News Briefs for October 9, 2024

•Kobrand has been named the exclusive U.S. importer of Japan’s Nozawa Onsen Distillery. The New York-based importer and marketer will introduce Nozawa Onsen craft gins in March 2025, with whisky to follow as it reaches maturity. Nozawa’s gins feature locally sourced botanicals and spring water originating from mountain snowcaps surrounding Nozawa Onsen Village, a renowned ski village in Kita Shinshu, Nagano Prefecture. Nozawa Onsen Classic Dry Gin will retail at $75, while Nozawa Onsen Iwai Gin will be positioned at $70.

•Fre Alcohol-Removed Wines, part of the Trinchero portfolio, is adding a Pinot Grigio varietal. With this new addition, Fre’s collection now includes ten 750-ml. SKUs. Trinchero says Fre contains 50% fewer calories than traditional wines, is gluten-free, and vegan. The new Pinot Grigio is debuting nationally at $10 a bottle. Fre, the leader in non-alcohol wines, rose 10% to 380,000 cases in the U.S. last year, according to Impact Databank.

•Nevada-based Frey Ranch Distillery is extending into five new markets, including Florida, Michigan, Virginia, and Indiana with Southern Glazer’s and Tennessee with Best Brands. The distiller is now present across 12 markets overall, also including Nevada, California, Oregon, Arizona, Texas, and Georgia. The grain-to-glass Frey Ranch portfolio includes Bourbons, ryes, and specialty whiskies.

•Napa Valley’s Cuvaison winery is transitioning its range to a new custom lightweight bottle. Made in collaboration with Santa Rosa-based M. A. Silva USA, the move reduces the overall bottle weight by 27%. The lightweight bottle also eliminates the use of foil capsules and instead features a painted drip ring (bead). The new bottle has begun rolling out on the 2022 vintage of Cuvaison’s Small Lot and Micro Lot wines. “Because it has been estimated that anywhere from 40% to 68% of the wine industry’s carbon footprint comes from glass packaging and transport, the new bottle—combined with streamlined and consolidated manufacturing and shipping—will dramatically reduce our carbon emissions,” said Cuvaison president and CEO Daniel Zepponi.

Tagged : Cuvaison, Fre, Frey Ranch, Kobrand, Nozawa Onsen

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