Cooper's Hawk Winery and Restaurants’ Post

Although not many wineries, let alone Amercan companies, acheive the level of success as the Gallo Family and the time is right (yes, now) in the American market for many more serious winemaking success stories. As wine has barely scratched the surface of being a household daily beverage, many things have hindered its rise as a ‘go to’ drink of choice. The current generation of wine professionals is fast identifying many of those hinderances and it really is just matter of time……if and only if we (the wine industry) respond to these intuitive insights. Gallo has always been an example of leadership and being ahead of the game, always seeming to know where to be and what to get into and when to get out of what. Today, with the varied and powerful tools the average professional possesses to develop and market wine, there’s much less excuse for producing inferior product or adhering to ‘best practices’ in #dtc marketing and sales, etc. The ‘trick’, if you want to call it that, is the grueling hard work that is still the mainstay of achieving lofty goals….in anything. Again, Gallo has been a cornerstone of definition in grueling tenacity and persistence in work ethic. Carrying the flag of greatness is something that only great effort, strategy, and individual approach has and will still achieve, ever. For those who wish to impact the market with unique and value driven beverages, whether $10 or $100, value is driven by perception aligned with excellence. Stray off of this “law”, and what one visionary does to achieve goals, others with a lack of vision (or misconstrue ego with vision), will destroy what can be accomplished in the American wine industry in a fraction of the time it took to build something of value. There again, Gallo has excelled and shown how value, strategy, work ethic, vision, and timely market humility has led and is leading still the largest wine company in American history….and maybe for all time. Some have nipped at the heals, others have wished for success assuming short term efforts (less than one whole generation) can build a legacy brand or stay the course of ego-shedding family transitions to achieve greatness. The laws of history remain the same. Changing history and repeating history, for the good or the detrimental, is a matter of philosophy and Gallo seems to still be running on all cylinders, tuning up on the fly while the rest of the world stops in the pits, flies off course, self destructs, or never quite achieves a vision worthy of following. 🎤 #gametheory #techtalk4wine #winemakersforum #legacybrand

Such a compelling story…

So, this week was a big week for many reasons. We have built a business up over the last 32 years with a simple purpose 'to inspire and serve chefs in every kitchen'. Our role is to help forage and find the very best products from across the Mediterranean and Middle-East'. It's a role we take seriously. For us we don't set out to be an award-winning business but it's humbling when we do win awards. It's because, it's not just us saying we source, make and sell great products. It's independent verification. Anyone who deals with us knows we are a super passionate team who love food and sharing that passion with others. When this product first was tasted in our 'Pembury innovation kitchen' a while back, we knew we had a winner. Everyone in the kitchen, everyone in the office, everyone in the car park was talking about how good it was. Have you tasted the sour cherry molasses? It's unbelievable(!!) was most people's reaction and it has just continued to 'dance' around peoples mouths and on alot of our dishes ever since. We recently were informed by the lovely people at the Guild of Fine Food that we had won 3 great taste stars (the highest score), which in itself is an exceptional achievement. As a consequence, that meant we had a chance of winning the 'Golden fork'. Which in simple terms is like winning best actor/actress at the Oscars, a lifetime goal. The best of the best three star products. On Monday night this week, that became a reality! In the pic below is Bob (our product guru) and Alice (our PR manager) from our team with the prize, in front of some canape's we prepared (I think) - Medjool dates, filled with sour cherry molasses and mascarpone dipped in chocolate. If that's a little too adventurous (for me being a simple boy from Northern Ireland) then drizzled over Vanilla ice-cream works equally well (I was always taught less is more). If you haven't tried it the message is simple, you must. We are already on with continuing our search to bring you many more wonderful products. Thanks for all you support and to the epic team Belazu | B Corp™ - delighted to be part of it 🙏

As I make a good old #british classic lunch of cheese on toast. I NEED to know (cause I lead a highly exciting life); Do you grate your cheese or slice it? And more importantly why? Please comment below. Or do you think both take you to the same place? Sometimes we do things as it's what we know, and other times we choose a process for the best outcome. Let's not even have the egg in or out the fridge debate 😂 #bestpractices #processes #bestoutcome #cheese #cheeseontoast #doncasterisgreat #patchport

If you're heading to Traverse City, stop by Black Star Farms. In this interview with Sherri Campbell Fenton, she shares the history of Black Star Farms, what cool things they are doing to celebrate their 25th, and what new food and wine you need to try. My chief takeaway: Always go for the "experience" when dealing with customers. While it's easy to focus on the product, the experience is what is going to bring people back year after year. Watch the interview here ⬇️⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gtYk5SJs

