The Grapevine

Wine Industry News: Wine-based drinks, NYS Retailer of the Year

March 2nd, 2015

This week we learn the New York State Retailer of the year and ask whether consumers are being misled by wine-based drinks and how they’re marketed? [level-members]

Ryan’s Wine and Spirits in Canandaigua, NY was just named the New York State Retailer of the Year by the New York Wine & Grape Foundation. The shop champions smaller producers and has a particular focus on wines produced in New York State. They also strive to make it easy for customers to try new wines before they buy.

Read the full story here.

Are consumers being taken advantage of when they are sold wine-based drinks that are marketed as wine? Does it matter? Admittedly, this is an international story, but it’s of interest as regulations on who can sell wine and how it can be marketed are always in play in the US. Australia is battling this issue right now and while there’s merit to the wine-based drinks being sold along side the wines – based on alcohol-content alone, to say nothing of how consumers think about the product – not clearly labeling them as something other than wine does not help the consumer or the industry.

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