How did US wine lose the plot — and a whole generation of new consumers?

Cory Assink and Zeke Blattler, co-founders of Los Cuernos, explain what happened and how they’re rebuilding the on-trade wine category, one consumer trial at a time.

They discuss the incentive failures of the three-tier system, why on-premise margins bred stale product and bad value, and how beer distributors outmanoeuvred wine by owning convenience and single-serve. 

They detail how they grew their accounts from 0 to more than 240. Forecast: ~15k cases this year, aiming for 50–70k next year.

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Meet your host:

Felicity Carter is an award-winning wine and drinks journalist, editor, speaker trainer and content strategist. She led Meininger’s Wine Business International to become the world’s most must-read wine trade magazine, and was founding Executive Editor of The Drop/Pix, which the Wall Street Journal named one of the most trusted sources of wine information. A regular keynote speaker at international events, she was named a 2024 Industry Leader by WineBusiness Monthly.