation.

The winter edition of Drinks Trade is always a special project as we also publish the annual Drinks Guide this time of year. Both Drinks Trade and Drinks Guide have reinvented their digital platforms in the last 12 months, and the readership is starting to show. Particularly on www.drinkstrade.com.au. Just last month, the site recorded its highest ever traffic, with 72,000 visitors. And the EDM received a record 47% click-through rate, unheard of against an all industry benchmark of just 2.8%*. These are indeed not “standard’, or “normal’ times.

There is change as I write this editor’s note in this edition: our thanks go out to Melissa Parker, whose hard work and vision set us on the journey undertaken 12 months ago with the relaunch of Drinks Trade magazine. We are fortunate to be able to call on her as a contributor and benefit from her significant experience and undoubted passion for our industry. Mel conducts the Viewpoint interview with Simon Marton from Starward Distillery on page 14.

Hannah Sparks also contributes this edition from her new home in the country, which gives us her view on the trifecta of fires, floods, and pandemics. Read her feature on page 20.

Drinks Trade Online.......................................................drinkstrade.com.au Drinks Guide................................................................ drinksguide.com.au

EDITORIAL PUBLISHING EDITOR Ashley Pini...................ashley@hipmedia.com.au DIGITAL EDITOR Alana House............................... alanah@drinks.asn.au

Felicity Carter updates us from Europe (page 18), and Alana House gives us all the latest news, launches and initiatives here in Australia.

Our tasting panel reviewed Cabernet and Cabernet dominant blends, under strict COVID rules, and put forward our favourite launches/new product releases in The Review (pages 44 through 48).

PHOTOGRAPHER Tom Yao (front cover) CONTRIBUTORS Felicity Carter, Ken Gargett, Ian Kingham, Travis Fuller, Scott McWilliam, Melissa Parker, Hannah Sparks, Alana House

DESIGN SENIOR DESIGNER Racs Salcedo...................... ryan@hipmedia.com.au

ADVERTISING NATIONAL SALES MANAGER Jenny Park........jenny@hipmedia.com.au

Amazon’s entry into the market, and third party logistics, has sparked a high level of interest as we go to print. A closer look at how the e-commerce giant plans to navigate the Australian market will be in the spring edition of Drinks Trade. Amazon’s arrival was in no way a surprise, and to many, this represents one more option for online purchasing but can’t replicate the service, community connection, and knowledge of the local retailer.

While the future remains uncertain in many ways, what we do know that Drinks Trade will deliver “your news and your views” in print each season. We continue to publish as a not-forprofit service to the drinks industry and are committed to reaching as many readers as possible.

As I prepared for the spring edition, the phrase, “it’s time to become comfortable with being uncomfortable” was used, and it is one that resonated. While change may be feared, that only paralyses. Embracing change and adapting is where we win.

Produced and contract published by:

ACCOUNTS: accounts@hipmedia.com.au Bay 8 / 6 Middlemiss Street, Lavender Bay, NSW 2060 Ph. 02 9492 7999 www.hipmedia.com.au | facebook.com/drinksmedia ABN: 42 126 291 914

Ashley Pini ashley@hipmedia.com.au * 30/04/20 (All industry benchmark)

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Contents 12

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34

NEWS

INTERNATIONAL – EUROPE

SPIRITS

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Top Ten online news stories for the quarter

18 Felicity Carter on Europe’s reaction to COVID-19

32 Aperol launches campaign to enjoy Aperitivo hour at 6pm - virtually

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Paramount Liquor launches Sessions

FEATURE

THE REVIEW

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Canadian Club continues to reach new heights

20 Fire and brimstone – Australia’s trial by fire, flood and then pandemic, by Hannah Sparks

47 New products and releases, tasted and recommended by the Tasting Panel

INTERVIEW

27 Suppliers help pubs reopen

14 Simon Marton, CEO, Starward Whisky

WINE

34 Eveline Albarracin, Managing Director, Brown-Forman ANZPI 38 Chris Shaw, Commercial Director, Diageo Australia

44 Tasting Panel – Cabernet

EVENTS AND PROMOTIONS 49 The Round Up - from Bartender awards to Wine lists, events that are moving ahead, rescheduled and reformated

BEER 40 To The Pale We Go, with Ian Kingham

LAST CALL 50 White Bay Beer Co opens during COVID

SELTZER 30 White Claw launches in Australia

SUBSCRIBE TO GOURMET TRAVELLER WINE’S PRINT OR DIGITAL EDITIONS. 06 drinks trade

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TOP 10 in under 10 minutes IT’S BEEN ONE OF THE MOST TUMULTUOUS PERIODS IN AUSTRALIAN HOSPITALITY, WITH COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS DEVASTATING THE ON-PREMISE. THESE WERE THE TOP 10 ARTICLES ON THE DRINKS TRADE WEBSITE BETWEEN SHUTDOWN ON MARCH 23 AND THE END OF MAY. 1. PERNOD RICARD LAUNCHES MEALS FOR MATES Pernod Ricard announced an initiative called Meals for Mates in late March, pledging thousands of meals to hospitality workers impacted by the COVID-19.

Hundreds of thousands of staff across bars, pubs, cafes, restaurants and clubs across Australia either lost their jobs or were struggling to cope with reduced hours, with many small venues and businesses forced to close their doors from recently introduced measures to slow the spread of the virus.

Recognising many small businesses, despite the current economic conditions, were still open with a takeaway or delivery option, Pernod Ricard made $25 vouchers available to impacted hospitality staff across Victoria, NSW and Queensland.

More than 4000 vouchers have been provided to date.

2. BAR STAFF ABUSED OVER COVID-19 OUTBREAK Staff at Eaglemont Cellars and Wine Bar in Melbourne were abused in March after being linked to a COVID-19 outbreak.

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The venue hosted a birthday party on March 14, with the bar owner noting that “a significant number” of guests had travelled from overseas, mainly the UK, to attend the function — which was held before the mandatory two-week isolation for overseas travellers was enforced.

The owner and other staff members began exhibiting coronavirus symptoms around March 21. On March 25 they were notified that a guest had been diagnosed with COVID-19, so a number of staff got tested.

At least five staff tested positive and the venue was subjected to abuse online regarding the outbreak.

“We are sad and disappointed at the defamatory remarks that have come through our social media particularly when we have all been so ill,” the owner said on Facebook.

“We have trusted in the Department of Health process with regards to dealing with the pandemic.

“We will continue to convalesce and would ask for some consideration during this time. We will advise of our new open date and naturally our premises have been

sanitised as a precaution and in accordance with Department of Health regulations. Be kind, be safe, be well.”

3. LION LAUNCHES XXXX DRY IN QUEENSLAND XXXX released a new easy drinking full strength lager, XXXX DRY, in Queensland and the Northern Territory in March.

The beer was launched on tap in selected venues, with 330ml bottles to follow from April 20. The brand has no plans at this stage to take the beer south.

Tully Hadley, Head Brewer at the XXXX Castlemaine Perkins Brewery said: “XXXX DRY is brewed here at Milton using many of the same quality ingredients as the rest of the XXXX family, such as premium Australian barley, malted locally in Queensland.

“We want to give XXXX DRY a crisp finish, so we’ve used Nelson Sauvin hops, which gives a slight aroma and makes the beer incredibly refreshing for those hot Queensland days.”

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4. CUSTOMERS SWITCH TO MAINSTREAM BRANDS DURING COVID-19 ALM reported in early April that it had seen a shift away from premiumisation to more mainstream alcohol brands in its off-premise channels during COVID-19.

CEO Chris Baddock noted that while there are early signs of change in consumer buying habits, it was too early to assume they would continue.

“However, we have seen a softening of premiumisation and a move to mainstream beer and more affordable products,” he said. “Consumers are exhibiting a narrower repertoire and less willingness to shop new brands/SKU’s and categories.”

Baddock’s insights reflected those revealed by Shopper Intelligence data, which found one of the four key behaviours in the grocery sector during COVID-19 had been shoppers being less willing to spend on premium options.

“The loss of jobs and continued uncertainty is currently outweighing consumer ability or desire to spend more on premium ranges,” Shopper Intelligence Managing Director Simon Ford said.

“Brands should focus on value and their mid-tier ranges to meet this shift.”

5. ANGUS MCPHERSON APPOINTED DIAGEO AUSTRALIA MD Angus McPherson was appointed Managing Director of Diageo Australia in April.

“I’m delighted to welcome Angus to Diageo,” Diageo’s President Greater China and Asia, Sam Fischer, said.

“He has many years of international experience working in the beverage alcohol industry. He will bring deep sales and marketing experience and performance delivery discipline, and drive outstanding relationships with the team, customers and industry in this exciting market.

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“Over the past eight years, he’s held various Managing Director roles at Treasury Wine Estates, with increasing scale and complexity.

“He led the transformation of TWE’s Australia and New Zealand business, where he and his cross-functional team grew flagship wine brands and successfully launched a number of disruptive innovations in the market, as well as significantly improving the supply chain. He has built strong relationships with key retailers in the market and held board positions on DrinkWise, Alcohol Beverages Australia and Australian Grape and Wine Inc (formerly the Australian Winemakers Federation).

“In his last position at TW he had accountability for the largest business in North America and led the global sales function. He has developed diverse teams and grown talent, including succession from within his team.”

6. METCASH EYES TWO LIQUOR ACQUISITIONS Metcash completed a $330 million revenue raising in April to fund two liquor acquisitions, provide working capital and expand its MFuture growth program.

Total food sales for Metcash in the five months ended March rose 4.3%, while liquor sales were also strong, rising 3.2%.

Metcash revealed it was looking at three bolt-on acquisitions worth about $45 million, two in liquor and one in hardware.

The liquor acquisitions are expected to close in the first half of the 2021 financial year.

7. DIAGEO LAUNCHES $1.2MILLION WELCOME BACK SUPPORT PACKAGE Diageo announced in late May that it was launching a nationwide ‘Welcome Back’ support package for the on-premise, designed to help rebuild the Australian bar industry.

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Valued at $1.2 million, the support package aimed to provide 130,000 free serves to venue partners across the country in bonus stock, and PR and marketing support to help enable bars to reopen and drive revenue in line with the current trading conditions.

The ‘Welcome Back’ package saw Diageo support venues across the country during their re-opening phase by offering $10 cocktails to help generate spirits revenue for partners as they welcomed back guests.

Chris Shaw, Diageo Australia Commercial Director, said: “This multifaceted support package will include trade deals, bonus stock that will equate to Diageo shouting them 130,000 standard drinks, and PR and marketing amplification for venues. This means a $1.2 million injection into our participating on-premise partners as they start to get back on their feet and welcome the return of patrons to their favourite venues.”

8. THE WINNERS AND LOSERS IN ALCOHOL \DURING COVID-19 A report from IRI revealed alcohol trends during COVID-19 and what it could mean for the future of the industry.

The data showed that consumer buying habits have changed dramatically since COVID-19 shutdown and may be “the new normal in a post COVID-19 world”.

While sales initially sales spiked in Australia for three weeks across all states, they subsequently dropped to just above pre-spike levels.

However, even during panic buying the week of the 22/03/20 – which saw 20-45% unit growth year on year – the spike was still 30-40% lower than the week leading up to Christmas.

According to IRI, consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of household budgets, with a shift to preferring Australians products, which may also be

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News 7

driven by price. Also, bulk purchase options have seen greater uptake, which could have implications for the future.

IRI said COVID-19 restrictions impacted the occasion mix, which will ultimately shift consumption choices moving forward.

“The premiusation trend may erode, with value offerings and bulk pack sizes to be favoured by consumers,” the report noted.

IRI suggested the potential winners include cask wine, while the potential losers include Champagne and craft beer.

All key liquor categories saw a reduction in dollars spent per litre during the high of panic buying.

Consumers were trading down to cheaper options, there was a spike in private label, a preference for known brands and a migration to larger pack sizes and larger pack multiples.

9. OFF-PREMISE SALES BOOM PREDICTED POST-COVID-19 Evans & Partners analyst Phil Kimber said in a report to clients that Australia’s food and liquor operators were benefiting from shoppers switching from eating out at restaurants and cafes to home dining.

