More Beverage News
EU Pivots, Allows PDO Wines To Use Hybrid Grapes
You Know Tequila And Mezcal? Get A Taste Of Bacanora And Raicilla
Champagne Pops Sales Records As Demand Flows Again
Image Source: Charles Platiau/Reuters
In the champagne world, 2020 was as flat as day-old root beer. But this year, bubbly revenues have risen higher than ever to $6.2 billion. That's well ahead of the tipple's previous sales record of $5.6 billion set just before the pandemic hit. I guess people are finally finding things to celebrate again. Omicron be damned: We're going to toast to 2022 this weekend!
Researchers Analyze How Climate Change Will Affect The Taste Of Coffee
Image Source: Yevgen Romanenko / Getty Images
High elevation and lots of shade create the best-tasting coffee. That allows the beans to ripen slowly and develop more flavor. What's happening as the planet warms? Can these growing conditions be maintained? To find out, scientists from Tufts University and Montana State University analyzed more than 70 studies. They concluded that nothing can be done about warming temps at high elevations. But to preserve shade-grown crops, growth canopies can limit sun exposure and help improve flavor in coffee beans.
Uber Acquires Drizly For $1.1 Billion, Paving The Way For Digital Alcohol Delivery
Image Source: David L. Ryan/Globe Staff
The alcohol delivery service Drizly will soon appear on the popular Uber Eats app. While Drizly itself doesn't deliver alcohol, its tech allows local liquor stores to deliver alcohol directly to consumers. Users of Uber Eats will soon be able to shop for alcoholic beverages along with restaurant takeout, grocery and convenience store items, and other retail products.
French Wine Production Drops 29% This Year, A New Low
Image Source: Regis Duvignau/Reuters
Spring frosts and grapevine diseases have cut this year's total output of French wine down 29% from last year, according to the French farm ministry. This year's production numbers are even lower than the country's previous worst years of 1991 and 2017. The Burgundy-Beaujolais region has suffered the most losses, but there is a sliver lining: experts predict zero impact on the wine supply in the marketplace thanks to reserves from previous years.
Plum Pits? Pasilla Chiles? Koji? Modern Distillers Push The Limits Of Liquor
Image Source: Dashti Jahfar
The liquor business is going through a renaissance. Companies like Denmark's Empirical Spirits are distilling unique types of booze from ingredients other than traditional grains and grapes. Pasilla chiles, purple wheat, and pilsner malt get distilled into a spicy, smoky clear liquor with hints of pineapple and scotch. Distilled kombucha made from marigold flowers has an astringent tannic quality more often tasted in wine and tea. Rice-based whiskeys fermented with koji (the fungus used to make soy sauce) develop a savory, umami finish. Welcome to the mind-bending future of booze.
World's Oldest Bourbon Sells At Auction For $137,000
Image Source: Catherine Chen
Bottled in LaGrange, Georgia between 1762 and 1802, the bottle of Old Ingledew Whiskey includes a label that reads, "This Bourbon was probably made prior to 1865 and was in the cellars of Mr. John Pierpont Morgan from whose estate it was acquired upon his death.” Yes, that JP Morgan. Interestingly, the buyer wishes to remain anonymous, and the antique bourbon's destination is unknown.
