Welcome to Issue #3 of The Quench Report, the Beverage Alcohol newsletter that gives you the rundown, so you don’t miss the next run up.

What’s on tap for today:

• 🍷 Wine category deep dive - never, ever, have we seen trends like this…

• 🆕 Uncle Arnie’s Cannabis Beverage brand raises $7.5M

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WHAT’S UPCOMING TO BE AWARE OF

• Aug 28: Brown-Forman Q1 results + Pernod Ricard full-year FY’25 report

• Sept 2: Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference

• Sept 10: U.S. Census update on Beer, Wine & Spirits Inventory (nerdy but useful)

🍷 WINE - HAVE WE SEEN THIS BEFORE?

Let’s not sugarcoat it — wine trends right now are like a black diamond ski run… steep, cold, and kinda terrifying. Just look at this chart 👇

Why are trends so soft? As reported in the New York Times:

• “Increased health consciousness: Consumers' growing emphasis on moderation and healthy lifestyles playing a role.”

• “Rise of [competitive categories]: Their booming popularity diverting sales from Wine.”

It feels bleak.

Yet…

We have been here before. Why do I know that - because that chart is actually from 1983 - 1986, not today as you might have thought.

And you know what happened next? 👇

Only one of the greatest bull runs in Beverage Alcohol in a century…

Table wine consumption in this country nearly tripled between 1992 and 2020! The allure of wine coolers (which was the category referenced above taking share from table wine) eventually faded and table wines became trendy again.

So... could it happen again? 100%.

Younger legal-drinking-age consumers often zig when the previous generation zags. It’s not a matter of if they come around to wine — it’s when.

As the Great One (and Michael Scott) once said:

Fast forward 7–9 years, and you might wish you’d loaded up on some of today’s sleeper wine categories.

🆕 YOUR LEAST CREEPY UNCLE RAISES $7.5M

Cannabis beverage brand Uncle Arnie’s announced a $7.5M Series A raise last week to target “category leadership” in THC drinks. While the raise is note-worthy, and per their release will allow them to nearly double the team size from 40 to 75, what we think is interesting to evaluate is the brand evolution over time 👇️ 

Today? That 100mg stuff has taken a back seat (if it’s even still around). The brand has evolved — cleaner look, more mainstream vibes, and ready to compete for THC category leadership.

Uncle Arnie went from stoner niche to California cool — and it’s a perfect snapshot of where cannabis beverages are heading:

Less “Whole Leaf,” more Whole Foods.

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