“We expect grocery players will continue to benefit from the shift from out-of-home consumption to in-home consumption over the remainder of fiscal 2020 and well into fiscal 2021,’’ Kimber said.

“It’s difficult to accurately assess the benefit from this channel shift, however as detailed in this note, a 50% switch away from cafes/restaurants would add around 4 % to supermarket sales in fiscal 2021 and a 35% switch from on-premise liquor would add around 8% to liquor store sales.

“Both supermarkets and liquor are expected to be seen as an essential service

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ABA CEO Andrew Wilsmore

thus the risks of enforced store shutdowns are low.”

Overall, CBA data showed that alcohol spending in Australia had fallen since the on-premise shutdown.

10. AUSSIES DRINKING LESS DURING COVID-19 Alcohol Beverages Australia revealed Australians were drinking less during COVID-19, with liquor sales falling 10-30% overall.

The ABA refuted an editorial by Dr Sarah Callinan and Dr Michael Livingston, senior researchers at La Trobe University’s Centre for Alcohol Policy Research (‘Will COVID-19 change our drinking habits long term?‘), that suggested that Australian were drinking more during the pandemic.

“A rise in people drinking to cope with all the stresses associated with the pandemic is a cause for concern,” the researchers said.

“Furthermore, home drinking is thought to be highly habitual; an increase in alcohol consumption at home during the pandemic

might be difficult to reverse when the pandemic is over.”

ABA CEO Andrew Wilsmore said the claims by the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research couldn’t be further from the truth.

“As researchers in the alcohol field, they should have had more caution in equating an increase in packaged liquor or homedelivery sales to many Australians drinking to excess while at home during this crisis,” Wilsmore said.

“There has been a total decimation of ‘on-premise’ sales through pubs, bars, clubs and restaurants.

“Our beer, wine and spirits producing members are all telling us that this loss of sales has only marginally been made up for by an increase in packaged retail liquor sales.

“Indications are that overall sales and volume loss range from 10-30%, with many small producers even more severely impacted as they are unable to access the retail channel and/or have had to close their cellar/brewery/distillery door.”

Breaking News

Paramount Liquor Launches Sessions AUSTRALIAN-OWNED FAMILY BUSINESS, PARAMOUNT LIQUOR, HAS MADE A NAME FOR THEMSELVES AS THE LARGEST ON-PREMISE SPECIALIST WHOLESALER. THE VICTORIAN BASED BUSINESS NOW SETS ITS SIGHTS ON SERVICING THE RETAIL TRADE WITH THE SAME HIGH QUALITY STANDARDS VIA A LOCALLY FOCUSED BANNER GROUP: WITH THE HELP OF SOME EXPERIENCED INDUSTRY EXPERTS. Paramount Liquor has announced it will launch a new locally focused banner group called Sessions. Sessions Liquor Stores will bridge the gap between on-premise service and the off-premise retail. To help them bring this to life they’ve enlisted the help of both Jon Fernandes and Fergus Collins.

Jon Fernandes has built a wealth of knowledge and experience within the Australian liquor industry over 26 years.

He is a passionate retailer with a wide skill set spanning independent retailer owner/ operator to General Manager Merchandise at Australian Liquor Marketers [ALM].

Fergus Collins also brings years of considerable experience and expertise to the new business after a six-year stint as the CEO of ALM, Metcash’s liquor arm, where he ran the liquor business from 2007 to 2013.

Also joining the team to head up the Victorian operations is John Sudano; well respected in the industry for his time as Merchandise Manager at LMG. His wealth of experience and knowledge adds to the highly experienced team.

According to Paramount Liquor Founder, Mark Rowe, “Paramount has traditionally been a 95% on-premise based business and as a result, we have been greatly affected by the COVID-19 shutdown of bars, restaurants and cafes across Victoria, New South Wales & South Australia.”

“Post COVID-19, it is evident that we need to diversify our business into the retail channel and the best way to do this is by using our existing reputation for paramount service and bringing on experienced personnel who played a significant role in moulding the retail banner group environment that exists today.”

Jon was an integral part of the early success and growth of independent groups under IBA and launched key strategies that are still the base of independent success today.

“I am extremely pleased to be back within the liquor industry family and excited to be working with the Paramount team in retail. There is something genuine about a family owned independent wholesale business working for the success of family owned independent retailers!” said Fernandes.

Fergus led the transformation of ALM from a wholesale business to a retail and wholesale business whilst building the largest independent retail network (IBA) to dominate the second position in market share, ahead of Coles.

“Independent retailers aren’t looking for corporate slogans, they are not a chain, they value local over national and service over shareholders.”

“I’m really excited to be working with Mark, Leigh and Nathan and the whole Paramount team to bring true independence back to the independent liquor marketplace,” said Collins “We feel that the addition of Fergus Collins and Jon Fernandes to our newly established retail banner group will provide us with the experience and expertise that we need to make this truly independent marketing group a huge success.” said Rowe.

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A Drinks Trade Promotion

CANADIAN CLUB THE BEER GOGGLES ARE OFF CANADIAN CLUB (C.C) IS KICKING IT. OVER SUMMER IT CLIMBED TO THE NUMBER ONE DARK RTD KNOCKING ALL OTHER BRANDS OFF THE TOP SPOT. ONE IN THREE DARK RTDS CONSUMED ARE CANADIAN CLUB.

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This unprecedented success for the brand has been made possible through converting our country’s exhaustive well of sessional beer drinkers to C.C. Many have moved to Canadian Club as a refreshing alternative and it’s been huge.

Never before has the brand achieved this level of market share.

The award winning ‘Over beer?’ campaign is praised for its long-term impact and optimisation for brand awareness. Now in its tenth year its message is still as strong as ever. It captured the beer weary attention of Australians as it asked the unthinkable question of whether we had reached saturation point with our favourite tipple.

It was audacious. Yes, it was bold. It was disruptive and provocative but it successfully challenged and shifted an Australian culture by making us rethink our ‘boring’ drinking repertoire. It spoke to Aussies in our language.

Canadian Club continues this conversation with its drinkers through the support of Australia’s favourite events. Its welcome presence at the Australian Open, the Australian Cricket and The Everest Horse Race proves we really are finally ‘beer bored’.

So how else is Canadian Club smashing it? By being relevant to drinkers and delivering where consumer trends are strongest. Zero Sugar has proven

a big consumer favourite for those seeking out a lighter more refreshing sessional drinking experience.

But it is not just the old Aussie ‘die-inthe-wool’ beer drinkers that are embracing the fresh alternative of Canadian Club wedged with tangy lime but the Millennials are onboard too.

The lucrative Millennials, if you can make it there you can make it anywhere. Canadian Club has stepped up communication with this key demographic through its strategic digital strategy. C.C. has ramped up the Socials and tweaked the messaging so it cuts through the quagmire of content the Millennials are constantly wading through.

Complementary digital and social activity has added weight to the larger media buy and amplified the overarching

campaign to reach wider audiences traditional channels miss. This has included synchronised touch points throughout focus periods, word of mouth validation through influencer strategy and partnering with Instagram sensation @InspiredUnemployed giving the brand the opportunity to engage with a savvy digital audience in a fun, irreverent, engaging and effective way.

Canadian Club will continue to execute its long-terms strategy of recruiting beer drinkers over to the refreshing alternative in hopes of becoming Number 1 in the next year.

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Viewpoint

Simon Marton, CEO STARWARD WHISKY

MELBOURNE’S POPULAR WHISKY BRAND, STARWARD IS APPLYING ITS HOME CITY’S REPUTABLE COOL AND EDGY ETHOS WITH INSPIRING AND EXCITING RESULTS. CEO, SIMON MARTON TALKS ABOUT HIS NEW ROLE AND THE FUTURE OF THIS INNOVATIVE LOCAL AUSTRALIAN URBAN SPIRIT. Words Melissa Parker Congratulations on your role as CEO of Starward, now you are on board what is Starward’s projected position is in 5 and 10 years time?

The vision is to become one of the world’s most famous whisky brands.

We want to be a pioneer of whisky internationally and grow a brand that is strong, that consumers love and is part of their repertoire. A big part of that vision is to focus on the US as a primary market and Australia as our home market. We

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want to make quality Australian whisky that is unique in the world of whisky and stand out from the pack by being different.

What is your view on distilling in Australia and the local distilling industry in general?

It reminds me of where the Australian wine industry was 20 or 30 years ago.

There are so many of the same challenges, opportunities and similarities such as the

way the industry is working collaboratively together. We are on the up and up. You cant underestimate the perception of quality of Australian food and drink around the world. In Australia we can do things the way we want to and we don’t have to conform to everyone else’s rules. I think there is a massive passion in the (local spirits) industry like the wine industry. The world discovered Australian wine and the world is discovering Australian spirits.

STARWARD Founder David Vitale

How is the off premise retail and on premise trade embracing the local product here?

We have seen a lot of influencing accounts in bars and restaurants really get behind Australian spirits because it offers diversity.

In off-premise retail there is no doubt the chains and the independents are supportive.

If you look at the chains, they are wanting to support local brands in food, they are wanting to support local brands across all categories and spirits is a new opportunity for them so they are right behind it. Every year they have been increasing the space, the support and the visibility for Australian brands. We like the support that we get from the trade. It helps and as a brand centred in Melbourne, the strength of support for Starward has been strong here but it has also been equally strong in New South Wales and Queensland as well. So the opportunity for us is not just being seen as Melbourne but as a national brand.

What is happening in export markets for Starward?

US is our number one focus for export and we have been in the US for just over a year and doing quite well. We have been in the UK for two and a half years and doing well. We started in France last year.

France is a huge whisky market and one of the biggest in the world. They are very into

whiskies of the world as a concept. Last year we launched in Japan. Again, a very big whisky market with advanced consumers who understand a lot about whisky. We are looking to expand into new markets in the future but the US is our big focus.

Can you discuss the range of whiskies that Starward produces now and what is the plan to expand the portfolio in the future. Tell us about the liquid that is currently in the pipe.

There are two core whiskies that are available all year. The first one is our Starward Nova which is a single malt whisky made at our distillery here in Port Melbourne. We bring in the barley grown close to the distillery and make a pot still single malt whisky exclusively matured in used red wine barrels from Australian wine makers. That is our signature product and sells in Australia for $95 a bottle. Then we introduced a product called Starward Twofold which is a double grain whisky, a blend of single malt and wheat whisky which is Australian made and sourced. We blend the two together in a similar way you would blend a Shiraz and Cabernet. Blending malt and wheat together gives a really lovely soft blend. That sells for $65 in Australia.

We have another single malt called Starward Solera and that is distilled at Port Melbourne and is matured from start

to finish in used Apera barrels (Australian sherry) giving a different flavour and taste to the whisky. We can never make enough.

We have a range of limited releases that have come out over the years. We released one last Christmas called Starward Tawny that was a massive success for us. It was our Single Malt aged in fortified barrels that gave a rich, fruity and indulgent taste, think Christmas cake whisky. That was released in the 500 ml bottle at 48% ABV and sold at $119 a bottle. We are always experimenting at the distillery with different barrels from different sources and producers that we use to create different flavours and we have some exciting new whiskies in the pipeline coming out to market for later this year - at least two.

Starward is particularly unique in that it has embraced Melbourne’s climate as the story behind the style.

Can you elaborate?

Our founder, David Vitale, thought Melbourne would be a really interesting place to make whisky when he came up with the idea over ten years ago. Part of the idea was making a uniquely Australian expression of whisky through the sourcing of the barley and the grain to the barrel maturation and the climate or the terroir.

A lot of the world’s best whiskies are matured in stable and often cool climates

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Viewpoint

such as Scotland, it might be ten degrees all year around and doesn’t move much. He wanted to go the other way. In Melbourne it can be 40 degrees one day and 15 the next so he wanted to use that weather variability and understand what that does to the maturation. After making whisky now for over ten years we are different there is a unique character coming out of the whisky through the combination of the barrel maturation and the weather. We think it has a real impact on flavour, colour and texture. It is also really versatile. You can drink it so many different ways because it is a completely different proposition from a Scotch or a bourbon.

