ALM-supplied independents continue to gain market share despite subdued consumer demand and heightened competitive pressures.
Read full story →ALM-supplied independents continue to gain market share despite subdued consumer demand and heightened competitive pressures.
TITLE: Metcash independents gain share amid subdued liquor market - The Shout DESC: ALM-supplied independents continue to gain market share despite subdued consumer demand and heightened competitive pressures. - Metcash has reported further market share gains for independents supplied by Australian Liquor Marketers (ALM), despite subdued consumer demand continuing to impact retail liquor sales. - In a trading update delivered as part of Metcash’s 2026 Annual General Meeting, the company reported liquor sales growth of 0.8 per cent for the first 18 weeks of FY27. - Wholesale sales to on-premise customers increased 5.1 per cent, while Australian wholesale sales to Independent Brands Australia (IBA) retail and contract customers were flat. - Metcash said ALM-supplied independents had made further market share gains, while noting: “Retail sales [are] being impacted by subdued consumer demand and elevated competitive intensity.”
DrinkWise has brought Penrith Panthers coach Ivan Cleary back for a second year to front its Always respect, always DrinkWise campaign during the NRL finals.
TITLE: Ivan Cleary returns to front DrinkWise NRL finals campaign - The Shout DESC: DrinkWise has brought Penrith Panthers coach Ivan Cleary back for a second year to front its Always respect, always DrinkWise campaign. - DrinkWise has brought Penrith Panthers coach Ivan Cleary back for a second year to front its Always respect, always DrinkWise campaign during the NRL finals. - The campaign will encourage fans choosing to drink during the finals to moderate their alcohol consumption and show respect to those around them. The messaging will run across social media, radio and participating retail and hospitality venues. - Cleary said the campaign’s message was particularly important during the heightened atmosphere of finals football. - “I’m proud to return to the Always respect, always DrinkWise campaign because it’s such an important message for fans to enjoy themselves, but if they’re choosing to drink while watching the action, to do so in moderation and show respect to those around them.
Give your venue the competitive edge with dynamic digital tap […]
TITLE: Become a Vertek Venue - The Shout DESC: Give your venue the competitive edge with dynamic digital tap […] - Give your venue the competitive edge with dynamic digital tap displays that engage patrons, showcase innovation and create a new commercial opportunity at the point of purchase. - Your venue is more than a place to pour drinks. It’s a place to be noticed. - In a competitive hospitality market, leading venues are looking for new ways to stand out, attract attention and deliver experiences that customers remember. - Vertek Digital Decals transforms traditional bar taps into dynamic digital displays , creating a highly visible new touchpoint at the moment customers are deciding what to order.
Tar & Roses has cemented its place as a benchmark […]
TITLE: Pinot Grigio of the Year two years running & a trophy for Tar & Roses - The Shout DESC: Tar & Roses has cemented its place as a benchmark […] - Tar & Roses has cemented its place as a benchmark for Australian Pinot Grigio, taking home Halliday Wine Companion’s ‘Pinot Grigio of the Year’ for two consecutive vintages. Both the 2024 and 2025 have received an outstanding 96 points and topped the varietal category in Australia’s renowned and definitive guide to wine. Hot off the heels of this back-to-back accolade came a Trophy for ‘Best Pinot Gris or Pinot Grigio’ at the 2026 Sydney Royal Wine Show. A remarkable recognition of a style more than 20 years in the making. - 12 months ago, of the award-winning 2024 Tar & Roses Pinot Grigio, Halliday’s Jeni Portproclaimed, “The style is set – and it’s a winner, especially at this price”. - Distinguished by both style and colour, Tar & Roses Pinot Grigio proudly retains its signature pinkish-bronze hue. Winemaker Narelle King attributes this defining characteristic to her late winemaking partner and friend, Don Lewis, whose decisive choice to preserve the wine’s natural colour was, she reflects, “the best decision we’ve ever made”. - In response to last year’s Halliday honour, King revealed “each year we aim to make a wine better than the last”, certainly an aspiration she has delivered with the 2025 vintage receiving two major awards. Together these accolades recognise the distinctive style, consistency and quality that has defined Tar & Roses for two decades.
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TITLE: Perth publican John Parker’s hospitality empire, including The Royal and The Standard, faces $7.2m debt crisis - Life & Luxury Food & Wine Fine dining Print article Popular Perth pub empire on the brink of collapse Jesinta Burton Western Australia reporter Sep 11, 2026 – 11.07am The bar and restaurant empire of Perth publican John Parker is on the brink after the protracted separation of its two owners left the business struggling to pay its multimillion-dollar debts. - Administrators were called in to take charge of three entities behind venues in the Parker Group stable, including The Royal, Willi’s Pizza Bar, Italian restaurant Ciao Dandy and Busselton Pavilion in WA’s South West. - Loading... Save Log in or Subscribe to save article Share Copy link - Share via... Gift this article Subscribe to gift this article
TITLE: Special blend: Winemaker Alan Varney, of Varney Wines in South Australia, produces multi-vintage, multi-varietal red wine - Drinks with Max Allen Life & Luxury Food & Wine The Aussie red that messes with all the wine rules This boundary-pushing winemaker is blending multiple vintages to create a pour that’s greater than the sum of its parts. - McLaren Vale winemaker Alan Varney of Varney Wines. Ben Macmahon - Max Allen Drinks columnist Sep 11, 2026 – 5.00am Winemaker Alan Varney didn’t set out to produce a multi-vintage, multi-varietal red. But that’s exactly what his latest super-premium, limited-release wine became: 2021 nebbiolo blended with 2022 sagrantino and 2023 montepulciano. It’s called Triplo and it messes deliciously with all sorts of wine rules and expectations. - “It started with me thinking about how tannic nebbiolo can be,” says Varney. “Especially in the cooler climate of the Adelaide Hills, where I source my nebbiolon grapes, it produces red wine that can take years to soften. Initially I thought that maybe adding something richer, like sagrantino, might help.
TITLE: Former Top Shelf CEO to helm Chalk Hill Wines - Drinks Trade DESC: Trent Fraser returns to wine, bringing two decades of international drinks and luxury brand experience to McLaren Vale's Chalk Hill Wines - Former Top Shelf CEO to helm Chalk Hill Wines Sept. 11, 2026 By Cody Profaca - International drinks executive Trent Fraser has returned to the wine industry as the newly appointed CEO of Chalk Hill Wines. - Fraser brings with him more than two decades of industry experience, including most recently two years as CEO and four years in total at former ASX-listed Australian spirits business Top Shelf International before it merged with Gravity to form Blue Sky Drinks Co. - Before moving to Australia in 2021, Fraser was at Moët Hennessy in New York for 12 years, where he served as President and CEO of Volcan De Mi Tierra Tequila and Vice President of Dom Pérignon.
TITLE: Metcash Liquor winds down NZ business, grows Australian market share - Drinks Trade DESC: The decision was confirmed at the Group's AGM, where the owner of ALM & IBA reported strong momentum in start of FY27 - Metcash Liquor winds down NZ business, grows Australian market share Sept. 11, 2026 By Cody Profaca - Metcash will wind down its New Zealand liquor wholesale business over the coming month and shutter it altogether in the second half of the financial year. - The decision was confirmed at the Group's Annual General Meeting, where the owner of Australian Liquor Marketers and Independent Brands Australia also reported continued growth for its Australian Liquor business over the first 18 weeks of fiscal year 2027. - The closure will affect Tasman Liquor and Allied Liquor, and will not impact Allied Retail Group, the retail business that operates around 370 independent banner stores in the country.