Adrienne Smith

Here's Jose Ramon Urtasun on sustainability worries, why Rioja winemakers shouldn't axe all their Tempranillo vines to jump on the white wine trend, and the biggest issue facing producers today (spoiler: it's not tariffs). This comes as his winery, Remírez de Ganuza, eyes harvest. Looking forward, Urtasun plans to hit the international markets, with a focus on the UK, the US and Latin America. https://lnkd.in/eD4jX6nz

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What happens when a small specialty coffee shop evolves into an eatery and prepares to scale nationally? That’s the story of Mokas Coffee & Eatery. From its beginnings in Salina, Kansas, Mokas has transformed over 20 years — adding a full kitchen, bringing roasting in-house, and building a guest experience centered on quality, community, and connection. Now, with four locations and its first franchisee signed, Mokas is gearing up for thoughtful regional growth across the central U.S. It’s not just about coffee. And it’s not just about food, according to leader Jason Ingermanson. It’s about creating spaces where people slow down, share conversations, and leave smiling. READ MORE: https://lnkd.in/eVqXrrnR

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Sean Sullivan, writing at his Northwest Wine Report, uncovers and writes about an important development in the wine industry: Facebook will no longer allow hundreds, if not thousands, of wine nd spirit companies to be recommended by their algorithm. You should read this if you are in the wine and spirits biz: https://lnkd.in/dhTZVC7b

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A Hybrid Wine Revolution is Fermenting in New York In the ever-evolving world of wine and grape production, research plays a crucial role in advancing knowledge, improving practices, and ensuring the sustainability of the industry. NYWGF’s commitment to research is evident in its annual research budget, which typically ranges between $350,000 to $600,000. The NYWGF Board of Directors is proud to share the results of 2024-25 funded research projects through individual reports, articles, and a series of webinars in 2025-26. Featured in this article are two NYWGF-funded studies: Development of resilient and high-quality wine grape varieties | Madeline Oravec, Assistant Professor at Cornell AgriTech Evaluation of Hybrid Winegrape Varieties on Long Island | Alice Wise, Senior Issue Educator and Viticulturalist at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County We invite you to learn more about these research efforts and stay tuned to our Research page for more details on upcoming webinars. New York winemakers have been crafting wines made from hybrid grapes since the 1800s, but the difference between the hybrid days of yore wines, and the hybrids of today is analogous to the difference between horse and buggy transportation and a rocket ship. (We have generations of assiduous cross-breeding by researchers to thank for that). Back in the day, hybrid grapes were largely the result of crosses between Vitis vinifera (European grapes) and Vitis labrusca (grapes native to eastern North America). The first cross is believed to have been accidentally conducted by James Alexander in the mid-18th century. Over the next decades, more experimental crossings were conducted, and while the wines that resulted weren’t yet considered nearly as desirable as wines made from Vitis vinifera, their ability to survive harsh weather conditions and withstand disease made them the best option for growers in New York. And during the phylloxera epidemic of the late 1800s, these hybrids essentially saved European wines. And yet, the stigma of less-than-ideal wine remained, and is still present in certain quarters of the wine-drinking, selling, and critiquing public. But that’s changing, thanks to scientists, growers, and producers who are eager to leverage the viticultural potential and eco-friendly attributes of these grapes. Get the full story New York Wine & Grape Foundation https://lnkd.in/eQn_nH4y Robin Shreeves Goose Watch Winery on Cayuga Lake, NY Russell M.

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In today's Lodi Wine post (re https://lnkd.in/gs8Q8XXf): Exactly what is an AVA, and why are AVA and vineyard designations on labels becoming increasingly important to consumers? #americanviticulturalarea #lodiwine #lodiwinecountry #zinfandel #cabernetsauvignon

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California vintners are surprised by a 2025 preliminary wine grape crush estimate of over 2.6 million tons, which exceeded wine professionals’ expectations. But the crush was still the state’s smallest since the 2.4 million tons produced in 1999, and the downsizing will help the industry begin to correct a chronic oversupply of grapes. https://lnkd.in/gt3wneXm

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This week's Nibbles newsletter from the Boulder Reporting Lab: Wine Spectator recently highlighted metro restaurants offering exceptional food and wine, including Tomás Zatloukal’s Vinca in Boulder and Broomfield and Azafran, an Indian eatery in Broomfield owned by Rishu Chhabra and Saurav Mehta. Others on the list include Barolo Grill, Mizuna, Rioja and Tavernetta, all in Denver.    Frozen pizza just got a serious upgrade. Lucky’s Market has introduced take-and-bake pies from Boulder’s award-winning Audrey Jane’s Pizza Garage. Audrey Jane’s also offers its pasta sauces in bottles. Opening Okigiri Cafe has opened at 629 28th Street. The Okinawan and Taiwanese menu features noodle dishes, Taiwanese doughnuts and onigiri, sandwich-sized rice pockets filled with teriyaki beef, Spam and eggs, shrimp or pulled pork with jalapeno.  Coming attraction Scoops on the Corner, a new ice cream shop, will open at 1844 N. Hover Street in Longmont. Culinary Calendar Museum of Boulder curator Elizabeth Nozek leads an in-depth tour on March 21 exploring Boulder’s historic culture of wellness and natural foods, featured in the current Boulder Eats exhibit.  The Boulder Farmers Markets’ new Field Trip Program offers guided farm tours starting April 8 at MASA Seed Farm.  Slow Food Boulder County and the Museum of Boulder team up for a family-friendly tour of Growing Gardens on May 11.  See NIBBLES in comments. #boulderreportinglab #boulder