It also taps into the local wine industry to create a new product in a beautiful industry symbiosis. Can you tell us about that?

I joke about it but we are like a big recycler.

We are taking the barrels from the wineries once they are finished with them. Rather than them going to the tip or the flower shops we take them and recondition them and use them for our ageing process. We are not the only people in the world doing this but we are one of few and we are the only one doing it with Australian wine barrels.

Do you just get your barrels from Victoria?

No we get our barrels from South Australia, New South Wales and some from Western Australia as well. We get all different types.

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We get American oak and French oak and barrels that were used for Shiraz and barrels that were used for Cabernet or for Pinot Noir. We have different sizes, different ages, barrels that have been charred and haven’t been. The barrel diversity and selection is important for us.

Diageo invested in Starward four years ago through Distill Ventures. What path has that injection put the business on and what changes to the business have occurred as a result of this partnership?

I think Distill and Diageo have been fantastic for Starward. It has given us an access to two things; one is capital, obviously as a distillery and a business we are investing in inventory to sell in the future. There is more investment up front than there is revenue so the ability to lean on that for capital and keep the business operating in a sustainable way is one thing. The second thing is capability. The knowledge and insight that both Distill and Diageo have in the world of spirits, what is going on globally and how to think about building a craft brand has been an amazing help that we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to access. An example would be how to think about carbon, water, our footprint, those sort of things that a small business would not normally have the expertise available; we have access to that. It has been very helpful and of course they can open doors for us.

In terms of our export expansion they were helpful in identifying which markets made

sense but we are not part of the Diageo sales force; we distribute independently. In Australia that distributor is SouthTrade.

You say you joined Starward because of its innovative and unique strategy – can you elaborate on that?

The whisky is fantastic. I’m a fan of the product and that helps. It is a whisky unshackled by convention and does things the Australian way, brave and bold.

It’s modern; it’s not a distillery that has been around for hundreds of years. The connection with wine and the idea that we want to make a versatile and delicious whisky that you can drink however you want meant to me it could be much more than other whisky brands. An example was a campaign we ran over Christmas promoting - a new spin on gin – drink Starward Two Fold and Tonic. It is really unexpected but it’s refreshing and delicious. Yes we are a whisky but you don’t have to just drink whisky over ice. We are edgy and targeting a younger consumer.

The distillery is currently undergoing a major renovation. Can you give us more insight into what we can expect with the updated premises?

We are in the midst of that project at the moment. We are upgrading the capacity of the distillery. Effectively it is going to double the capacity with fantastic new equipment, automation, a mezzanine floor where all the stills will now be raised so as a visitor

experience you will now be able to go on a tour around and see the distils from the top. We are going to have a new masterclass room as a lot of our visitors come to be educated on whisky which is fantastic.

Effectively it’s to make more whisky for the future. What we are making now will not be sold for four to five years. The new distillery should be up and running from May or June this year and that will give us so much more potential for the future. We have a distillery bar – like a cellar door. We have a great bartending team at the bar and there is always new and interesting drinks being created there.

What about tourism? Are you tapping into becoming part of the Melbourne cultural scene of food, coffee and wine?

I think it’s an area where we can be a lot more active and could be more so in the future. The business up until this point has

been focused on making really good whisky and keeping supply up with demand. I think as we turn now to be more focused on building the brand and giving consumers what they want and driving people to our distillery to visit, we can be more active.

If you are in Melbourne and you are looking for something interesting to do and you don’t want to go to Mornington or Healesville then we are one kilometre from the city. We will be doing a lot more of that and putting on interesting events at the distillery and keeping it fresh.

We think we are the biggest urban CBD distiller in the world. We don’t know for sure but it depends on your definition of a CBD. Most distillers are in regional areas because they are sourcing their materials from farms. Once we double our capacity we could be the biggest urban distillery in the world. It’s hard to prove but it’s an angle and it fits with the feel and culture of

Melbourne’s CBD; cool and progressive. It’s very different from what people expect when they come here. We are trying to tap into that with our brand and positioning.

How many barrels and litres of whisky does the Starward warehouse have now? Four years ago that figure was 2500 barrels and 350,000 litres of whisky.

We are doubling the capacity that we have at the moment. It has been a big investment and it is good to have an investment into a small sized business in Melbourne that is creating employment. We have grown our workforce substantially over the past two years and that is going to continue.

We have our distillery and bar in Port Melbourne and we have a second site for maturation as well. It won’t be long before we have a third. We are growing.

drinks trade 17

International Trends - Europe

A SEISMIC SHIFT For the European Drinks Industry

EVEN WHEN THE NEWS BEGAN SHOWING THE CHAOTIC SCENES FROM ITALIAN HOSPITALS, MOST EUROPEANS THOUGHT OF THE CORONAVIRUS AS SOMETHING HAPPENING ELSEWHERE. AND THEN, ONE BY ONE, THE BORDERS CLOSED AND THE LOCKDOWNS BEGAN. Words Felicity Carter`

The impact on the wine trade was immediate.

Online sales, already running at double digit growth a year, exploded– one Italian company, Winelivery, saw sales rise to 240% or more. In the UK, some wine sites were so overwhelmed they temporarily suspended sales. In the German speaking countries, it was business as usual for a while, and then online sales ticked up. Food retailers also saw wine practically walk itself out the door.

For everyone else, the pandemic was a catastrophe. Importers were left with stocks but nowhere to place them, wineries were left with wines destined for export markets that nobody came to pick up, and the on trade, of course, was shuttered. Across Europe, wine sales plunged by 50%. In Champagne, sales cratered by as much as 70%.

18 drinks trade

The financial impact wasn’t as dire as it might have been, thanks to the economic shock absorbers that swing into action when times are tough. In Germany, for example, companies could apply for Kurzarbeit, meaning “short work”, where the government picks up a significant portion of the payroll so that workers can keep their jobs. In France, the government allowed small and medium sized wineries to defer tax and social security obligations, while also allocating €140 million for crisis distillation.

Vineyard and winery workers were theoretically allowed to keep working – if there were workers, that is. In Austria, workers from neighbouring countries who lived 30km from the border could come to work every day, as long as they returned home at night. But workers from further away were automatically subject to a 14-day quarantine period – which meant the supply of workers dried up. The Austrian government built a jobs portal to try

and match the many unemployed Austrians with rural jobs, as did other governments, only to discover that the locals struggled with the work. Charter flights were scrambled to bring Eastern workers back to fields and vineyards in the UK and Western Europe.

As of June, the continent is opening, with cafes, restaurants and bars able to trade again, subject to social distancing. By the end of the month, cross-border travel will be possible.

But, as elsewhere, consumers are going out less, and trading down when they do.

The real test for the wine sector will come this summer. Many small wineries rely on the sales generated by the wine and other festivals, all of which have been cancelled. And nobody knows when wine tourism, which had been the fastest growing segment of the wine industry, will rebound.

These are problems that wineries everywhere face, of course. The biggest difference is that the Europeans have generally

found it harder to switch to online selling than their peers elsewhere, thanks to a combination of bureaucratic hurdles, lack of knowledge and lack of staff. Those wineries with online shops have found the heightened customer interest a mixed blessing, as answering the phone or email, and then packing and posting small amounts of wine, sucks up precious time and energy, for little financial return.

Many small family wineries simply don’t have the capacity to take on extra duties, and are used to their regional bodies taking charge of marketing. With very few exceptions – Chianti Classico being a shining exception – the regional bodies haven’t yet pulled useful collective websites out of the hat.

On top of that, French and German wineries were already being hit by the 25% tariffs imposed by the US administration.

Most American importers are swallowing some of the pain, and asking the wineries to share the other costs, eroding profit margins.

Or they’re simply not buying, because of the situation with their own on trade. Consumers are also trading down.

It’s not all gloom. What we’ve all learned from the lockdowns is how important wine is in people’s lives. Many people have spent their time at home cooking again, and they stockpiled wine to have with dinner. If it takes 66 days to form a lasting habit, the habit is well and truly formed. European wineries also generally have none of the debt of their New World counterparts, so they can tighten their belts and wait for better times.

The bigger wineries and companies have realised they need to think more about DTC, and are pouring resources into the online sphere. When Spanish luminary Alvaro Palacios announced he was building an online store, his contemporaries took notice, and are likely to follow suit. Overall, people are realising they have been too reliant on the export markets, while ignoring the decline of wine drinking in their own backyards. There will be renewed interest in building local fans, particularly when it comes to domestic tourism.

Halfway through this extraordinary year, it’s difficult to predict what comes next. We

could get a quick rebound, and enjoy a re-run of the Roaring 20s, or we could be headed for a generational downturn, or something in between.

What’s likely is that the pandemic of 2020 will accelerate the underlying trends.

The many aging vignerons in France and Italy, with nobody waiting to take over, will probably sell sooner rather than later, leading to a wave of consolidation and subsequent professionalisation. The move to online will push wineries to think more about their final consumers than they have in the past – the days of just making the wine for someone else to pick up and sell are finally ending. And if they choose to use one of the booming online platforms, they will have to streamline their documentation and photography, so it’s ready to upload.

At a time when the wine world is returning to traditional practices and lower intervention, the paradox is that the future of European wine is going to be leaner, smaller, more digital and more professional. Which, hopefully, means a wine renaissance is on its way.

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Feature

A long road to recovery THE DRINKS INDUSTRY HAS HAD ITS FAIR SHARE OF THE DROUGHT, BUSHFIRES AND COVID-19 PANDEMIC. HANNAH SPARKS INTERVIEWED SEVERAL BRANDS, ASSOCIATIONS AND A RETAILER ABOUT THEIR JOURNEYS AND THE ROAD TO RECOVERY. A heavy-hearted Prue Henschke stood in a blackened Lenswood Vineyard days after the Cudlee Creek bushfire swept through and destroyed all 25 hectares - about 25 per cent of Henschke’s total grape production including some of Adelaide Hills’ oldest pinot noir sheds, machinery and equipment.

“It was a devastating sight,” the longtime viticulturist said.

This was not the happy start to the Christmas season Prue’s family or any of the winemakers and grape growers whose

“We hoped the smoke wouldn’t do as much damage as it did,” Clonakilla chief winemaker and CEO Tim Kirk. vineyards were caught in the fire imagined and things were only going to get worse.

Fire and smoke damage would amount to a loss of about four per cent of the country’s average annual grape harvest, around 60,000

tonnes by the end of summer, according to Wine Australia’s estimates.

Week after week from December through to January wineries in south-eastern Australia were blanketed by smoke from the fires.

Lenswood Vineyard destroyed by bushfire.

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Above: Fire burning to the south of Canberra. Photo by David Reist Below: Canberra wineries screen for smoke taint. Photo by Chrissie Smith

“The cost of staying shut for a good-sized country pub or corner hotel in Sydney is about $35,000 per month,” Australian Hotels Association CEO Stephen Ferguson.

Winemakers such as Tim Kirk at Clonakilla in the Canberra District watched the situation with hope but braced for the worst.

“We hoped the smoke wouldn’t do as much damage as it did because most of it came before the grapes had gone through veraison when they start ripening. However, sure enough, when we sent the samples off to the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) and Vintessential Laboratories they came back with really high numbers of smoke compounds. It was good in the sense it gave us a clear answer - we wouldn’t make any wine from fruit from NSW in vintage 2020,” Tim said.

Down the road from Clonakilla is Mount Majura Vineyard where winemaker Frank van de Loo organised a collection point through February and March for the region’s grape samples to be sent to AWRI for smoke taint assessment.

“We ended up with heaps of samples and samples from other regions. Unfortunately, the results were quite high for a lot of people,” Frank said.

Following a workshop with AWRI on how to conduct a sensory assessment for smoke taint in wine Frank established a local tasting panel.

“Some people were fairly insensitive to it while others were more reliable tasters.

There are some tricks to tasting smoke taint because it lingers on the palate for a long time, so if you’re tasting wines closely together you could confuse a wine for having smoke taint when in fact it’s lingering from the previous wine,” Frank explained.

While vineyard owners can’t mitigate the risk of smoke taint, the research done by AWRI and tasting panels such as Frank’s can help wineries decide whether or not to use the grapes.

