March may have its green shamrocks and green beer, but the flow of hops and barley remains strong in New York throughout the month of September - especially when September is officially known as German-American Friendship Month.

Recognized by the Mayor's office for the fourth consecutive year, German-American – Friendship Month honors the German-American culture and the many contributions made by German immigrants by holding an entire month of celebrations, including the 53rd German-American Steuben Parade.

Mayor Mike Bloomberg will help to kick off the month of festivities with a private reception hosted at the German-style Biergarten at the Standard Hotel, September 1, 2010 from 5 PM to 7 PM. The Biergarten is located at 848 Washington Street in New York City.

This year's German-American Friendship Month will feature a myriad of cultural events such as concerts, movie presentations, lectures - even a pub crawl and yacht cruise around Manhattan featuring New York's number one Alpine rock band, Die Schlauberger. The highlight of Friendship Month will be the traditional German-American Steuben Parade, which will be held on Saturday, September 25th on Fifth Avenue between 67th and 86th streets. The German-American Steuben Parade is known to be one of the most colorful parades in New York City, with more than twenty musical and dance groups from Germany scheduled to perform, many masked and costumed Karneval groups, marchers adorned in traditional Tracht (the historical costumes worn in many German regions), marksmen and more.

The Steuben Parade will be led by two Grand Marshals: the legendary Dr. Ruth Westheimer, and Dr. Michael Moller, the Managing Director of Staatliches Hofbrauhaus in Munich, Germany, who are the producers of the fastest growing German beer in the US market, Hofbrau.

Both Grand Marshals shall be on hand at the opening reception, along with Miss German-America, Stephanie Russell-Kraft, Dr. Oliver Schnakenberg, Deputy Consul General of Germany, Dr. Ernst-Peter Brezovsky, Consul General of Austria, Dr. Christoph Bubb, Consul General of Switzerland, Heinz Buck, President of the German-American Committee, and others.

The kick-off celebration is a joint effort between the German American Committee of Greater New York, an umbrella not-for-profit organization that oversees the parade, along with the Standard Hotel Biergarten and Chef Kurt Gutenbrunner, Culinary Consultant to the Biergarten and founder of KGNY Restaurant Group. The KG-NY portfolio of restaurants includes Wallse, Cafe Sabarsky at the Naue Galerie, Blaue Gans, and the Upholstery Store wine bar. All feature traditional and nouveau-Austrian and German cuisine.

For additional information about German-American Friendship Month in New York visit:

http://www.germanparadenyc.org.

About the German American Committee of Greater New York: GACGNY is a not-for-profit organization (501c3) registered in the state of New York. The organization oversees the German American Steuben Parade of New York, an annual parade honoring the great achievements of German immigrants in the United States. For more information visit: www.germanparadenyc.org

About KG-NY:  The KGNY Restaurant Group owns and operates several restaurants throughout New York City. Founded by top Austrian chef Kurt Gutenbrunner, the KGNY portfolio of restaurants feature modern interpretations of Austrian cuisine. For more information visit: www.wallse.com

SOURCE KG-NY

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Six of the toughest professional cowboys in America will achieve extra "style" points this weekend at the Ellensburg PRCA Rodeo when they debut  their Crown Royal-branded riding gear for the very first time. Through a year-long partnership with the Canadian Whisky brand, the team of six will hit the dirt at Ellensburg for what some consider the most dangerous eight seconds in sports in hopes of bringing home a Crown Royal victory.

The 2010 Crown Royal Riders line-up includes:

• Clayton Williams (Carthage, Texas) Bull Rider
• Cody Whitney (Asher, Okla) Bull Rider
• J.W. Harris (Mullin, Texas) 2008 & 2009 PRCA World Champion Bull Rider
• Steve Woolsey (Payson, Utah) Bull Rider and Saddle Bronc Rider
• Tilden Hooper (Carthage, Texas) Bareback Rider
• Wesley Silcox (Santaquin, Utah) 2007 PRCA World Champion Bull Rider

"The Crown Royal Riders team is comprised of the best and toughest professional cowboys in the sport," said Yvonne Briese, Crown Royal marketing director. "We can't wait to see them compete in their Crown Royal gear this weekend at Ellensburg and we look forward to responsibly toasting their wins.  This program will serve to reinforce the important message of responsible drinking to all adult pro rodeo fans."

Though not new to professional rodeo, this earmarks the first official relationship Crown Royal has announced specifically with a team of cowboys.  In addition to dueling in the dirt, the Crown Royal Riders will be on hand to sign autographs and take photos with fans Saturday evening.

"It's an honor to represent Crown Royal for the first time at one of the most exciting rodeos of the year," World Champion Wes Silcox said. "To be a member of such an elite team of cowboys is pretty remarkable. I'm sure we'll have some healthy competition along the way with the end goal of toasting with a Crown Royal, responsibly of course."

