Hello, May!

Spring has sprung and we see the annual uptick of portfolio shows, trade tastings, and special market events and guests. Expect to see pours and more in this month’s edition—always in our Around Town section—as we offer Connecticut and Rhode Island recaps from large-scale wholesaler and supplier showcases. This month's issues are filled with updates: Craft beer has surely seen its ups and downs and the story focuses on the industry’s several decades of growth through recent struggles. A look at hard seltzer, among the factors impacting craft beer, gets a story, too.

We look at May’s on-premise earning opportunities and the white wines of Rioja. Columns from RI Hospitality Association and Connecticut Restaurant Association inform on their latest.

The Connecticut Package Stores Association reviews the past year in Colorado, where an initiative backed by dollars from the grocery lobby enabled sales of wine outside of wine shops and liquor stores. The same efforts that took place there are repeated in our coverage states, too. While all states have different legislative processes, we see how s series of intended (negative) results hit, where today so many thrive. Stay involved with your state trade associations. Each year, the stakes are higher. We welcome a new addition to our Ocean State news: the Rhode Island Liquor Operators Collaborative, which also works for the interests of the state’s independent liquor retailers.

We celebrate retailers each month in various ways, covering your in-store news and charitable events, and through Retail Review. By spotlighting stores, we share with trade readers, buyers, sellers, legislators, regulators, and consumers, the unique role of your businesses. Opening up insight into your operations helps put a human face on the business—and that’s often lost in one industry-shaking change or another. We also celebrate on-premise each month through the monthly cocktail-centric Serving Up recipe. Our role is not just to convey who is selling what but to also advocate for the trade—and it starts within.