At the time of writing, Frank was due to sample a wine Mount Majura had made from grapes exposed to smoke.

“It looks clean so far but we’re going to taste it every month or two to see because smoke taint can come out with time in the bottle. However, if the wine still looks clean in months to come, then next time we have a bad year we might think about making more,” Frank said.

Fortunately, Clonakilla and Mount Majura were able to source grapes from other regions to make some wine in vintage 2020. While they would have preferred to make wine from their vineyards, it was a vital step to provide cash flow for the businesses and ensure customers weren’t left empty-handed.

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Feature

Four Pillars co-founders Cameron MacKenzie, Matt Jones and Stuart Gregor

“No matter how much hand sanitiser you make, it can’t account for losing all of your global travel retail or all of the restaurants and bars that shut,” Four Pillars co-founder and Australian Distillers Association president Stuart Gregor.

At Henschke, while nothing could be picked from the Lenswood Vineyard and other vineyards were impacted by smoke taint, some were saved.

“Fortunately, our Innes Vineyard pinot gris at Littlehampton was untouched by the fire and was not impacted by smoke taint. Our Eden Valley and Barossa Valley vineyards, as well as the winery and cellar door, were some 60 kilometres away, so a long way from the fire front,” Prue said.

Most varieties are recovering well in the Lenswood Vineyard, however, they will require patience with most vines predicted to take two years to recover and three to four years for others, Prue said.

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PANDEMIC HITS

As wineries began to recover from a horror summer, another storm was brewing. The first confirmed case of COVID-19 was identified in Australia on January 25 and lockdown measures began on March 20 when the borders were closed to non-residents.

By March 23, 70,000 people had been stood down or let go from the hospitality industry, according to Australian Hotels Association CEO Stephen Ferguson.

Cellar doors, restaurants, cafes, pubs, clubs and hotels were quickly forced to close and the price the industry paid was high.

“The cost of staying shut for a goodsized country pub or corner hotel in Sydney is about $35,000 per month because

there are insurance, electricity and phone network charges to pay; many also have hire equipment, maintenance, interest on borrowings and rent. When they open up again there’s an extra $15,000 for turning on fridges, so gas and electricity go back up, fees for television broadcasting and music licensing, workers compensation, wages and cleaning.

To cover all of those you need scale in the business,” Stephen said.

It’s easy to understand when looking at the numbers why so many premises remained shut even after the federal government permitted patrons of ten.

JobKeeper was available to impacted businesses, however, Stephen said publicans had to borrow money to pay staff until the scheme kicked in.

At the time of writing, the AHA was lobbying the federal government to extend JobKeeper until the New Year.

With much of the on-premise shut, 4.5 million litres of beer was destined for the drain, according to Brewers Association of Australia CEO Brett Heffernan.

Some breweries such as Lion Beer Australia recalled kegs and credited venues to provide some relief. In total, Lion provided $30 million worth of credits for 107,000 kegs to venues nationally, Brett said.

Companies such as Casella Family Brands also took stock back from on-premise customers.

“Some kegs may be salvaged, checked for quality depending on their production dates, with others used to generate gas for future production but the sad reality is much of the beer will go to waste,” Brett said.

Major breweries saw a 35 per cent drop in sales while small breweries experienced 70 per cent declines during the pandemic, according to the latest figures from the Brewers Association.

Meanwhile, brands who could make hand sanitiser did so to keep staff employed and support health workers under pressure.

One of those was Four Pillars in the Yarra Valley, which made 25,000 litres of hand sanitiser from the heads and tails of the spirit, which are usually discarded or redistilled.

While the hand sanitiser provided useful work for staff after Four Pillars’ cellar door

Liquor Barons Claremont owner Bernard helps a customer

closed in March, it wasn’t enough to arrest t he sales decline, brand co-founder and Australian Distillers Association president Stuart Gregor said.

“No matter how much hand sanitiser you make, it can’t account for losing all of your global travel retail or all of the restaurants and bars that have shut,” Stuart said.

No distillery was immune to the impacts of the pandemic and another challenge still lies ahead, according to Stuart.

“There’s going to be a spike in unemployment, a real decline in gross domestic product and a recession. That means consumer spending and confidence will be down and if you’re making a luxury product, which most Australian spirits are, you’re going to have to fight harder for consumers to spend the same amount of money as they did previously,” Stuart said.

Calabria Family Wines was also able to divert its resources into making care packages for vulnerable seniors in the Griffith region and reallocated grape spirit destined for its tawny and muscat wines to create bulk hand sanitiser to donate to local health centres and hospitals.

“We felt we needed to contribute to the community, that’s something Mum and Dad always instilled in us and we weren’t sure what was going to happen with our business because we had to close our two cellar doors in the Barossa Valley and Riverina,” Calabria Family Wines sales and marketing manager Andrew Calabria said.

There was another saving grace for some brands and that was the bottle shops that managed to stay open through the pandemic and enjoyed an uplift in sales while consumers were panic-buying.

drinks trade 23

Feature

“Higher taxes right now are the last thing punters and publicans need,” Brewers Association of Australia CEO Brett Heffernan.

“In WA there was extraordinary panicbuying, but it was just for a handful of days.

During panic-buying there was a flight to safety, to big brands, so from a business point of view while we enjoyed some higher volumes our profitability wasn’t all that great because we were selling lower value products,” Liquor Barons banner group general manager Chris O’Brien said.

Then the WA Government restricted alcohol sales to reduce panic-buying.

“That had a significantly negative impact on our sales, particularly on wine and lasted about two to three weeks,” Chris said.

Thankfully, sales lifted again when the restrictions eased and gatherings of two people increased to ten.

“At that point, we started to see small gatherings taking place again - dinner parties and barbecues. Alcohol is often consumed around occasions and this scenario absolutely drove that home. We saw a change in purchase behaviour, that flight to safety and value disappeared overnight and people began to pursue the purchases they wanted and seek out those alternative brands,” Chris said.

However, like others, Chris is prepared for when JobKeeper ends and purchases of premium brands will likely subdue again.

Wine Australia CEO Andreas Clarke said premium wines would be impacted by an economic downturn.

“People will still like to drink during this period but they will possibly come off a bit in terms of their preparedness to spend,” he said.

The Brewers Association is preparing for another beer tax increase in August and was lobbying the government at the time of writing for a freeze on the twice-yearly consumer price index hike.

“Higher taxes right now are the last thing punters and publicans need. This is all about

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Michael, Elizabeth and Andrew Calabria of Calabria Family Wines pack hand sanitiser.

A pub shuts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Photo by Hannah Sparks

“Talk to your customers, find out what’s changed and work with them to adapt to that change,” Casella Family Brands general manager of sales Mark Churi said. jobs and keeping costs down for punters while giving hospitality a much-needed boost in rebounding post-shutdown,” Brett said.

While no one was immune to the drought, bush fires or pandemic, the industry has adapted, innovated and shown resilience.

“If we get through the immediate tough period we’ll get through to the other end.

Customers value their local producers and they’ll want to support them. By no means are these happy days but I’m optimistic,” Andreas from Wine Australia said.

Casella Family Brands general manager of sales Mark Churi had this final piece of advice for the industry: “Talk to your customers, find out what’s changed and work with them to adapt to that change.”

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Pubs

Suppliers Pull Together To Help Pubs Reopen IT’S A CHALLENGING TIME FOR THE AUSTRALIAN ON-PREMISE DURING COVID-19 SHUTDOWNS, WITH HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF HOSPITALITY STAFF IN THE COUNTRY STOOD DOWN AND AN $8.5BILLION FALL IN REVENUE FOR THE SECTOR. AS AUSTRALIAN HOTELS ASSOCIATION SA HEAD IAN HORNE TOLD THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER: “WE’VE SURVIVED WORLD WARS AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION, BUT THIS IS PROBABLY THE SINGLE BIGGEST SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHALLENGE THE HOTEL INDUSTRY’S EVER FACED.” As we go to print, restrictions are finally easing around the country, and suppliers are rallying to help their on-premise partners return to business. Here are just a few of the latest initiatives.

CUB has announced that it is doubling its fundraising target for the ‘For the Love of Your Local’ campaign to $2million.

The initiative involves Aussies visiting loveofyourlocal.com.au and buying a pint of

CUB beer using their credit card or PayPal account, with the cash going directly to their favourite local.

When patrons redeem their beer voucher, CUB matches the purchase with a free beer, meaning people get two-for-one pints after their local re-opens.

CUB CEO Peter Filipovic (above) said: “The ongoing restrictions will continue to significantly limit trade. For some venues,

re-opening will have to wait until restrictions are further lifted.

“Those that do re-open will have reduced numbers. Australian pubs and clubs have already been shut for two months, and the fact is many of these beloved venues won’t make it through this crisis without extra help.

So, we’re calling on Australians to help save their local and get free beer in the process.

“We’ve had 2000 pubs and clubs join

drinks trade 27

Pubs

already and, if you’re a venue that needs help, I’d urge you to sign-up too.”

Lion announced within hours of the shutdown on March 23 that it would credit venues for their unused kegs. Since pubs venues closed down, it has paid nearly $25 million back in the accounts of pubs, clubs, and bars around the country.

Lion MD James Brindley said more announcements would be made as restrictions are progressively lifted around the country.

“We have helped pubs keep their draught beer systems clean and working with our draught quality system team working from home cleaning nearly 15,000 taps and couplers for our customers, ready for reopening,” he added.

“Our draught quality team is extremely dedicated to our customers and ensuring their equipment is clean and fit for purpose.

They collected the equipment from venues shortly after they were forced to close and have worked through the cleaning of this vital equipment from home.

“We want to ensure pub, club, restaurant and bar patrons around Australia have the best quality draught beer possible when they’re able to return to venues over the coming days, weeks and months.

“The reality is that the industry is going to take a long time to recover. We will be there every step of the way, and we will continue to work with our customers to understand how Lion can best support them over the weeks and months ahead.”

Accolade Wines has launched a support package called “Your Venue, Our Shout” to help the Australian hospitality industry get back on its feet after shutdown.

The on-premise initiative will see Accolade Wines replace, as complimentary stock, their portfolio of wines sold across venues in the first month from re-opening.

Andrew Clarke, Accolade Wines Regional Managing Director – ANZP said: “We are all aware of how COVID-19 has impacted the hospitality industry across Australia. It has been an extremely

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James Brindley

Andrew Clarke

challenging time, and even though venues are beginning to re-open, there is a lot of uncertainty about the future.

“Your Venue, Our Shout is Accolade Wines’ way of showing support to our valued on-premise customers and lending a helping hand to get back on their feet and return to usual trading as quickly as possible.”

Samuel Smith & Son said it is committed to supporting the industry in making a sustainable and robust recovery.

Paul Midolo, Director – Strategy & Trading, revealed: “There are a number of initiatives we are currently undertaking to support our friends and colleagues in the industry. These range from revenue

Paul Midolo

generation support to the provision of promotional mechanics, list printing and design, and access to our category insights program.

“We understand that there are many moving parts to how venues are trying to re-open and want to make sure that our initiatives have the flexibility to support that.”

Diageo has launched a nationwide ‘Welcome Back’ support package for the on-premise, designed to help rebuild the Australian bar industry.

Valued at $1.2 million, the support package will provide 130,000 free serves to venue partners across the country in bonus

Katherine Johnstone painting the Red Lion Hotel

stock, and PR and marketing support to help enable bars to re-open and drive revenue in line with the current trading conditions.

Chris Shaw, Diageo Australia Commercial Director, said: “This has been a challenging time for all of us but our pubs, bars, restaurants and hospitality venues, many of them small businesses that employ thousands across the country, have been particularly hard hit over the last few months. As we start to see some light at the end of the tunnel and our on-premise partners slowly re-open, Diageo Australia is backing them when they need it most.

“This multifaceted support package will include trade deals, bonus stock that will equate to Diageo shouting them 130,000 standard drinks, and PR and marketing amplification for venues. This means a $1.2 million injection into our participating onpremise partners as they start to get back on their feet and welcome the return of patrons to their favourite venues.”