Known as one of the "old rodeos", the Ellensburg Rodeo is the final Gold Rodeo stop on the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour. In Ellensburg, today's best riders, ropers, and wrestlers compete in what many consider to be the best rodeo arena in the nation. The top 24 qualifiers from the Gold and Silver Tours advance to the Justin Boots Playoffs September 10 – 12 in Puyallup, Washington. For more information, visit www.ellensburgrodeo.com.

About Crown Royal

Crown Royal Canadian whisky is the number one selling Canadian whisky brand in the US by value and has a tradition as long and distinctive as its taste. Specially blended to commemorate a grand tour of Canada made by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain in 1939, Crown Royal Canadian whisky's smooth, elegant style reflects its aristocratic origins and is considered the epitome of Canadian whisky. The Crown Royal Company is a primary sponsor of the No. 17 Roush Fenway Ford Fusion driven by Matt Kenseth. For more information visit www.crownroyal.com.

About Diageo

Diageo (Dee-AH-Gee-O) is the world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, wines and beer categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff, J&B, Baileys, Cuervo, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, Crown Royal, Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards wines.

Diageo is a global company, trading in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE).

For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and performance, visit us at Diageo.com. For our global resource that promotes responsible drinking through the sharing of best practice tools, information and initiatives, visit DRINKiQ.com.

SOURCE Crown Royal

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It's time to take those Madden NFL video game skills you've honed with your buddies and put them on display for all to see.

Thanks to a promotion with EA SPORTS™, a label of Electronic Arts Inc. (Nasdaq: ERTS), "The World's Most Refreshing Beer" is giving legal-drinking-age consumers the opportunity to showcase their video game talents in bars and restaurants across the country this fall.  In addition to the national promotion, each market will plan a series of promotions in local accounts that will enable consumers to challenge each other on the spot at Madden NFL 11.  And in select markets, people will have the chance to compete in tournaments for the right to play Madden NFL 11 against a local NFL alumnus.

The national promotion also features a sweepstakes, which kicks off September 1 and continues through December 31.  One grand prize winner could have his likeness featured in an upcoming Madden NFL game.  Additional prizes include tickets to Madden Bowl XVII party in Dallas on February 3, 2011, during Super Bowl week, as well as copies of Madden NFL 11 and discounts on select EA SPORTS merchandise.

"Coors Light consumers are passionate about football in all forms, whether they're cheering on their favorite team on Sunday or facing off against friends in Madden NFL 11," said Rick Gomez, vice president of marketing for the Coors Family of Brands.  "As cool as it is to whip your buddies in Madden NFL 11, imagine how much better it would be to do it in front of a bar full of people, or next year with 'video you' there to help your team march to victory."

"EA SPORTS continues to bring Madden to the People in new and creative ways," said Christopher Erb, senior director of partnership marketing for EA SPORTS.  "This promotion with Coors Light gives fans not only a way to play Madden NFL, but to become part of it."

To participate in the national sweepstakes, consumers can text codes found on Coors Light and Coors Banquet point-of-sale materials in on-premise retail accounts such as bars and restaurants or enter online.  Full details on the text-to-win sweepstakes can be found at CoorsLight.com/madden.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS™, EA™, EA Mobile™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2010, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.7 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million units. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

About EA SPORTS

EA SPORTS™ is one of the leading sports entertainment brands in the world, with top-selling videogame franchises, award-winning interactive technology, global videogame competitions and breakthrough digital experiences.  EA SPORTS delivers personal access to the emotion of sports through industry-leading sports simulation videogames, including Madden NFL football, FIFA Soccer, NHL® hockey, NBA ELITE basketball, NCAA® Football, Fight Night boxing and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® golf, and EA SPORTS Active.

For more information about EA SPORTS, including news, video, blogs, forums and game apps, please visit www.easports.com to connect, share and compete.

EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS Active, EA Mobile and POGO are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc.  John Madden, NFL, NHL, NBA, NCAA, Tiger Woods and PGA TOUR are trademarks of their respective owners and used with permission.

© 2010 NFL Properties LLC. Team names/logos/indicia are trademarks of the teams indicated.  All other NFL-related trademarks are trademarks of the National Football League.

