The North Carolina Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association is pleased to announce that Kris Gardner has been hired to serve as the organization’s next Executive Director. Gardner has served as general counsel to NCBWWA for over 20 years. During his tenure as legal counsel, he has advised beer and wine distributors statewide on various regulatory issues throughout the industry. He …
Too Many Grapes, Not Enough Consumers
Casual observers believe the beverage alcohol market is easy and recession-proof. Not quite. All three segments of the business have been in a slump since the end of the pandemic. Consumer buying habits have changed and inflation has taken a serious bite out of everyone’s pocket. Of those three segments, it is wine that faces the most challenging road ahead. …
Industry Coalition Fights Back
All three segments of the beverage alcohol world have joined forces to strongly advocate against an organized effort by neo-prohibitionists who want to make radical changes to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines.A coalition which includes the National Beer Wholesalers Association, Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, Beer Institute, Brewers Association, Wine Institute and DISCUS has launched a consumer-friendly website at www.scienceoverbias.com. …
Wholesalers Donate $75,000 and Supplies to Hurricane Helene Victims
The N.C. Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association has delivered a combined $75,000 donation to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund to aid recovery from Hurricane Helene. The National Beer Wholesalers Association, the Independent Beer Distributors Relief Fund and the N.C. Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association have each donated $25,000 to aid ongoing relief efforts for Western North Carolina citizens impacted …
Wine Industry and Its Conundrum
In the early 1990’s, the U.S. wine industry exploded into a rapid rise of growth, lasting nearly three decades. U.S. wine consumption ascended from 400 million gallons per year to more than 800 million gallons. Today, though, the wine business finds itself in a three-year trend of negative growth. “I don’t want to sugarcoat it—2023 has been a tough …
A Challenging Year for Beer
The Wall Street Journal was on the money when it began a December 27 story with these words: “Beer had a rough year”. There were, however, a few notable exceptions. The Mexican import trio of Modelo, Corona and Pacifico continues to grow and this was an especially strong year for sales of Miller Lite, Coors Light and Yuengling as …
Many Challenges Facing Craft Beer
These are turbulent times in the beer industry and, for the craft beer business, there are two very different narratives these days. On one hand, we now have almost 10,000 breweries in America vs. less than 50 in the late 1980s. Conversely, after nearly a decade of double-digit annual growth, U.S. craft beer has grown at a paltry rate of …
U.S. Wine Business at Crossroads
The U.S. wine business has been making a lot of news lately, but for many of the wrong reasons. A report shows that wine consumption is only showing growth among American customers over the age of 60. Overall, the volume of wine sold in the U.S. has contracted for the second straight year and, with a possible recession looming, …
Beer, Wine Sales Decline Post-Pandemic
Beer tax collections in N.C. were down 1.85% during calendar year 2022, but that doesn’t t ell the full story. Beer tax collections are a basic tool to help determine sales by volume, and we track those monthly numbers on our web site. During the two peak years of the pandemic (2020 and 2021), beer tax dollars rose—2.8% in …
N.C. Alcohol Law Upheld by Federal Courts
The U.S. Supreme Court will not review the case of B-21 Wines v. Bauer, a challenge to North Carolina’s prohibition on interstate retailer shipments of wine. With the high court’s electing not to review the case, the earlier decision by the 4th Circuit of Appeals upholding North Carolina’s alcohol law stands. Case Background B-21 Wines is a Florida retailer. North …