Pernod Ricard is continuing its ‘Meals 4 Mates’ initiative that provides $25 Deliveroo meal vouchers to impacted hospitality staff across the Eastern seaboard (VIC, NSW & QLD). More than 4000 vouchers have been provided to date.

To encourage patrons back to venues, it is also planning a number of ‘welcome back’ support packages for customers across its brands. These include offers amplified through social media, including stock support, social media support (boosting posts, paid advertorials), point of sale, staff training, and incentives.

Treasury Wine Estates is working on bespoke plans with each customer to deliver positive outcomes during the re-opening period.

“We understand that re-entry into the post COVID world is different for each venue. Our focus has been to maintain our sales force in full-time work to ensure the individual needs of our customers are met,” said Tom Gerlach – Head of On-Premise.

“We have bolstered our design studio to deliver revised POS and wine lists in multiple new formats (ie single-use, digital, large format wall displays and mobile-friendly).”

At a ground roots level, some industry execs have even been giving up their weekends to help pubs prepare to open their doors.

ALM NSW General Manager Katherine Johnstone, for example, helped the Red Lion Hotel in Sydney’s Rozelle get a fresh coat of paint.

Johnstone said: “As a business, we need to show our support for our on-premise

partners and see how we can help.

Since the Red Lion is a local for my family and me, we offered to pitch in and help with the renovations - while the pub was forced to close. I don’t think I’ll be giving up my day job, but it was good to be able to contribute something practical during such an uncertain time.”

drinks trade 29

Seltzer

Lion gets its claws into the alcoholic seltzer market ALCOHOLIC SELTZER PHENOMENON WHITE CLAW WILL HIT THE SHELVES IN AUSTRALIA IN OCTOBER, WITH LION ACQUIRING THE RIGHTS TO IMPORT, MARKET AND DISTRIBUTE THE BEVERAGE IN AUSTRALIA.

The brand leads its category in the United States, with sales growing by 315% in the year-to-date and in excess of 80 million cases sold.

Initially Lion will import and distribute three leading variants – Mango, Natural Lime and Ruby Grapefruit, with more to come.

James Brindley, Managing Director of Lion Australia, is bullish about the brand’s prospects: “The popularity of White Claw cannot be disputed. Despite the fact the product has not actually been available in Australia up until now, it has well and truly earned its place in popular culture and is the market leader globally in this exciting new category. It is the most sought-after beverage brand in the world right now.

“It is a natural fit for our growing portfolio of adult beverages beyond our core beer range – and taps into a number of consumer trends around lower calorie and lower sugar products. We believe the seltzer category represents a significant growth opportunity for Lion over the coming years and we are looking forward to bringing the biggest seltzer brand in the world to Australia.”

THE CULT OF WHITE CLAW

Launched in 2016, the name White Claw takes its inspiration from the legend of the white claw wave — when three perfect crests come together to create a moment of pure refreshment.

In the US, the brand has close to 60% market share of the seltzer category, almost three times the size of its nearest competitor,

30 drinks trade

and in the process has become something of a cultural behemoth, with passionate consumers in their millions championing White Claw online.

It’s also made owner Anthony von Mandl a billionaire, with a net worth of about $3.4 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Von Mandl sees White Claw as the beverage of the future. He told a beer wholesalers convention last year that “the consumers flocking to White Claw today are not going to magically return to the megabeer brands of yesterday.”

Struggling to keep up with domestic demand, his company just invested $250 million in new production facilities as it looks to international expansion.

Research firm IWSR Drinks Market Analysis says Von Mandl is on the money.

While it predicts double-digit declines in 2020 for total global alcohol consumption, alcoholic seltzer will buck the trend by continuing to grow during COVID-19.

Those findings dovetail with the latest data from Nielsen, which shows the number of consumers buying alcoholic seltzer in the off-premise between March 1 and April 25, 2020, nearly doubled. And 44% of buyers were doing so for the first time.

In the week ending May 23, alcoholic seltzer increasing off-premise dollar sales 272% in the US and reached 10.1% dollar share of the beer category.

Davin Nugent, CEO of Mark Anthony Brands International, said the company was

thrilled to be working with Lion and excited to take the first steps with them into the emerging seltzer category in Australia.

“Lion has an outstanding track record of nurturing international brands to success in Australia and we look forward to working with them to introduce local consumers to White Claw Hard Seltzer,” he said.

“Making the decision to come here was an easy one, as consumers familiar with the brand in America have made sure to have their voices heard on our social media channels, demanding we bring White Claw to Aussie shores.”

LION FIRST INTO THE AUSSIE SELTZER CATEGORY Alcoholic seltzer has come a long way in a short time in Australia. Lion announced last October that it would be the first major drinks company to launch an alcoholic seltzer into the Australian market late last year, when it added Quincy to shelves.

The Australian-made, gluten-free, lower carb and lower sugar alcoholic seltzer –

containing a hint of either natural lime or passionfruit flavour – was introduced to capitalise on Australians moving towards healthier drinks options.

As Danelle Kosmal, vice president of Nielsen’s beverage alcohol practice, noted: “Alcohol drinkers are becoming more and more concerned about health and wellness, and are becoming more involved in mindful drinking. Hard seltzers are meeting these consumer needs.”

AUSTRALIAN SELTZER MARKET EXPANDS

A slew of seltzer releases by major brewers and independents have followed Quincy.

In March, Asahi Premium Beverages launched Good Tides, Australia’s first vodka-based, sugar-free alcoholic seltzer.

Good Tides features sparkling water with premium, triple distilled, vodka and a hint of natural flavour. It contains no sugar or artificial sweeteners and has only 85 calories per can.

In early May, CUB released Actual, its first white spirit premix since the iconic Sub Zero hit the shelves 25 years ago. Actual Vodka Seltzer is one of the lowest-calorie ready-to-drink vodka on the Australian market and is made with 100% natural ingredients to a vegan recipe. There are two varieties, pure and lime. Pure has no sugar and 65 calories, while lime is low in sugar and contains 69 calories.

Recent independent releases include FELLR, an all natural seltzer that has only 83 calories per can and less than 1g of sugar per 330ml. FELLR is kicking off with Lime & Soda and Dry & Lime flavours, with a Watermelon variant to follow later this year.

Meanwhile, St Andrews Beach Brewery has unveiled its new Tidal Artesian Seltzer, a naturally brewed and fermented alcoholic seltzer. It’s brewed from a blend of local artesian water, cane sugar, yeast and a dash of lime or yuzu citrus. No spirits or ethanol’s are added to the brewing process and each serve contains only 85 calories, 2g of sugar and 3 carbohydrates.

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A Drinks Trade Promotion

APERITIVO ALL YEAR ROUND WITH ALL THE CHANGES AND CHALLENGES IMPOSED ON OUR LIVES RECENTLY, APERITIVO HOUR HAS TAKEN ON A NEW RELEVANCE AND SIGNIFICANCE, AS YOUR CUSTOMERS LOOK TO RECONNECT. Italy is the birthplace of the aperitif, a cocktail traditionally served before dinner with the intention to stimulate the appetite. It is light and refreshing and the Italian favourite has always been the Aperol Spritz, made with equal parts Italian Prosecco, followed by Aperol, a dash of soda and garnished with an orange wedge. People all over the world, come together to celebrate life and moments of joy with loved ones, over an Aperol Spritz.

In 2020, the opportunity to spend quality time with each other is more important than ever, and the team at Campari, the distributors of Aperol, are working hard this winter (actually, all year round) to make sure as many people as possible still get to enjoy aperitivo hour. The occasion represents more than just sharing joy, it allows us to connect with the people in our lives that matter, virtually or otherwise. The aperitif occasion represents good times and making memories through sharing food and a refreshing Aperol Spritz amongst friends.

Aperol, the world’s most famous aperitif is supporting retailers over winter and beyond by accentuating the positives of our changing times with the Aperol Spritz @ 6pm campaign.

Aperol ‘s Spritz @ 6pm campaign encourages us to disconnect from our working day and reconnect with family and friends.

Aperol Spritz @ 6pm is energizing this message to consumers through targeted associations with guided experiences by industry professionals such as a Virtual Art Class with Sydney based visual artist and photographer Danielle Cross, Classic Italian Cooking with Fratelli Fresh and music mixing with DJ Niki De Saint. All are fun and interesting ways to share an experience and a good time over an Aperol Spritz and connect with those we love to spend precious time with.

And now that we can rejoice in the return to our favourite bar and restaurant, Aperol will be ramping up the support with the Aperol Spritz @ 6pm for our on-premise customers.

This is just the beginning of the Spritz @ 6pm campaign, so look out for further activity to support our retail customers throughout the year.

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WIN A LIMITED EDITION APEROL SPRITZ PACK Retailers can encourage consumers to share an image of friends enjoying a Aperol Spritz @ 6pm using #Spritzat6 and tag @aperolspritzau for the opportunity to win a Limited Edition Aperol Spritz pack delivered to your door.

T&Cs – aperolspritz.com.au/events/share-a-spritz-6pm

CHARCUTERIE AND BREAD WITH A BEAUTIFUL RED? THERE’S A LOIRE VALLEY WINE FOR THAT!

Find out more loirevalleywine.com

@LoirevalleywinesAUS

@AusLoire

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Interview

New Brown-Forman MD rises to the challenge EVELINE ALBARRACIN JOINED BROWN-FORMAN AS MANAGING DIRECTOR ANZPI IN JANUARY AND HAS HIT THE GROUND RUNNING, TACKLING THE DUAL CHALLENGES OF THE BUSHFIRES AND COVID-19.

Words Alana House Albarracin, who was previously Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand, for Nestle Skin Health, has higher education qualifications in Business Management and Physiology & Pharmacology and a passion for inclusive leadership.

Albarracin’s mandate is to manage and direct Brown-Forman in ANZPI to build its brands within all markets. Here, she explains how her role has pivoted and evolved in the four months since her first day on the job, how she’s navigating the current environment and her pride in being a role model for women in the drinks industry and beyond.

What are you enjoying most about joining the drinks industry?

I am enjoying the diversity in our industry and find the people are personable, motivated and results driven.

Brown-Forman is an amazing organisation to be part of. I appreciate the culture of respect and responsible drinking, as well as the company’s history, culture, and values given the company turns 150 this year. I love working with – and personally experimenting with – iconic brands including Jack Daniels and our portfolio of premium brands such as Woodford Reserve, Gentleman Jack, Herradura just to name a few.

I have challenged myself by moving from a completely different industry, but have found my skills to be transferable, particularly leadership attributes that are the same, whatever the industry.

It’s been a challenging time for the drinks industry since you commenced in the role in January – have there been highlights too?

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The ability to be able to shift quickly to mobilise teams, motivate our people with a vision of hope, combined with a positive, can-do attitude to get through all situations together, have definitely been highlights.

The industry globally has gone through many crises over the years, including prohibition, impact of 9/11, tariff wars and now COVID-19. We will push through this and weather the storm, which will attest to the strength of our brands and people.

The resilience and strong capability of our people to come together and do what is needed has been amazing. Our brands are trusted and the Brown-Forman team has continued to engage directly with our customers and consumers. We have assured them we will support them during the tough times and assist them to rebuild.

How is Brown-Forman supporting the on-premise?

In this very difficult time for our industry, we have extended our hand of friendship to bartenders by sending ‘Friends of Jack’ packs which include a meal voucher and a selection of some of our Jack Daniels finest whiskeys.

We have offered a tool to support friends of Brown-Forman called Sanvello, a premium app designed to support mental health and wellbeing.

Our focus and energy to enable our people to drive and deliver on new initiatives arising from these crises has made me proud to be part of Brown-Forman. These have included supporting our on-premise partners with innovative ways to continue to connect and engage with their customers, as well as offering online training programs for our employees and our on and off premise business partners,

focusing on both upskilling and strengthening product knowledge.

We have also provided broader support to our industry by supporting on-premise industry charitable causes including HelpOutHospo, which has also been endorsed by key players in the industry including Matt Moran, renowned chef and restaurateur. This not-for-profit organisation has set up a portal through which consumers can pay a donation to watch videos in which chefs and bartenders teach the public how to put together their signature dishes and drinks, with the money going into a fund that will assist hospitality workers.

