September 5, 2025: South Africa brings minimum spirits abv to 40% and other news…
South Africa's minimum abv for spirits from 43% to 40%, Rosebank to cut jobs, new cooperage in Cognac, thoughts on Union Press's new PR agency, understanding Gen Z, RTDs vs wine and more...
Happy Friday everyone! We’ve finally made it to the end of the week.
I won’t be sharing too many news stories today, as I’d like to focus on a few key pieces with some of my own thoughts. Let’s dive in.
South Africa lowers minimum abv level for spirits to 40%
South Africa has lowered the minimum ABV requirement for all spirits from 43% to 40%. This new regulation applies to all spirits sold in the country and should simplify processes for both international companies exporting there and local producers exporting abroad.
Article by Eleanor Yates in Drinks International:
South Africa lowers minimum abv level requirement for spirits
Rosebank to cut jobs just 15 months after reopening
Rosebank owner Ian Macleod Distillers is set to review its staffing levels at the distillery, only 15 months after its reopening. The company stated that the decision was made due to current market conditions and to “lower than anticipated” visitor numbers.
You can read Nicola Carruthers’s article in The Spirits Business here:
New cooperage in Charente
The Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France is set to invest €6,2 million in the construction of a new cooperage in Cognac. The new facility, described as “cooperage of the future”, is scheduled to begin operations in 2026 and will welcome professionals trained at the city’s Centre de formation des apprentis (CFA).
You can read the press release on Nouvelle-Aquitaine’s website here:
La première pierre de la tonnellerie du futur sera posée le mardi 9 septembre à Cognac
Union Press launches PR Agency for wine and spirits
Union Press, the publisher for The Spirits Business and The Drinks Business has launched Pitch & Pour, an international PR service for the wine and spirits industry. According to Melita Kiely’s article in The Spirits Business, the agency will operate as “an independent arm under the Union Press umbrella”,
I’ve chosen to highlight this news because I don’t see it as a good idea, but it gives me the chance to explain some aspects of the current media industry.
I’ll start with a little context.
Public relations (PR) and journalism are very closely related fields. They are similar, but their goals should be fundamentally opposite.
To put it simple: PR agents are paid by a client to promote them on the media, while journalists are paid by publications to inform their readers. That’s how it should work, but something has changed.
Since newspapers and publications moved online, a lot of information has become available for free. As a result, readers no longer feel the need of to pay for news, but good journalism takes a lot of work and costs money.
This has caused a chain reaction: newspapers have started to rely on advertising for their income, journalists get paid less, the news is less thoroughly researched, and publications can no longer be completely independent from their sponsors. This, in turn, causes them to lose credibility with their readers.
The situation was already compromised enough, why go a step further by founding a publication-owned PR agency? This makes you dependent on clients, in addition to sponsors. On top of that, you are also now in competition with the very PR agencies that provide sponsors to your newspaper.
What’s more, try to look at this from another publication’s point of view. Would you publish news or content about a competitor’s client? It’s much more likely that their press release or invitation would go straight in the bin.
I’m sure the people at Pitch & Pour PR are professionals who will do a great job. But is this approach truly worth in the long term for their clients and the media industry? I’m sorry, but I don’t think so.
Something to read from IWSR (and something to watch)
Three key-points for approaching Gen Z
The International Wine and Spirits Research (IWSR) has recently released its latest Bevtrac consumer survey, which shows that this generation is re-engaging with alcohol (you can read our June 27 press review here). The consumption patterns are just different from previous generations, and IWSR suggests three key-points to keep in mind. I’ll summarise them for you here:
community
flexibility
discovery
You can find more details on the IWSR official website here:
Comparing RTDs and wine
In this article, the IWSR compares RTDs and wine, trying to find the reasons for the rise and, on the other hand, the decline of these categories.
You can read the content here on their official website:
While I agree on the fact that the wine industry has not been able to build effective communication with younger consumers, I don’t entirely agree on the fact that “the lines between RTDs and wine are also becoming increasingly blurred with the growth of wine spritzers, canned wine cocktails and wine-infused RTDs.”
I don’t believe a consumer looking for wine would be tempted by a canned wine spritzer. They might, however, be tempted by a canned wine. This raises some interesting questions about packaging and consumption.
Cans are single-use containers. You’d reach for one when you want something easy to transport and consume quickly. If it’s an RTD, you might not have the time or skill to mix your own drink, or you just don’t fancy it. If it’s canned wine, you might not want to leave an opened bottle in the fridge, or a glass bottle might be too heavy. I’ll give you some examples through a few funny commercials from New Zeland.
These were shot by some old friends at Misty Cove Winery a few years ago, when they launched their canned wines. Hope you will enjoy ;)
That’s all for today.
I know the EU is working on new agreements with MERCOSUR and Mexico, but I decided not to add articles about it. There have been many statements and a lot of lobbying, but nothing has been signed yet. Should you be curious, you can read this article on the Italian newspaper VinoNews24’s:
or read the EU’s official press release here:
Commission proposes Mercosur and Mexico agreements for adoption
Enjoy your weekend and see you on Monday!