About MillerCoors

Built on a foundation of great beer brands and more than 288 years of brewing heritage, MillerCoors continues the commitment of its founders to brew the highest quality beers.  MillerCoors is the second largest beer company in America, capturing nearly 30 percent of U.S. beer sales.  Led by two of the best-selling beers in the industry, MillerCoors has a broad portfolio of highly complementary brands across every major industry segment.  Miller Lite is the great tasting beer that established the American light beer category in 1975, and Coors Light is the brand that introduced consumers to refreshment as cold as the Rockies.  MGD 64 completes the company's premium light beer portfolio, offering consumers fresh, crisp taste at just 64 calories.  MillerCoors brews full-calorie beers Coors Banquet and Miller Genuine Draft; and economy brands Miller High Life and Keystone Light.  The company also imports Peroni, Grolsch, Pilsner Urquell and Molson Canadian and offers innovative products such as Miller Chill and Sparks.  MillerCoors features craft brews from the Jacob Leinenkugel Company, Blue Moon Brewing Company and the Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Company.  MillerCoors operates eight major breweries in the U.S., as well as the Leinenkugel's craft brewery in Chippewa Falls, Wis., and two microbreweries, the Leinenkugel's 10th Street Brewery in Milwaukee and the Blue Moon Brewing Company at Coors Field in Denver.  MillerCoors vision is to become the best beer company in America by driving profitable industry growth.  MillerCoors insists on building its brands the right way through brewing quality, responsible marketing and environmental and community impact.  MillerCoors is a joint venture of SABMiller plc and Molson Coors Brewing Company.

SOURCE Coors Light

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The Society of Wine Educators has announced that Ira Norof, CWE, Director of Education at Southern Wine & Spirits in Southern California, will assume the role of President of the Society on September 1, 2010. This is a three-year term, which he will hold until August 31, 2013.

Norof began his career at Southern Wine and Spirits in 1983, after a career in retail and as a sommelier. He first joined the Society of Wine Educators that same year, and became a Certified Wine Educator (CWE) in 1999. He was elected a Member of the Board in 2002, has served as Conference Chair since 2005, and became Vice President in 2007.

While respecting the traditions and mission of the Society, Norof's goals for the Society are focused on conservative expansion, both globally and domestically. "I think it's a good time for the Society to expand our presence in existing markets, such as Asia and Europe, and develop our presence in new ones, such as South America. I would like to increase the areas of study and educational opportunities. Our Annual Conference is our core event, with over 50 sessions covering an enormous range of subjects, but in order to promote more awareness and increase membership, in addition to this prestigious event, the Society is introducing our first one-day intensive in Houston in October. The Society has an impressive past, and I look forward to contributing to an exciting future."

The Society of Wine Educators also announced the election of its Board of Directors. Voted on by the members of the Society, these people will serve a 2-year term.

• Mark Chandler, CSW: Executive Director of the Lodi Winegrape Commission in Lodi
• Barry Wiss, CWE: A Wine Educator and CSW/CWE exam administrator and proctor who teaches at the CIA and WISE Academy
• Patrick D. Dodd, CWE: Director of Wine & Spirits Education for the Ernest & Julio Gallo Winery, Modesto, CA
• Paul Wagner: Founder and President of Balzac Communications, Napa, California.
• Maria E. Denton, CWE: General Manager, Ruth's Chris Steak House, Washington DC

The mission of the non-profit Society of Wine Educators is to advance wine and spirit education through professional development and certification. Founded in 1974 by a group of wine professionals at the UC Davis campus, the Society is now headquartered in Washington, DC. The Society has over 2,600 members in 13 different countries. The Society offers three types of certification: 1) Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW), geared to the intermediate wine professional; 2) Certified Specialist of Spirits (CSS); and 3) Certified Wine Educator (CWE), recognizing a higher level of achievement, and requiring a written exam, sensory evaluations, and a teaching presentation. In addition to gaining a depth of knowledge, people who achieve certification are viewed as prize candidates for jobs in the wine, spirits and hospitality industries.

For more information about the Society of Wine Educators, please visit www.societyofwineeducators.org

SOURCE Society of Wine Educators

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Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue:

Global market review of the travel retail drinks sector

http://www.reportlinker.com/p0285402/Global-market-review-of-the-travel-retail-drinks-sector.html

Travel retail, viewed as an individual market, would rank as the 18th largest spirits market in volume terms. This makes it larger than such substantial markets as Canada, Italy, South Africa, the Netherlands or Australia. In terms of premium-and-above sales, travel retail would rank as the second-largest global market (falling only behind the US) with sales of 6.7m cases.

Travel retail's importance extends beyond just sales. As the most international market it presents an optimum shop window for brand building. Airport travel retail's upscale clientele makes it a particularly hospitable environment for premium and luxury brands. For this reason suppliers are willing to accept considerably lower profit margins in travel retail than they do in domestic markets.

This report provides a global review of the alcoholic drinks sector within travel retail. Data includes latest (to 2009) consumption volumes of duty free wine and spirits by region, rankings of spirits and wine companies and brands, and top spirits companies and their brands' volumes by region.

Note, data tables comprise rankings of top companies/brands, but also include total volumes for each sector, providing you with the complete market sizes.