How has COVID-19 pivoted your leadership?

Leadership during adversity is constant, so I have seen this situation as a leadership challenge that I have risen to. COVID-19 presents an opportunity to mobilise, lead and empower teams to overcome challenges together. With challenges are opportunities and Brown-Forman needs to be ready and poised to work through them to drive outcomes, particularly where we may not have expected them to occur.

Our CEO Lawson Whiting meets with our Global Crisis Management Team daily to ensure we stay on top of the COVID-19 situation, keeping the business informed with staff top of mind and our values at the forefront of all our decisions.

In a recent first-ever virtual Board meeting, there were comments made by the board that Lawson shared with the business.

Here is one that illustrates the strength of Brown-Forman over its 150 year history: “I knew Brown-Forman was in rarefied air in

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Interview

good times. Now I know you’re rarefied air in the bad times, too.”

Lawson also reminds us that the skills and talents that have served us well over the years will be more critical now than ever before. He said our creative mindset, our entrepreneurial spirit, our agility, and our grace under pressure will drive our results and “that we are stronger today than we were yesterday, and we’ll be even stronger tomorrow. Once again, we are reminded that when it comes to our people, there is nothing better in the market.” I really believe in this.

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You started out as a scientist, has that been handy in the new role?

My qualifications in leadership and people management, marketing and science, combined with my background in the pharmaceutical industry have definitely been utilised in my new role. I have been able to leverage my commercial acumen and experience in building brands to assist our employees and our business partners to identify the opportunities during this time and to continue to develop and plan for the long term.

I thrive when developing cultural and operational synergies across diverse groups as well as successful partnerships across internal and external organisations, while introducing frameworks for efficient implementation of marketing, sales, finance, supply chain, and risk management processes. I believe this will support the growth of the Brown-Forman business for continued and sustainable success in the future.

I enjoy meeting our business partners and I’m inspired by the innovation and creativity

of our customers, including those who operate independently. The diversity of our customers – the hotels, casinos, bars, restaurants, pubs and cafes makes my role both challenging and rewarding. The on-premise component of my role is new, however I have immersed myself into the business and this new industry, bringing a different perspective to the organisation and its people.

How is your experience in building brands in your previous roles helping in your current one?

I am passionate about marketing and brand management, which has been extremely valuable in my new role. I have extensive experience leading organisations supported by a high performance mindset and culture focused on it’s employees and customers.

I’ve found that there are many synergies and similarities in building brands across both the alcohol beverage and FMCG healthcare/ pharmaceutical industries.

What do you see as being key to success in the current environment?

Supporting our leaders in the business and empowering them to lead their own teams is a key to success. I have continued to engage our people and live Brown-Forman’s values relating to our people by fostering talent, and valuing diversity, creativity, commitment, and leveraging the expertise of our employees.

Exercising great listening skills is important in leadership, as well as constant communication and the ability to authentically express and listen with empathy. In this current environment, I think that the key to success is maintaining the same level of engagement with employees by leveraging different or new approaches as well.

I am very conscious of my leadership style and believe in consistently communicating our strategic direction to deliver on our vision, our business and our customers. This includes putting in place meaningful initiatives that really make a difference to our people, business partners and consumers.

But above all, and especially at this time, the key to success for our business is to be creative, adaptable and to persevere. We are facing a unique set of challenges and we are evolving our workforce and our brand strategies to weather the challenges and to wield them to their best advantage, for long term sustainable growth .

The drinks industry is striving to become increasingly inclusive, do you see your appointment as an encouraging one for other women in the industry?

Absolutely. I aim to inspire women to join our team. Brown-Forman has a range of Employee Resource Groups including Growing Remarkable and Outstanding Women (GROW). GROW is a program where we have committed to providing tools, education and mentoring for women. I will continue to support and promote our Employee Resources Groups including GROW as I continue in my leadership role.

Regardless of gender, we are open to any individual who is interested, passionate and driven. I am motivated to support women, however never to the detriment of the men in our team. We need to grow together. It’s not about women rising at the expense of men, but as a team, growing and developing together.

The diversity of our employees is one of our key differentiators that creates our unique brand. The unique experiences and backgrounds people bring to our business provides a great perspective, as well as amazing insights. It allows us to collaborate effectively and be successful as a team.

I continue to aspire to be a role model that

inspires women to take on leadership roles, and to build a work culture at Brown-Forman that embraces women and encourages them to become future leaders.

What are the most important factors in inclusive leadership and management of teams?

Being people orientated and genuinely interested in our staff has meant that I have naturally gravitated towards an inclusive leadership style. Key factors I believe are crucial include being transparent, authentic while building trust. I am constantly facilitating dialogue with my team, encouraging everyone to have a voice and express their opinions.

I believe by working collaboratively, it enables me to be more self aware and cognisant of any biases I may possess. Our diversity in experience and skill sets promotes lateral thinking and cultural intelligence. This allows us to see the world through different perspectives and enables growth.

By tapping into the talents and motivations of our people and embracing change, we are also well positioned to deliver a more personalised customer experience.

Finally, I think it’s crucial especially during difficult times like COVID-19, to show commitment to stay on course while being curious and courageous to take action and embrace change.

Do you have a favourite Brown-Forman drink?

I’ve been lucky to sample quite a lot of our brands, but two stand out so far. A Woodford Reserve Old Fashioned is the first that comes to mind. Woodford Reserve is one of our finest bourbons which delivers a rich, smooth flavour and is the perfect drink to end the day.

A close second would be a Gentleman Jack Whisky Sour. In contrast to the Old Fashioned, I like the more pronounced citrus flavour with the addition of lemon juice a Whisky Sour offers. It provides a great tangy hit that is smoothed out by the egg white.

As I’m new to Brown-Forman, I look forward to the opportunity to experience our range with more of our customers and consumers. No doubt I’ll be adding to this list in the future!

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Interview

Shaw-ing Things Up At Diageo DIAGEO APPOINTED CHRIS SHAW AS THEIR COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR IN FEBRUARY LAST YEAR, RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SALES STRATEGY AND ITS COMMERCIAL AND CUSTOMER MARKETING TEAMS. SHAW STARTED HIS DIAGEO CAREER IN 2001, IN A VARIETY OF COMMERCIAL AND CUSTOMER MARKETING ROLES, AND NOW BRINGS 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE TO THE ROLE. HE RECENTLY JOINED THE BOARD OF THE DRINKS ASSOCIATION AND SPOKE TO ALANA HOUSE ON CHALLENGES TO COME AND HOW DIAGEO IS PIVOTING IN THE FACE OF COVID-19.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to work as a united supplier group supporting the drinks association and to advance the drinks industry,” Shaw said.

“As a Board, we have a critical role in ensuring an innovative, diverse and forwardthinking industry that’s delivering great experiences for retailers and consumers.”

Shaw is eager to support the continued collaboration between suppliers and retailers.

“By more deeply understanding retailer, venue, and wholesaler needs and objectives, I would like to ensure collective supplier improvements to meet the changing needs of our partners and our consumers,” he explained.

WORKING TOGETHER TO OVERCOME CHALLENGES

Shaw said the Drinks Association had an even more crucial role to play during the current health crisis.

“Having a cross-industry group that works together to support our industry is hugely important,” he noted “The Drinks Association creates the environment for collaboration and sharing of best practice, which strengthens connection across companies, helping us build a meaningful network that benefits us all.

“It advocates for an inclusive and diverse industry to attract the best talent into drinks, including a fantastic mentoring program that builds the capabilities of our future leaders.

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“The Drinks Association also plays a key role in informing and educating industry, and during this crisis it’s enabled up to date information sharing between suppliers on how to adapt to supply challenges and workforce planning/management that’s been useful during a challenging time.”

HOW DIAGEO IS PIVOTING DURING COVID-19

While it’s been an unprecedented time for the industry since Shaw took over the Commercial Director role, there have been many highlights.

“I’ve welcomed three new commercial leaders in our business who have already

made a huge impact at Diageo – Clair Stevenson who heads up our Endeavour Drinks team, James Fazal who is leading our Coles team, and Sean Bone who has taken on the newly expanded role of Head of Customer Marketing & Digital,” Shaw said.

“I’m also proud of how Diageo has responded in such an uncertain time. We’ve demonstrated agility as an organisation to embrace change and challenge, the likes of which we’ve never faced before.

“We’ve worked on an individual basis with our key on-premise customers to support them through this difficult time, looking for ways to help based on the needs of each customer.

“We’ve also donated ethanol to the Queensland Government that’s now going to help produce 500,000 bottles of hand sanitiser for frontline workers and schools. At times like this, the culture of an organisation is tested and I’m so proud of how the Diageo team has risen to the challenge.”

Additionally, Diageo has worked directly with its key on-premise customers and venues on support initiatives that have positively impacted their challenged cash flow and liquidity concerns.

“Across the industry as a whole, we’ve made available free online training, support on how to create batched cocktail solutions for venues to sell directly to consumers online or through venue, and custom made stock and payment solutions for our onpremise wholesalers,” Shaw explained.

LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR FUTURE SUCCESS

Looking to the future, Shaw said the key to success for the industry was working together to ensure a balanced and effective regulatory framework that supports the freedom for people to choose to consume alcohol responsibly.

“And for companies to continue to market their brands to consumers of legal purchasing age and above responsibly too,” he added. “Similarly, the leadership of a

responsible drinking culture; this is a core principle of our industry’s social license to operate and every part of the supply chain has a role to play in promoting moderation.

Diageo Australia celebrated being recognised by the WGEA as an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality in 2019.

Shaw said the industry also needed to maintain momentum on working towards equality, through an ambitious inclusion and diversity agenda.

“It’s not only the right thing to do, but an inclusive and diverse industry will also deliver stronger performance,” he added.

Shaw is looking forward to promoting greater inclusion and diversity in the drinks industry through his role on the Board.

“There remains more to be done,” he said. “As part of my advocacy for Drinks Association’s inclusion and diversity agenda, I look forward to identifying, developing and fostering the emerging talent of our industry who will be its leaders of tomorrow.”

Lastly, Shaw believes there’s a lot suppliers can learn from other progressive industries.

“Continuing to prioritise insight-led innovation and increasing our capabilities in the use of technology, data, and e-commerce platforms means we can achieve even more in our supplier/retailer partnerships,” he concluded.

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Beer

TO THE PALE WE GO OVER THE PAST TWENTY YEARS, THE RISE IN APPEAL OF PALE ALES IN AUSTRALIA, MEASURED AS A SWING IN CONSUMER PREFERENCE, IS UNPRECEDENTED, EXCEPT FOR THE POPULARISATION OF LAGER BY THE FOSTER’S BROTHERS BACK IN 1888.

Words Ian Kingham

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CLASSIFICATION: Traditionally beer the world over was commercially brewed using a top-fermenting yeast (Saccharomyces Cerevisiae) that floats on the brew during fermentation, converts sugar to alcohol, and imparts flavour through the beer. For ease of understanding, ales are flavoursome top-fermented beers.

Later, a new strand of yeast (Saccharomyses Carlsbergensis) became proficient, sinking and fermenting at the bottom of the vat, converting sugar to alcohol and imparting less flavour. This yeast was well utilised for providing lower flavoured beers with higher refreshment cues. For ease of understanding, lagers and pilseners are refreshing bottom-fermented beers.

STYLES: Pale Ales are ales identified by their pale colour derived from malt, historically linked to the pale malts of the English midlands.

Today pale ales remain synonymous with colour and the use of pale malt; however, variations in the amount of malt and hops and the regions from which these are sourced does provide broader style variety and to navigate these changes from the base style requires a dictionary in its own right.

Of the many globally recognised styles, of which traditional English style Pale Ale is one, there are now many variations including Extra Pale Ales (XPA) lighter in colour and often different hops added for variety, American Pale Ales (APA) with higher additions of hops for intensifying hop character, Australian Pale Ales which utilise additions of Australian ingredients for flavour and aromatic variety (first commercialised by Coopers) and then a variety of derivations including Imperial, Double or Triple Pale Ales which, as the name suggests, have much higher use of malt and hops to impart even more flavour.