This is exactly why I created the Black Professionals Mixer! This is workforce and economic development. Without exception, work is universally more difficult for black people. This is largely due to the complexities around how we are to navigate workplaces and work cultures. When moving into a new city, foreign to you, where you don’t yet have the connections and relationships that permit you opportunities to exhale, it could become more difficult. Similarly, even if you have been inside of a city for a while, life navigation becomes extraordinarily overwhelming, and so Black people need to find ways to be tethered to one another, to hug each other‘s necks every now and again, to look each other in the eye and say, “I see the work that you’re doing”, “I see the effort you’re putting in”, “I SEE YOU and I support and encourage you”. We need safe spaces to come together and build our brands, extend our networks and find ways to grow our businesses and our careers all inside of the confines and the cocooning of our beautiful blackness. That’s what helps you stay anchored. That’s what helps you feel whole. Thats what helps keep black retention here and that’s what the Black Professionals Mixers are all about. If you are a decision maker in one of Louisville‘s companies/organizations, make a decision to support black professionals in this region by sponsoring our next and final black professionals mixer in December. You will be in good company as Republic Bank is one of our sponsors Contact us for sponsorship information at admin@nikkilanier.com. Not only is this an investment in Louisville’s future but it could give you an opportunity for exposure and networking with Louisville’s Black professionals.

A 'Scottish Oak Programme'. Great news. More Scotch Whisky Casks, for the future. As an aside, how many Scotch Whisky Casks, in total, are already resting, in Scotland? What do you reckon? Even the 'Scottish Business Leaders' I ask are always MILES out! The 'official' Scotch Whisky Association figure is 'about 20,000,000'. Twenty Million. I've been told, by very senior Scotch Whisky Figures, who know about this sort of thing, it's 'about 45,000,000'. Others, high up in the 'Whisky Industry' suggest even more than this, 65,000,000. That's Sixty Five Million. Whatever the true amount, the 'American Standard Barrel' makes up the lion's share of this. Each one holds 271-314 bottles (that pesky Angel's Share 'alcohol evaporation' and age causes the alarming discrepancy!). But, if it's a 'Butt', you can expect 670-700 bottles, from just one Cask. A few Distilleries use 'Port Pipes', which are even bigger! Hmm... Port Pipe Scotch Whisky, yum! There's lots of different Casks, Puncheons, Barriques, Quarter Casks, Port Pipes, och, loads. Suffice to say, the average Scot just doesn't have a clue about the true amount. Only one rule, it has to be Oak. Old, new, French, Scottish, American, second/third hand, it doesn't matter. This further complicates things. Convenient, or inconvenient, depends if you're buying, or selling! As they're not told anything NEAR the truth, you can't really blame the average Scot for being totally clueless here! Anyway, who cares? It surely can't be that important? Well, in Scotland, we've 'got form' in undervaluing our natural resources so, now we have one, that's GETTING MORE PLENTIFUL and ISN'T running out, it IS important. Also, as you've probably read, a 25/30/40 year old Cask of Scotch is worth 'rather a lot'. Scotland has quite a few of these. We mentioned that pesky 'Angel's Share' so science tells us, older Casks contain less Scotch Whisky and 'certain Distilleries' can flog them, at an enormous premium. Add this to the algorithm. Soon, a 21st-Century Cask will be 25 years old. Do you know how much a 25 year old bottle of Scotch Whisky is? A bottle of Glenfarclas is about... £200. A bottle of The Macallan is about...£2000! It's complicated but probably explains why a nice Cask of The Macallan is a million quid now and they have the best booze 'Visitor Centre' on the Planet. Anyone good at 'sums'? #ScotchWhiskyTruths

One time a year, our departed come back to celebrate with us. Day of the Dead or Dia De Los Muertos — is a two-day … … holiday that reunites the living and the dead. Which one describe you?? Day of the Dead is a rare holiday for celebrating death and life. It is unlike any holiday where mourning is exchanged for celebration. Today is November 1st, and the Holiday Season is here. Don’t stumble around like you’re auditioning for ‘Dawn of the Dead.’ After today, there are only 60 days left in the calendar year, and there’s a boatload of holidays between now and January 2nd, 2023 not to mention the days surrounding both sides of the observed celebrations! Are you ready? Are you truly braced? Strap in, as it’s going to be a very bumpy ride. “Beer🍺, it’s what you’ll want to drink, or lace your cider with whiskey.” — Stephen Carter King #Beer #CraftBeer #AppleCider🍎 #Whiskey #ConsumerBehavior #BrandAwareness #DataAnalysis #PredictiveAnalytics #BusinessIntelligence #SocietalSubcurrents #ActionableInsights #BusinessInsights ✦ ✦ ✦ Stephen Carter King Chief of Growth and Marketing + Beerconomist • Team Leader • Sherpa Beerconomy & Co., a marketplace Agora Kings Crossing CEO Steve@KingsCrossing.com Beerconomy is a data and business intelligence source, empowering people with insights. As thought leaders to the beer trade, our mission is to strengthen and guide, fact-based decision-making that impacts business, society and our world

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