This report is an essential guide to understanding the sector by reviewing:

recent performance of key markets

analysing growing trends

how the industry has changed since European abolition

latest thinking on footfall trends

what is driving the premiumisation trend

company strategies in the current trading environment

how the price advantage can be maintained

category management and trends

consolidation

The report assesses the latest 2009 volume consumption of the top brands and companies within each major region. The data is provided with full textual analysis and further insight is given through exclusive interviews with the leading brand executives.

Executive summary

Recent performance

Large potential

Improved execution

Competition

The products

Brown spirits

White spirits

Wine

Chapter 1 Introduction

Succession of threats

Chapter 2 Recent performance

Key tourism trends

Reasons for optimism

Greater competition from other categories

Chapter 3 Doubling the market through closer cooperation

Building excitement and footfall

Chapter 4 The importance of premiumisation

Driving the premiumisation trend

Chapter 5 Sustaining investment

Chapter 6 Maintaining the price advantage

Travel retail exclusive products

Chapter 7 Towards category management – two competing views

Chapter 8 Consolidation continues apace

Chapter 9 Regional markets

Europe

Asia Pacific

Trading up again

Mature market growth

The Americas

The Caribbean

Central and South America

Middle East

Chapter 10 Category trends

Brown spirits

Product innovation

Challenging Cognac

Retail innovation

White spirits

Wine

Appendix: Travel retail in just-drinks' news

Pernod Ricard readies Ballantine's update

Canada: Vincor travel retail head stands down

UK: Edrington Group appoints travel retail head

France: Remy Cointreau strengthens travel retail team

Product launch – Travel retail: Diageo's Johnnie Walker Double Black

US/Ireland: Cooley strikes travel retail distribution deal

Global: Patron Spirits ups airline tie-up count

Pernod Ricard ups Havana Club Maximo presence

Pernod Ricard runs Ballantine's golden ticket promo

Ian Macleod revamps Glengoyne Burnfoot

Russian Standard secures Remy Cointreau travel retail deal

UK: Pernod Ricard extends Absolut Rock to travel retail

US: Patron Spirits boosts travel retail presence

Europe: Diageo trials Baileys Gold in duty-free

Bermuda: Bacardi appoints travel retail head

UK: Travel Retail sales hit by passenger drop

List of tables

Table 1: Duty free wines and spirits' share by region, 2000-2009 volume ('000s nine-litre cases, % change and share)

Table 2: International passenger traffic by region 2010

Table 3: Breakdown of airport passenger buyer behaviour

Table 4: Top 10 companies' spirits volumes in travel retail, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases, % change and share)

Table 5: Top 5 spirits suppliers in European travel retail, 2004-2009 volume ('000s nine-litre cases, % change and share)

Table 6: Top 5 spirits categories in European travel retail, 2004-2009 volume ('000s nine-litre cases, % change and share)

Table 7: Top 10 spirits brands in European travel retail, 2004-2009 volume ('000s nine-litre cases, % change and share)

Table 8: Top 5 spirits suppliers in Asia Pacific travel retail, 2004-2009 volume ('000s nine-litre cases, % change and share)

Table 9: Top 5 spirits categories in Asia Pacific travel retail, 2004-2009 volume ('000s nine-litre cases, % change and share)

Table 10: Top 10 spirits brands in Asia Pacific travel retail, 2004-2009 volume ('000s nine-litre cases, % change and share)

Table 11: Top 10 Scotch brands in Asia Pacific travel retail, 2004-2009 volume ('000s nine-litre cases, % change and share)

Table 12: Top 10 Cognac/Armagnac brands in Asia Pacific travel retail, 2004-2009 volume ('000s nine-litre cases, % change and share)

Table 13: Top 10 spirits suppliers in North America/Caribbean travel retail, 2004-2009 volume ('000s nine-litre cases, % change and share)

Table 14: Top 5 spirits categories in North America/Caribbean travel retail, 2004-2009 volume ('000s nine-litre cases), % change and share

Table 15: Top 10 spirits brands in North America/Caribbean travel retail, 2004-2009 volume ('000s nine-litre cases, % change and share

Table 16: Top 5 spirits suppliers in South America travel retail, 2004-2009 volume ('000s nine-litre cases, % change and share)

Table 17: Top 5 spirits categories in South America travel retail, 2004-2009 volume ('000s ninelitre cases, % change and share)

Table 18: Top 5 spirits brands in South America travel retail, 2004-2009 volume ('000s nine-litre cases, % change and share)

Table 19: Global duty free brown spirits volumes by quality, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases, % change and share)

Table 20: Global duty free white spirits volumes by quality, 2004-2009 ('000s nine-litre cases, % change and share)

Table 21: Duty free wines share by region, 2000-2009 volume ('000s nine-litre cases, % change and share)

To order this report:

Beverage Industry: Global market review of the travel retail drinks sector

Beverage Business News

More  Market Research Report

Check our  Company Profile, SWOT and Revenue Analysis!

SOURCE Reportlinker

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