Bootleg Liquor and the Future of Mobile Advertising

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Earlier this year, international wine and spirit suppliers began efforts to combat the large and profitable counterfeit alcohol market. Utilizing new technology, they’re attempting to change how consumers interact with products in stores. Suppliers are looking beyond security measures, though. The fraud detection technology also opens up new marketing channels. It’s an interesting two-fold effort that looks to combine two distinct areas: consumer fraud protection and marketing. Industry leaders Diageo and Pernod Ricard have focused on the future of mobile marketing. But will the efforts pay off by reducing bootleg liquor sales and changing how marketers advertise to consumers?
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Wine Trend to Watch: English Sparkling Wine

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When you think of England and alcohol, wine doesn’t necessarily come to mind. Beer? Of course. It’s tough to beat an English ESB. Gin? Certainly. There aren’t many labels more iconic than the Beefeater yeoman warder stationed on their London dry gin. But English wine, and specifically, English sparkling wine? No, that doesn’t bubble to the forefront of the mind. But be warned: that may soon change. Read more

Must-Ask Questions When Considering New Restaurant Technology

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Questions you should ask restaurant technology vendors, even if you’re not technical

There’s a myriad of new technology solutions, from restaurant iPad menus to reservation systems, point-of-sale solutions and pretty much anything else attempting to improve front or back-of-house restaurant operations. And many of these new technologies can greatly increase your sales, improve the customer experience or make your operations more efficient. But evaluating technology solutions for your restaurant can be downright intimidating, especially if you’re not a tech guru or IT professional. And yet there’s certainly important considerations you need to be aware of with any new restaurant tech product you’re evaluating, whether software or hardware, cloud-based or on-site. So here’s a brief guide to help you out with important questions to ask so you’ll be prepared. Read more

Why Restaurants Use Digital Menus

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Technology is changing the way restaurants operate. From online reservations to mobile apps for ordering and payment, customer interactions with restaurants occur more frequently with the click of the button. The movement towards tech-driven service has had its highest level of adoption in the quick service and fast casual restaurant segment. But full service restaurants are increasingly open to new technology that gives guests more choice and information. One new feature restaurants are using to engage guests and rethink the traditional dining experience is tablet-based digital menus. But what benefits do restaurants find in digital menus? Read more

Uncorkd Wine Trends 2017

Orange Wine on the Restaurant Wine List – Trend or New Standard

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The trendiest thing to hit wine consumers lately is orange wine. Many are calling orange wine the new rosé. Sommeliers have been familiar with orange wine for decades and in fact the process of making orange wine goes back over 5,000 years. Put simply, orange wine is using white wine grapes but keeping them in contact with the skin to producer wine with an orangish hue and wonderful, unique flavors and complexities that can be considered a hybrid of white and red. Pretty much the opposite of rosé, where red wine grapes are crushed and the skin quickly removed. Restaurants around the country are adding orange wines to their menu, have you? If not, you need to add orange wines to your restaurant wine list ASAP. Here’s why. Read more

How to Improve Restaurant Customer Experience

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Customer experience can make or break a restaurant. That’s always been the case. But in todays world of social media, word travels at hyper-speed. You don’t want your restaurant’s reputation to be shredded by an angst-fueled Yelper with a bone to pick over bad service. There are a few easy steps to follow when it comes to customer service. These are guidelines to great service. You should implore your service staff to remember these tips. Trust me, your guests will care more about these things than they do the Saturday night fish special.  Read more

Why Big Whiskey Makes The Best Whiskey

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The whiskey revival is reverberating across the globe. All categories of the barrel-aged brown spirit have experienced continued growth in the past few years. Japanese whiskey is having its moment. Irish whiskey recently achieved the largest growth of all whiskey categories. American bourbon and Tennessee whiskey are at the forefront of the category.

The biggest players on this global stage will be quite familiar to American drinkers. Jack Daniel’s and its iconic black no. 7 label remains the world wide leader in American whiskey. Not far behind is Jim Beam. While these labels are iconic signposts in American culture, they are not the most exciting whiskeys these producers are making. Behind the support of global sales, the biggest producers are using their expertise and long history of whiskey making to create some of the best drams on the market. You may not realize it, but some of your favorite whiskeys are made by the same producers you may scoff at.  Read more

Growth of Cider Industry Inspires Old Drinks to Learn New Tricks

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The growth of hard cider in the U.S. has been noted and written about for some time now. The boom began between 2013-2014, when the cider category grew over 75%. That’s an insane growth curve for a market. Cider has a lengthy history steeped in European beverage lore. Accounts of the fermented beverage date back to the Roman Empire. While Europe holds the mantel of cider (Britain boasts the worlds largest per capita consumption of cider), the earnest beverage of fermented apple juice has begun to capture American palates once again. This market growth has allowed cidery’s to experiment with production and offer innovative new products. Read more

French Connection: A Short Guide on French Wine Regions and their Grapes

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It can be intimidating to start your wine education. As you dig down into the soil bed of wine you can find yourself pushed up against thousands of years of nuance and history associated with the fabled elixir. There are important geographies, a unique lexicon, long histories that span across countries, famous vintages, and much pride that comes along with wine production. I

If you work at a restaurant or bar, or are just a curious consumer, there is a lot you feel like you’re missing when you’re dealing with wine. For me, one of those head-scratching moments comes from understanding the differences and similarities between French and American wines. In this post, I aim to help you out with some of those distinctions.  Read more

Uncorkd Server Mistakes

Restaurant Marketing Checklist: Be Mindful of Mobile

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Restaurants and bars are in a great position to capitalize on marketing. Restaurants deal in the business of pleasure and indulgence, and those two things are easy sells. Whether you’re celebrating a success or a nursing a failure, there’s always an excuse to dine out. But, the restaurant industry is a highly competitive market, and increasing brand awareness and your marketing force is a great tool to stand out from the competition.

In general, there are two ways for restaurants focus on marketing: inbound and in-house.  Read more