Babe soothes stressed-out voters

Canned wine brand Babe Wine had to restock its sold out Election Night Survival Kit, after stressed voters stocked up on essentials ahead of the presidential election.

The survival kit, which retailed for $29.99, comprised of a bottle of “Polls Closing. Bottles Opening” red wine, a four-pack of Babe Rosé, a stress ball, tissues and a pillow to scream into if your preferred candidate didn’t win (or if you want to, it could be saved for the protracted legal battle over ballots).

Tempus Two sponsors Katherine Ryan’s podcast series

Comedian Katherine Ryan has received sponsorship from Australian wine label Tempus Two for her Telling Everyone Everything podcast series. It is hoped the sponsorship deal, which was due to start on 2 November and is scheduled to run for four weeks, will increase awareness of the brand in the UK, predominately focusing on the recently launched Tempus Two Quartz and Copper series, according to the Australian Vintage-owned wine company. The adverts will target Ryan’s audience of around 76,200 weekly listeners, and will direct them to key national retailers. Australian Vintage’s chief operating officer, Julian Dyer, said: “We’re very excited to announce this sponsorship working with such a well-respected comedian and household name, Katherine Ryan. “She is the epitome of ‘elegance with attitude’, a message that is the footprint of the Tempus Two’s brand values.” The 90-second adverts will cover Tempus Two’s key brand messaging of “distinctively bold, luxe wines with an edgy attitude” a description that the company said “matches perfectly with Katherine Ryan’s frank and honest discussions on current world affairs, with an air of elegance.” Ryan’s podcast if available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music and Google Podcast.

Perrier-Jouët creates ‘artisans of wine’ podcast

Deschamps spent 37 years at Perrier-Jouë

Champagne house Perrier-Jouët has launched an ‘artisans of wine’ podcast series to mark the retirement of the brand’s long-serving cellar master, Hervé Deschamps. This six-part series celebrates the legacy of Perrier-Jouët’s seventh cellar master, who retired at the end of October after 37 years at the house. In each episode, Deschamps chats with colourful characters in the wine trade who he has befriended over the years. Among those to appear on the podcast are Serena Sutcliffe MW, former international head of Sotheby’s wine department, who talks about prestige cuvées and a book on Perrier-Jouët that she co-wrote with Deschamps. Also making a cameo is Giovanni Ferlito, the ebullient head of wines at The Ritz hotel in London, who discusses the unique floral flavour profile Perrier-Jouët Champagne. The series concludes with a conversation between Deschamps and his successor, Séverine Frerson, who took the helm at the house this month. Deschamps worked alongside Frerson for two years as part of a transition period. The podcast is hosted by wine writer and broadcaster Susie Barrie MW. Hervé Deschamps joined Perrier-Jouët in 1983. He has created two of the house’s most iconic cuvées: Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque Blanc de Blancs and Perrier-Jouët Blanc de Blancs.

Greene King to tell story of slave-owner founder

UK pub and brewing business Greene King is working with the International Slavery Museum this month to raise awareness of the company’s historic link to the slave trade. Greene King employees will be given the option to take part in online workshops on transatlantic slavery, and the museum will also work with Greene King on exploring the history of Benjamin Greene, one of the brewer’s founding members, who profited from slavery and argued against its abolition in the 19th century. The origin of the founder’s wealth was outed earlier this year by researchers at Oxford University detailing the historic connections household brands have to slave-ownership. Greene King was founded in 1799 by Benjamin Greene, who went on to own cane sugar plantations in the West Indies, where he owned enslaved Africans and profited from their labour. The founder was an advocate of slavery, and wrote columns in his own newspaper that were critical of abolition. He was, like the vast majority of slave owners at the time, financially compensated when slavery was abolished. Richard Benjamin, head of the International Slavery Museum, said the group’s actions are “a positive step in the right direction. Reparative justice must acknowledge past abuses and respond to their continuing legacies. “We hope that more institutions and businesses in the UK can be equally as transparent about their origins.”

