Liquor Industry News 07-17-26

Exploring all things wine with you!

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The Flipboard curation of "LIQUOR INDUSTRY NEWS 07-17-26" by Mark Lenzi covers some fascinating developments across the beverage world, ranging from innovative product launches to the science of tasting.

Here is a summary of the featured stories:

1. Trinchero Family Wine and Spirits Launches "Sauvy B"

• The Scoop: Trinchero (the third-largest wine supplier in the U.S.) has partnered with famed winemaker Joel Gott to release a new ready-to-drink (RTD) wine spritzer called Sauvy B.
• What makes it unique: It targets "better-for-you" trends and younger consumers by introducing added electrolytes sourced from pink Himalayan salt.
• The details: The drink is packaged in 12-ounce cans, comes in at a sessionable 4.5% ABV (roughly 100 calories), and is made from 90% sparkling water, 9% California Sauvignon Blanc, and natural citrus flavorings (available in Lime and Grapefruit).

2. WhistlePig Whiskey Joins the Kentucky Distillers’ Association (KDA)

• The Scoop: The Vermont-based, LVMH-backed rye whiskey specialist WhistlePig has officially been welcomed as the newest member of the KDA.
• Context: This move aligns with WhistlePig's growing physical footprint in Kentucky, including the opening of their "WhistlePig PiggyBank" tasting room and retail space in Louisville's NuLu neighborhood.

3. What the Wine World Teaches Us About Taste and Smell (via BrainFacts)

• The Scoop: Drawing from lectures at the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting, this piece explores the incredibly complex neurological processing that happens when we taste wine.
• Key takeaways:
• The Brain on Wine: Wine tasting is an active, multi-sensory workout. It involves vision (assessing color/legs), smell, taste, and the trigeminal nerve, which processes temperature and mouthfeel. All of this is integrated in the orbitofrontal cortex.
• Expectation vs. Reality: Preconceived notions heavily dictate taste. Studies showed that dyeing a white wine red fooled tasters into describing red wine characteristics, and tasting wine in front of flowers led to more positive descriptions.
• The "Verbal Overshadowing" Trap: As intermediate tasters focus intensely on trying to find the perfect words to describe a wine, they can actually disconnect from the simple, holistic pleasure of drinking it.

4. The Complete Ultimate List of Craft Tequila Brands (via The Tequila Report)

• The Scoop: Written by Jay Baer, this industry-wide deep dive looks to expand the conversation beyond just "additive-free" tequila by establishing a strict definition for what actually constitutes a true "craft" tequila.
• The Criteria: To help overwhelmed consumers standing in front of retail shelves, the report evaluates brands on specific production standards, ultimately identifying 231 brands that officially meet the rigorous definition of "craft."