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Food & Wine calling Fresh Victor Mexican Lime & Agave "a clear winner" and "best overall" against a great field of competitors is significant validation of what we've been doing for so many years. I love that they detailed their process: 1. "sampled both shelf-stable mixes and ones found in the refrigerator aisle" 2. "10 popular Margarita mixes that are widely available" 3. "we only sampled the standard, “original” lime flavor. " 4. "Nine F&W editors participated" 5. blind tasting 6. "prepared per the instructions listed" 7. all made and served exactly the same method 8. judged on: flavor, texture, and ratio - "Flavor, though, was paramount" This was a legit review by qualified reviewers. Boom. Congrats to Fever-Tree, Tommy's, and Master of Mixes Now go try our other eight mixers! https://lnkd.in/gMqHqr73 "Not all store-bought margarita mixes are created equal."

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In our latest Wine Voices podcast, to coincide with the September Releases report of international wines, Suzanne Mustacich speaks with Mireia Torres Maczassek from Familia Torres about the importance of forgotten wine grapes, the impact of climate change on vineyards, and the recovery of ancestral Catalan varieties. Mireia is the Director of Innovation & Knowledge at Familia Torres; she’s leading their work in recovering heritage wine grapes, a quest first begun by her father Miguel Torres. Suzanne and Mireia discuss the journey of bringing a forgotten grape to consumers, a single vineyard sparkling wine made from a rare grape, the challenges of adapting grape varieties to climate change, and the significance of sustainability in winemaking. The conversation also touches on the role of terroir, food pairing, and the path towards achieving net zero emissions in the wine industry. This podcast is part of the Thinking Differently series, where we bring you one-on-one conversations with leading innovators in the wine world. Catch up on youtube, spotify, apple, or directly on the site. Suzanne Mustacich Wine-Searcher #winevoices #insidebordeaux #septemberreleases #youtube #videopodcasts #winepodcasts #migueltorres #climatechangeandwine #newcontentthursdays #thewinepodcast #raregrapes #forgottengrapes #greenwinemaking #thinkingdifferently

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A changing consumer and macro-economic environment (including tariffs) since The J.M. Smucker Co.'s last plan to re-energize Hostess Brands has made the task even more challenging, Eric Schroeder of Milling & Baking News reports. J.M. Smucker has whittled down its previous "five pillar" strategy to rekindle Hostess to three pillars. “We are taking decisive actions to improve the results of our Sweet Baked Snacks segment, which has not met our expectations,” president and CEO Mark Smucker said. “The business was impacted by two primary factors, which ultimately led to underperformance in the segment. “First, consumers continue to be selective in their spending, largely driven by inflationary pressures and diminished discretionary income, causing the sweet baked goods category to recover slower than we anticipated," he explained. “Second, we did not perform with excellence from a distribution, merchandising and competitive standpoint. We are addressing these challenges and are committed to returning the Hostess brand to growth. With that said, the environment and our assumptions have evolved since we acquired the Hostess business.” https://lnkd.in/ecxXNpx9

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This is for food brands, editors, chefs, and restaurant owners who say they want to make money, not just content, not just awards, not just compliments, but actual, repeatable revenue. Look again at your articles, your recipes, your menus, because you’re sitting on gold and treating it like scrap metal, publishing it once, serving it once, posting it once, and then moving on as if the value expired the moment it went live. It didn’t. What you’re holding are assets that could work harder, travel further, and earn more, but only if you stop seeing them as output and start treating them as IP. A recipe isn’t just a dish, it’s a system that can be licensed, standardized, trained, repackaged, and sold more than once, an article isn’t just a story, it’s a point of view that can anchor a series, a format, a workshop, or a product, and a menu isn’t just a list, it’s a sales engine that decides what people order and how often. Most people don’t lack quality, they lack structure, and without structure even the best work stays trapped in the moment it was created. I’ve seen menus that could add thousands a year with a rewrite, recipes that could save hours every week if they were written properly, and articles that could position a brand for years instead of a single post, but none of that happens by accident. If this feels uncomfortable, good, because comfort is usually where value goes to die. If you want to make money, look again at what you already have, because the gold isn’t missing, it’s just undocumented.

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I will admit that I came into my recent interview with Isabelle Legeron MW with a lot of preconceived notions. She broadened my perspective in surprising ways...

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Natural, organic or sustainable? The latest market research from the Wine Market Council provides compelling new data from a survey of 1,500 respondents. https://lnkd.in/gpGYmMcC

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