One of these exciting stories - by which, let's be clear, I mean M&A - dates all the way back to 2011, when Constellation Brands offloaded an 80% holding in its Australian and UK wine operations to private equity group CHAMP. The business was renamed Accolade Wines by CHAMP, which after seven successful years - buying at US$293m and selling at $770m is successful, right? - stepped back to be replaced by private equity peer Carlyle Group in 2018.Enter stage left: Pernod Ricard, who by the nature of its multinational brand owner status always has our attention - even in wine. Our three mus
Why we could be witnessing the birth of a global wine superpower – Comment
Reporting on the wine industry in a business-to-business capacity can be a, shall we say, uninspiring endeavour. Indeed, with 20 years under my belt, I can count up the really exciting stories I’ve reported on in wine pretty quickly. But, something’s going on at the moment that’s keeping my popcorn maker busy.

Olly has been reporting on the beverage industry as a B2B journalist since 2003. He spent 18 years at Just Drinks, 16 of which as managing editor. Since joining Global Drinks Intel in 2022, he's interviewed the CEOs for brand owners including AB InBev, Campari Group, Carlsberg, Heineken and Suntory Global Spirits and has a bulging contacts book from across beverage alcohol worldwide.