It is important to note that variety in Pale Ales is often not clear on the labels, so consumers should take time to read the descriptors before purchasing, and brewers and retailers need to ensure they work hard to ensure clearer messaging when they sell. It is also worth noting that some pale ales are filtered, and some are not, this plays more

to visual effect than it does to flavour. Pales ales pasteurised can be less flavoursome than unpasteurised as a result of the heat treatment, but a good pasteurised beer beats a bad unpasteurised beer every day.

Fortunately bad beer won’t kill you, just waste your money. Pale Ales are best-consumed fresh, unpasteurised beers within four months and must remain refrigerated, pasteurised beers within nine months are desirable. Beer hates light and heat; so canned product is desirable if you want to enjoy the beer the way the brewer intended.

SO WHY HAVE PALE ALES POPULARITY GROWN? 1) A vailability:- Coopers ales have been available for over one hundred and fifty years, predominantly in South Australia.

Still, the introduction of targeted distributions and wider-ranging across Australia, with quirky advertising and designated sales teams, reached a new audience. A youthful audience looking to drink something new and different, so the foray into nationalising the brand was the first step in the acceptance of pale ale, with many consumers adding Australian Pale Ale to their repertoire.

2) C ommercialisation: - Craft Breweries were looking for a viable alternative to the mass-produced, competitive landscape of lager. Pale Ales are a good choice for Craft brewers as they still provide refreshment as well as allowing the brewer to put some personality and variation in the style, without being too overwhelming for untrained palates. As craft brewers grew in number and spread across locations, consumers could choose variety and experience something different. Pale Ales were the most approachable beer in many cases, especially for breweries avoiding lager production.

3) C onsumerisation: - Travel across the world has never been as affordable or as customary as it has been in recent years, so adventurers returning home, would have experienced a much wider range of

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Beer

for some time longer before it plateaus to a relevant market share.

1) S ummer Ales / Kolsch will increase, as this is a style of pale ale, which is ultimately dumbed down to provide more refreshment and less flavour, simply put, a pale ale trying to be a lager. An excellent beer for those venturing out and not wanting to get too far from lager, and as the season warms a refreshing alternative for ale drinkers.

2) P acific Ales will continue to grow, first developed in Australia by Stone and Wood; Pacific ales are made with higher levels of aromatic hops and less bittering hops, making a fruity/herbally easydrinking style. The strength of brands such as Balter, and Wild Yak are also testament to this growth.

3) Pilseners are hopped lagers and offer variety, flavour and refreshment. This clean drinking style was a must to avoid for craft brewers, but as their skill and desire to supply easy drinking beers grows, the emergence of more pilsener varieties is evident. There is also a much greater variety in hops from Australia, England, New Zealand and the US that allows brewers to create their own interpretations and variations.

beers abroad, and as we have seen with coffee, cheeses, meats, and now spirits, experiences and choices are important to mature consumers. Demand feeds production, and production was happy to feed demand.

4) Affordability:- Wider audience appeal, increased volumes, and greater competition has lead to pale ales entering the mainstream market. This has caused price deflation, and the affordability puts them close to par with

lagers. For consumers choosing to drink less but enjoy more flavour, or to find something that can complement meals, the affordability of Pale Ales is attractive.

SO WHAT’S NEXT? While a change in season often causes fluctuations in drinking choices, broader consumer trends ultimately determine sales.

Below are some styles and reasons why I believe these will be the next key consumer preferences, noting that Pale Ale is a broad category, and is a trend that will remain

4) Fruit beers are already emerging, as lager varieties, sours (lactic fermented), and blends (Hazy’s/NEIPA’s). Regardless, the addition of fruit to beer is a way of increasing interest, and many fruits, such as citrus varieties, help to enhance refreshment without detracting from flavour.

Finally, the prevailing trend of buying locally and supporting freshness are overarching themes for beer purchasing, especially in this COVID world. The risk that beers will face is that the spirit market is hot on its heels with greater craft, variety, and sessionability than ever before. Aperol spritz was the start, and gin cocktails, seltzers, and flavoursome refreshing drinks are not limited to beer.

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Tasting Bench

CABERNET The King of Reds

WITH A NEW ‘SOCIAL DISTANCING’ ENFORCED FORMAT, A REDUCED DRINKS TRADE TASTING PANEL RESUMED DUTIES TACKLING THE “KING OF RED WINE” – CABERNET SAUVIGNON. TRAVIS FULLER AND SCOTT MCWILLIAM TASTED 88 AUSTRALIAN CABERNETS (INCLUDING BLENDS), ACROSS 5 VINTAGES – FROM 2014 TO 2018, WITH ASHLEY PINI IN ATTENDANCE AS SCRIBE AND TIE-BREAKER FOR THE AFTERNOON. COVID RULES WERE ADHERED TO, SO THE PRESSURE WAS ON.

THE PANEL

Scott McWilliam is a sixth-generation family member, Global Ambassador and Wine Educator for McWilliam’s Wines.

Scott is a fully qualified winemaker and international wine judge, with over twenty years’ experience in the global wine industry, including making wine in both France and USA. Our second panelist, Travis Fuller, is a highly-regarded wine judge, educator and marketer also with over 20 years-experience. Travis has worked on many of Australia’s most revered brands including: Penfolds, [yellow tail], Hardys, and, recently, as the Fine Wine Director

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for Pernod Ricard Winemakers. Each year Travis, along with Scott, heads across to Mundas Vini – the world’s largest wine show – representing Australia as Jury President. {Ed. news, as we go to print, Travis has been appointed as general manager for Kilikanoon Wines}.

As usual, the rules were simple: all samples are tasted blind from samples submitted by Australian producers and distributors. Wines must be commercially labelled and available to the Australian trade. Varietal, region and price point are ordered and disclosed to the panel.

THE VERDICT

“I was a little surprised by the variation in styles, more so due to winemaking than regional characteristics.”

“Overall the samples were very good stylistically, and showed us a broad spectrum of cabernets”.

“When we tasted the cabernet blends, we found some didn’t come together cohesively.

The better ones had a richness and a structure to them that showed off the best of each varietal blended together” 11 wines were considered outstanding, three from the cabernet dominant blends category, and eight straight cabernets.

CABERNET SAUVIGNON - QUICK FACTS: • 24,682 - Area planted in Australia (hectares)* • 18.3% - Percentage of total area in Australia* • 14.7% - Percentage of total crush in Australia* • 15.2% - Percentage of total wine exports** • $7.85 - Average value per litre Cabernet Sauvignon bottled exports** • $5.94 - Average value per litre all bottled wine exports** *Source: National Vintage Survey 2019 ** Source: Wine Australia Wine Export Approval System 2018-19

CABERNET BLENDS THORN-CLARKE SHOTFIRE QUARTAGE 2017 Barossa, SA RRP: $28 Distributor: Mezzanine 92 points Panel Pick This Bordeaux blend jumps out of the glass with a full body yet elegant mouthfeel, great structure, savoury and cedary notes, cinnamon and mulberry.

Silky tannins and plush, generous fruits deliver a very enjoyable cabernet blend ready to drink straight away, but like many in this class – will cellar well. Great value at $28.

Over delivers.

JIM BARRY - SINGLE VINEYARD CABERNET MALBEC 2016 Clare Valley, SA RRP: $35 Distributor: Jim Barry Wines 92 points Deep red, and bright. Blue fruits and a touch of lifted minty aroma. A velvety mouthfeel, mulberry and plum richness – supported by a healthy backbone structure with balanced tannins. This is a wine of great character and good length.

TIM ADAMS CABERNET MALBEC 2016 Clare Valley, SA RRP: $26 Distributors: • NSW - Winestock • Queensland – Cuttings Wines • South Australia – Nelson Wine Company • Victoria / Tasmania – Sante Wines • Western Australia - David Mullen Wine Agency 91 points Great colour, vibrant blue/black fruits, leathery and delicious leafy characteristics; combined with a fine tannin structure. Wraps you up in a blanket of goodness.

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Tasting Bench CABERNET SAUVIGNON HOUGHTONS – JACK MANN CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2017 Franklin River, WA RRP $150 Distributor: Accolade Wines 98 points Deep purple with great intensity.

Blackberry, spice, mulberry, cold meats. Very complex and exotic – searing intensity. A purity and long core of black fruits, that doesn’t seem to end. What a wine!

SOUMAH – SINGLE VINEYARD CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2018 Yarra Valley, Vic RRP: $40 Distributor: Soumah 92 points Fresh lifted leaf, blackcurrent and fine, silky tannins. A wine with intensity and a well rounded palate. Great length.

TAYLORS - ESTATE RANGE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2018 Clare Valley, SA RRP $20 Distributor: Taylors Wines 91 points Big fruits and a well-structured, long finish and balanced tannins. `

D’ARENBURG – THE GALVO GARAGE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2014 McLaren Vale, SA RRP $29 Distributors: • NSW & ACT - Young & Rashleigh • VIC - The Wine Company • QLD - The Wine Tradition • SA – Empire Liquor • WA – Off the Vine 95 points Dense, taught and great length.

Tasty fruits, and still very youthful. This has a long future.

HARDY’S – THE CHRONICLES CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2017 McLaren Vale, SA RRP $16 Distributor: Accolade Wines 90 points Blackcurrent and liquorice. A complex mix of bright, juicy fruit framed with fine yet firm tannins.

LANGMEIL – BLACKSMITH CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2018 Barossa, SA RRP $30 Distributor: Negotiants 91 points Very attractive dark berry fruit.

Dense with a sense of brooding, long and structures. Will have a long life ahead.

CHATEAU TANUNDA – GRAND BAROSSA CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2018 Barossa Valley, SA RRP $25 Distributor: Crush Wine and Drinks 91 points Deep, brick red. Ripe, black fruits, and a fruit forward nose.

Plenty of tannin to support the plush fruits, Chewy plum and mulberry. A very good drink.

ZEMA ESTATE – FAMILY SELECTION CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2016 Coonawarra, SA RRP $50 Distributor: Zema Estate 91 points Complex, leafy, and bright.

Blackberry fruits - well balanced wine. Long on the palate and mint chocolate finish. A textural and supple wine with a wellbalanced mouthfeel. Overall the wine still feels youthful, and is set to last a long time.

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THE REVIEW FOUR STAND-OUT PRODUCTS THAT CROSSED OUR DESKS OVER THE PAST THREE MONTHS. Reviewed by Ken Gargett and Ashley Pini.

HENSCHKE HILL OF GRACE 2015 Not even isolation and pandemics could prevent the annual release of Australia’s most famous singlevineyard wine, Henschke’s Hill of Grace, even if it was a little more low-key than usual. The 2015 (AUD$865) has hit the shelves, and with it, some welcome good news.

For the first time in several vintages, there is a reasonable quantity of the wine available (all things being relative, of course, as HoG is always a very small production).

Hill of Grace was created by Stephen Henschke’s father, Cyril, with the first vintage being 1958.

And yet, the vineyard had already

been in existence for a century – the block within the vineyard, known as the Grandfathers, is around 160 years old, some of the oldest vines in the world. The vineyard is located in South Australia’s Eden Valley, opposite the picturesque Gnadenberg Lutheran Church, which sits on land donated initially by August Henschke. It always amazes me to think that no one made a designated wine from this vineyard for the first one hundred years of its existence.

But they were very different times.

The 2015 is a wonderful wine, from a very fine vintage. Glorious now, it will rival those which have already passed the test of longevity.

Stephen’s thoughts? “We like to

SEPPELTSFIELD ROAD DISTILLERS, SHIRAZ GIN A decade ago, a Shiraz Gin might have seemed like a magical concoction more likely to be served in one of those weird Star Wars bars than the household favourite it has become. Four Pillars from the Yarra Valley took the early steps when distiller, Cam MacKenzie, decided he wanted to do something like a sloe gin, but not a sloe gin as he was not a fan of that style. The colour and sweetness in Shiraz grapes gave him the perfect alternative. From a toe dipped in the water, production of their Bloody Shiraz Gin is now approaching 100,000 bottles.

Others have followed, which was inevitable. As Oscar Wilde said, ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’ (he goes on to say ‘… that mediocrity can pay to greatness’ but here, this does not apply). Those who have also trod this path can claim to have made some superb, exciting spirits. For me, the more the merrier. Keep them coming.

