G+V Named U.S. Agency for Bordeaux Region

The Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB) has announced Gregory + Vine as the public relations and education agency of record for the region beginning this year and continuing through 2022. Gregory + Vine will support public relations and education campaigns for the CIVB – the governing body that represents the region’s winemakers, merchants, and brokers – as well as The Bordeaux Wine School. The partnership will encompass a dynamic messaging campaign focused on the approachability and broad range of Bordeaux wines today, including the region’s significant commitment to sustainability, women in winemaking and next generation winemakers.

“We are thrilled to represent France’s premier winemaking region in the US,” says Helen Gregory, Founder and President of Gregory + Vine. “Our campaign is about the people, winemakers and négociants/wine merchants behind today’s Bordeaux. We are excited to share their stories and support increased awareness of the region’s incredible range of wine.”

Media who are interested in receiving news and updates from the CIVB and The Bordeaux Wine School are invited to contact Helen Gregory (helen@gregoryvine.com), Trish Heywood (trish@gregoryvine.com) or Emma Mrkonic (emma@gregoryvine.com).

Bordeaux Wine Council (C.I.V.B.) was created by the French Law dated August 18, 1948. It unites representatives from the three families in the Bordeaux wine industry: winegrowers, merchants and traders. The CIVB’s 4 missions:

• Marketing mission: position Bordeaux wines as the brand of reference, create a strong bond between consumers and the Bordeaux brand, recruit new, younger consumers and ensure their loyalty.

• Technical mission: build knowledge, protect the quality of Bordeaux wines and anticipate new requirements related to environmental and food safety regulations.

• Economic mission: provide intelligence on production, the market, the environment and sale of Bordeaux wines around the world.

• The industry’s general interests: protect the terroirs, fight counterfeiting, develop wine tourism.

All About Bottled-in-Bond

Happy Repeal Day!

December 5th officially marks the anniversary of Prohibition Repeal Day -  the day the sale and consumption of alcohol once again became legal with the end of Prohibition. To mark the occasion, we’re looking at a historic labelling term that is staging a modern comeback: Bottled-in-Bond.

Bottled-in-Bond is an increasingly popular designation that whiskey drinkers are likely to see more than ever. If you’re wondering what it means, Bottled-in-Bond is a legal classification reserved for products made in one distillation season (January–June or July–December). They must be aged a minimum of four years and bottled at 100 proof (50% ABV). The label must also include the distillery where the spirit was made and bottled.

The term dates back to the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, a federal statute that addressed the widespread practice of adulteration (with decidedly non-whiskey ingredients like iodine, tobacco, turpentine, and ammonia). During the Prohibition era, the contents of spirits became even less controlled, as opportunists recklessly cut their spirits with the cheapest (and sometimes toxic) ingredients.

Bottled-in-Bond Labels

A legal labeling classification for whisky that indicates quality. Released this year, Remus Volstead Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey is bottled-in-bond from 2005, 14-year aged Bourbons. The name commemorates the 100th year anniversary of the start of Prohibition under the Volstead Act.

Luckily, since the repeal of the Volstead Act on December 5, 1933, the American whiskey industry has cleaned up its act. Today, the resurgence of the Bottled-in-Bond term is an indication of how far quality whiskey-making has come, often with a nod to its historical origins. Next time you’re looking for an extra special whiskey or Bourbon that commemorates the Prohibition era, look for Bottled-in-Bond on the label.

Our agency footprint expands north...to Canada!

Montréal, Canada

Agency Road Tour to Montréal, Toronto & Vancouver

This fall, Managing Director and dipWSET Trish Heywood organized an inaugural series of Spanish wine education seminars for leading trade and media in Canada. A native of Vancouver, Trish designed our first three-city tour of Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver as a Master Class on the wine region of Rías Baixas. Local partners David Lawrason of Wine Align, Quebec’s first Master Sommelier Elyse Lambert and Somm360 brought invaluable expertise to the campaign, with over 120 top sommeliers, retailers, wine educators and media in attendance.

Wines from Spain are increasingly popular with Canadian wine consumers. According to the Observatorio Español del Mercado del Vino (OeMv), demand for Spanish wines grew 17% in the first half of 2019, far outperforming the flat category growth rate. In response, Canadian restaurants and retailers are rapidly expanding their Spanish offerings at all price points, making our experiential tour of Spain’s celebrated Albariño wines particularly timely.

As Canada emerges as an increasingly important player in Spanish wine imports and beyond, we look forward to offering more brand-building support to our clients across the country.

To learn more about Gregory + Vine, click here or email trish@gregoryvine.com. 

Canadian Wine Masters

M.S. Elyse Lambert leads an Albariño Master Class with Gregory + Vine in Montréal, Canada (Fall 2019).