Moët kicks off London Cocktail Week

Some 250 bars kicked off London Cocktail Week in style with a simultaneous Champagne toast from magnums of Moët & Chandon. Taking place at 17:43pm, in honour of the year Moët & Chandon was founded, the collective toast signalled the start of the city-wide event. Moët Hennessy UK is one of the headline sponsors of this year’s London Cocktail Week, which was extended to run throughout the month of October to help support the struggling hospitality industry at this tough time. The 17:43pm toast took place every Thursday throughout the month of October, with bars and revellers encouraged to share their Champagne celebrations with each other on social media. Every Thursday, Moët will also offered complimentary Champagne cocktails in bars such as City Social in Liverpool Street, Disrepute in Soho and Coupette in Bethnal Green. “We are so pleased with how the #moetmoment at 17:43 on the first day of London Cocktail Week went,” festival co-founders Hannah Sharman-Cox and Siobhan Payne said of the initiative. “It was incredibly heart-warming to see all 250 participating bars toast the start of the festival at the same time – it was a really wonderful kick-off – and proof that the hospitality industry can be positive, even in the face of such adversity.”

Austrian marketing board creates “summer of wine”

Austria has enjoyed a “summer of wine” after the success of a new campaign to encourage stuck-at-home locals to visit the country’s wine regions, but not solely for wine, the Austrian Wine Marketing Board has said. Speaking to the drinks business, CEO Chris Yorke said the campaign, the largest ever run by the AWMB, proved wildly successful in getting Austrians to visit the country’s wine regions. With international visitor numbers down as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and with Austria’s eight neighbouring countries all with their own sets of restrictions to combat the spread of the virus, many Austrians found themselves at home over the summer. Yorke explained that with the prospect of increased domestic tourism “we wanted to give them reasons to go to the vineyards”. Rather than approaching potential tourists solely on the basis of wine, however, the Austrian Wine Marketing Board decided to present each region where wine was something that could be enjoyed, in addition to the other activities that each area offered visitors. Yorke also said it was important to “identify interests” among the tourists. The group’s research showed that 30% of Austrian tourists “have an interest in wine and food” but only 5% of them go on holiday solely for the purpose of trying local cuisine.

Wales’ Rugby Union releases two beers

19.10.20 – WRU –
Brecon Brewing.

The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) released two beers ahead of its game against France last month as part of a new partnership with beer maker Brecon Brewing. The new beers, the WRU Gold and WRU IPA, were available in the week up to Wales’ return to international rugby last month. The WRU has changed its official beer partner from Brains to Brecon. This means that Brecon will have exclusive pouring rights at the Principality Stadium, when crowds are eventually allowed back, until 2023. The WRU IPA is described as a 5% ABV golden IPA, with citrus and resinous aromas and spice and black pepper on the palate, while the WRU Gold is a 4% ABV golden ale with flavours of citrus and tropical fruit. The beers are available in four-packs in selected Spar, Nisa, Filco and Castell Howell stores, as well as online from Brecon Brewing in cans, kegs and casks. Commenting on the new deal, WRU chief executive Steve Phillips said: “To be in a position to announce a new partnership deal during these difficult times for our national game world-wide shows the innate value and strength of the Welsh rugby brand and is a credit to our commercial team. “We are delighted to welcome Brecon Brewing to the Welsh rugby stable as our official ale partner and are particularly pleased with the agreement to produce two new artisan WRU beers as part of the partnership.”

Patrón taps into Day of the Dead

Tequila maker Patrón has marked Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) with the launch of a limited edition bottle featuring symbols associated with the festivity.

Falling on 1 and 2 November, Día de Muertos, or Day or the Dead, is a Mexican holiday which sees family and friends come together to remember and pray for those that have died.

Traditionally, homes are decorated with Cempasúchil (Mexican marigolds), sugar skulls and papel picado to mark the occasion. To commemorate the annual holiday, Patrón teamed up with bottle personalisation specialist INKD to create a custom-design, limited-edition bottle featuring monarch butterflies, Mexican marigolds and sugar skulls. The bottles are available from Harvey Nichols for £59 and from the INKD website, with a personalisation option, from £55.

The distiller honoured the festivity by showing customers how to make special cocktails, including the Ofrenda, via its Patrón Pantry platform on Amazon.

In Mexico, it partnered with a selection of bars, who offered a special ‘buy one, gift one’ deal on a selection of Patrón Día de Muertos themed cocktails.