The Barossa, seen by many as home to Australia’s best Shiraz, is an obvious place

visualise the grace of the harvest moon underlying the luminosity of the 2015 Hill of Grace with its purity of aromas, depth of flavour and silky lustrous tannins – a majesty and a mystery that takes our breath away with its grandeur.”

For me, black fruits dominate, with smoked meats, tobacco leaf, blueberries, dark chocolate, aniseed, and florals. Oak is still evident, but it is well integrated. The wine has incredible length, and the balance is impeccable. The tannins are amazingly fine and silky; the texture is supple. A wine with decades ahead of it. A great Hill of Grace and a brilliant example of how good the best Australian wines can be. 99.

for distillers to source grapes for this style of Gin. The guys at Seppeltsfield Road Distillers are seventh-generation Barossans and, amongst an excellent array of Gins, have a delicious Shiraz Gin. Their latest is their 2020 ($80/50ml, 38.5%). Production has apparently skyrocketed from less than 1,000 bottles to almost 3,000, for this their 3rd release, so although perhaps not as ubiquitous as Four Pillars, fans should be able locate it. An ideal Gin for World Gin Day – 13th June.

The most obvious question asked is how does it compare to Four Pillars. This might be the power of suggestion, but to me, what is obvious is how both are true to their origins. The FP has an elegance about it, and the flavours are more refined. The Seppeltsfield is rich, ripe, bold, and oozing flavour. So pretty much along the lines one might expect from a bottle of wine from each region, as a generalisation.

The team at Seppeltsfield is delighted with their latest release, believing it their best. They used top-notch Shiraz from the

Western Barossa, grown in accordance with organic principles.

Inky black/purple, this is plush and full of delicious mulberry and plum notes, black fruits, and a little bit of sweetness (which actually makes it a fine option to match with a good cigar – far more suitable than a red wine). Even with flavours to burn, this is nicely balanced. Soft texture and excellent length. A little different, but a joy to drink.

Hard to imagine that this will not sell out quickly. Look to your favourite spirits retailer or www.seppeltsfieldroaddistillers. com.au/shop.

drinks trade 47

The Review

ZEMA ESTATE’ FAMILY SELECTION’ CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2014 These turbulent times recently got just that little bit sadder with the news that the Zema family patriarch, Demetrio, passed away very recently, at the age of 87.

Zema Estate is located in Coonawarra, making a fine array of reds, although it always seems to me that it never quite gets the accolades it deserves. Not sure why.

I only met Demetrio a couple of times, and that was a while back, but he struck me as a lovely, hospitable man who tolerated no-nonsense. I remember someone asking for a spit bucket near the vines, only to receive a withering response, followed by a big smile.

The Zema family strike me as the quintessential blend of Italian immigrants and good Aussies. Any visit to their winery was always accompanied with seemingly endless plates of fabulous food. And naturally, the wine to wash it down. Followed by a discussion about the footy (if I recall, son Nick had some rather dubious allegiances).

Demetrio arrived in Coonawarra back in 1959 – it must have been a wild, desolate place then – from Calabria, but did not establish his own operation until 1982. The family suffered another tragic loss a few years ago when son Matt passed away. Matt’s brother Nick is responsible for the wines.

The ‘Family Selection’ is the pick of their wines, and while this Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 has been available for a little while, it can still be found. At $48, it is cracking value. You can pay twice that and not drink so well.

It is sourced from three selected vineyards with the intention to produce a wine that will age for at least a decade (it will do that standing on its head). It was made with partial barrel fermentation and then two years in French oak. The team at Zema has noted that they were aiming for a bigger and bolder, richer style with this ‘Family Selection’, and they have achieved that, but they have also maintained refinement and elegance.

The wine is inky black. Aromas of cloves, black olives, mint, black cherry, and licorice flood from the glass. The oak is nicely integrated and one is left with a touch of the vanillin. On the palate, black fruits, tobacco leaf notes, and cassis characters emerge. This is a seamless style, with the finest of tannins. An extremely well structured wine with balance, length, and good acidity. Good complexity. Supple texture. This is a wine that has a very long future ahead of it.

I’m sure Demetrio would have been very proud of it. Raise a glass of it to celebrate the life and contribution of Demetrio.

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SPLASH VODKA The low and zero sugar drinks categories are set to be the rising stars of the coming twelve months, with some predicting seltzers may be the only drinks in growth. The international brands, such as White Claw (see page 30), have proved that the category works overseas. But will it be as popular in Australia?

All the indicators around health and well-being suggest this will be the case, and a new entrant, Splash Vodka, is well-positioned to take advantage of also being Australian produced and owned.

Australian actress, model, and co-owner of Splash Vodka, Olympia Valance, is delighted to be launching the innovative brand.

“Everyone knows that I love to wind down at the end of a long work week with a cocktail, but this doesn’t mean I want to sacrifice my health in the process. No one wants to feel guilty about what they’re putting into their bodies when they should just be focusing on enjoying the present moment! We managed to create a formula which is incredibly clean, without skimping on the taste,” Valance says.

Splash Vodka’s CEO, Jeff Gobbels, said: “The inspiration of splash vodka is an easy one, it came from us looking for drinks like this for ourselves, and they didn’t exist. So we created them. We wanted an RTD which was sugar-free, all natural, preservative free and most importantly tasted great. We take great pride in the products we’ve created and can’t wait for people to try them.”

“We deliberately launched splash vodka online, to begin with, so we could get a feel of how they would be received in the market. It has worked well, with the orders far exceeding our expectations.”

Splash Vodka is available in two sparkling flavours – Lime and Raspberry. To become a stockist and get on board early, you can contact Splash at info@splashvodka.com.au.

Events and Promotions

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MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL BEVERAGE COMPETITION The 7th Annual Melbourne International Beverage Competition has been rescheduled to Sunday, 30th August 2020. The event will take place at RACV Ballroom, in central Melbourne.

The judging will be undertaken by real trade buyers, assessing each wine, beer and spirit by its category and price. Liquor buyers, importers, distributors, retailers, sommeliers and purchasing managers make up the panel. These judges purchase alcoholic beverages for a living.

Three separate competitions combine to form the Melbourne International Beverage Competition, namely Melbourne International Wine Competition, Melbourne International Beer Competition, and Melbourne International Spirits Competition.

These competitions yield entries in more than 50 categories, from over 10 countries.

In 2019, we received more than 1,000 entries across the three competitions.

This is a wonderful opportunity for a beverage manufacturer or supplier to showcase products to the buying community in a true blind tasting. Ideal for both new to market, and established offerings, your product will be tasted and assessed by these trade buyers.

Results will be showcased to Liquor Trade and Consumers. Winners will be promoted at our trade and consumer tasting events at no additional charge.

This competition is part of the International Beverage Competitions, taking place annually across 4 continents, with events in New York, Berlin, Asia/Hong Kong, and Melbourne.

To enter, or to find out more, head to internationalbeveragecompetitions.com

AUSTRALIAN WINE LIST OF THE YEAR AWARDS Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards were established in 1994 by Tucker Seabrook, to recognise and reward restaurant owners, managers and sommeliers for the highest quality wine lists and cellars. At the same time the awards pay tribute to the dedication and talent of those individuals who create these lists for Australia’s best restaurants, hotels, clubs, wine bars, pubs and cafes – large and small.

The 2020 event is being held later this year, now scheduled for Monday 30th November.

The venue is once again the Vintec / Electrolux Showroom , 163 O’Riordan Street in Alexandria.

The feature articles on the winners and finalists will appear in the December issues of Gourmet Traveller WINE and Drinks Trade magazines.

Keep up to date with the details at: www.winelistoftheyear.com.au

BY BROUGHT TO YOU

AUSTRALIA’S TOP 25 BARTENDERS LAUNCH COCKTAIL BOOK Australia’s top bartending talent is recognised each year in the T25 Bartender Awards. The awards are going ahead, and judging has already been started.

Winners this year will be offered the chance to take part in the “Bartenders @ Home” cocktail book – using their creative talents to deliver cocktail making skills to Australian homes. Drinks inspiration from the best in the business.

The T25 Bartenders for 2020 will be published nationally for the summer of 2020/21.

Keep tabs on the winners and how to get a hold of the cocktail book at: www.exploredrinks.com

drinks trade 49

Last Call

White Bay Beer Co. LAUNCHING A BRAND, PLANNED OR NOT, DURING A GLOBAL FINANCIAL DOWNTURN, TAKES A STRONG WILL, FAITH IN YOUR PRODUCT (OR SERVICE), AND A SINGLE-MINDED DETERMINATION TO SUCCEED. IT ALSO HELPS TO KEEP LOOKING ON THE BRIGHT SIDE. White Bay Beer Co is the creation of four mates that love brewing: Tim Fishwick (Balter, Rocks Brewing and Little Creatures), Adam Trippe-Smith (Konvoy, and McLaren Vale Brewing), Tim Condon (The Cricketers Arms) and head brewer Dennis De Boer (formally of Modus Brewing). Dennis is joined by Jess Walker, one of the first brewers at Pirate Life. It’s an all-star team, living the dream. That is, until a global pandemic turns up in the first week of production. But that’s where the power of positive thinking comes in.

“If we’d launched a few weeks earlier, we would have been sitting on keg beer with no one to sell them too,” said Tim Fishwick, heading up sales of White Bay beer. “While the pandemic changed things, we were able to decide to go into cans and start offering it to locals. And we’re working hard to meet demand.”

And it very much feels like White Bay Beer Co is producing beers that are going to become a part of Balmain’s fabric as the brewery opened its doors for locals to get freshly brewed

TASTING NOTES WHITE BAY UNION LAGER Style: Lager Package: Can 355ml ABV: 4.7% Glass: Pilsner Food Match: Seafood marinara.

Appearance: Cloudy unfiltered lager with a good strong white head. Dark straw colour.

Aroma: Good clean malt, with a light grassy hope note.

Palate: Clean, nice pale malt notes.

Finish: Refreshing and well balanced.

Cracking lager. Will fly.

50 drinks trade

beers to take home during isolation.

The team has managed to sign distribution deals with Vintage Cellars (35 stores locally) in just a few weeks after opening their doors and have now followed up with distribution in BWS locally (65 stores) of its Sunny Pale Ale. “For an unproven brand that is pretty damned exciting for us,” Fishwick said. “The time we were given by COVID gave us the opportunity to have conversations that we weren’t going to have for months. We’re taking every opportunity to look after (our locals) because we think, long-term, they’ll look after us back. But we’ve had conversations with the wider retail market, and now we’ll also concentrate on supporting new distribution channels and manage our stock to make sure we don’t let them down”.

Drinks Trade stopped by the brewery to get some cans off the line and put them on the tasting bench, and this is what we found.

Three cracking beers, our favourite being the IPA. Delicious.

WHITE BAY SUNNY Style: Pale Ale Package: Can ABV: 4.5% Glass: Tulip Food Match: Spicy lamb skewers Appearance: Cloudy, good foamy head.

Hay colour.

Aroma: Hoppy aroma, described as “hoppy blonde” by the brewer. Good green grassy hop. Light malt note.

Palate: Easy drinking style - well balanced.

Texturally, there’s a slight oily hop note.

Delicious.

Finish: Dry finish. Leaves you wanting more.

WHITE BAY CREATURES OF HABIT Style: IPA Package: Can 440ml ABV: 6.6% Glass: Tulip Food Match: Pork belly Appearance: Hazy gold. Good carbonation and head stability. Hay gold.

Aroma: Oily hop aroma, Palate: Great middle palate. A citrus, grapefruit note, and orange peel. Some light malt layering.

Finish: Made to drink - the palate extends well.

The pick of the three beers for us. Holds it’s alcohol well for a 6.6% beer.

FREE FROM ALCOHOL · FULL IN FLAVOUR

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THE CREW YOU CAN SEE

CONTACT WILLIAM GRANTS & SONS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION (02) 9409 5100 OR WGSA.CUSTOMERSERVICE@WGRANT.COM WWW.WILLIAMGRANT.COM