It’s been 90 years since the repeal of Prohibition. Here are the highlights.

With the 90th anniversary of repeal fast approaching, we at Andavi thought it would be great fun to look back over the last nine decades and highlight some of the most notable moments in the history of alcohol sales in the US.

In this hodge-podge flyover of factoids, we touch on the trends, brands, technology, and data that have brought us to where we are today.

We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we did creating it!?

Feel free to ADD to our list in the comments below.

1930s: Forced to live on nothing but food and water

On December 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment ended the nationwide ban on the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol in the US.

In a foreshadowing of things to come, several states voted against repeal (North and South Carolina), and one (Mississippi) rejected the concept completely. 90 years later, “neo-prohibition” is alive and well.?

Interesting fact: It was never illegal to drink during Prohibition. The 19th Amendment never barred the consumption of alcohol, only the production, sale, and delivery.?

In 1936, liquor companies agreed to a voluntary ban on radio advertisements. The ban on television ads would commence twelve years later.?

1940s: The greatest era for cocktail innovation

In the midst of World War II, getting creative with cocktails became a challenge due to the short supply of ingredients.?

But this didn’t stop enterprising bartenders from creating some of the most iconic cocktails that endure today, including the Manhattan, the Mint Julep, the French 75, the Champagne Cocktail, and the Martini.

This was a unique era for cocktails, and bartenders everywhere continue to draw much inspiration from this period in time.?

In 1944, Henry Behar introduced Lancer’s Rose to the US market.??

Interesting fact: Before 1949, airlines didn’t serve alcoholic beverages in flight.

1950s:? The age of consumerism and conspicuous consumption

Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co. was the largest brewery in America in the 1950s.?

Mateus Rosé was launched in the US and quickly became one of the most popular wine brands.

This was the heyday of Champagne. The US's Champagne and sparkling wine sales quadrupled following the World War.?

Gin was all the rage, and among the popular cocktails of the time were Sloe Gin Fizz and the Tom Collins.

The martini gained immense popularity during the 1950s when the US began importing vodka from Russia. In the year 1950, 40,000 cases of vodka were sold in the US. By 1955, this number had risen to 4 million cases sold. In 1976, vodka surpassed whiskey to become America’s best-selling spirit.?

1960s: Boomers come of age; drink lots of wine

In the years following the repeal of prohibition, beer and spirits rebounded relatively quickly, but it would take decades before wine hit its stride.

A spike in international travel and the coming of age of the Baby Boomers contributed to the rise of wine’s popularity in America.?

Fueled by technological innovations in the vineyard and the cellar, the quality of American wines was finally ready to take on the world's best wines. Modern use of cold fermentation, pure yeast cultures, and stainless steel completely changed the flavor of white wines and helped launch a new generation of wine drinkers.?

Robert Mondavi established his namesake winery in 1966, ushering in a new era of California winemaking.?

But, in the meantime, the shelves of wine shops everywhere were dominated by the “GAMIT” brands (Gallo, Almaden, Paul Masson, Inglenook, and Taylor).?

“Burgundy” was used loosely, and Gallo’s Hearty Burgundy enjoyed enormous popularity.?

Davis Bynum created Barefoot Bynum Burgundy in his garage in Albany California. By 2022, Barefoot will become the biggest wine brand in the US.?

1970s: The Judgment of Paris

In 1976, Riunite became the #1 selling imported wine in the US—a position it would maintain for fourteen years.?

But American wine tastes were changing fast. Wine’s popularity was exploding in the 1970s. As Americans acquired more knowledge, they progressed from cheap, sweet wine to more “classic” wines made from vinifera grapes.?

The most iconic moment in the history of wine occurred in Paris in 1976. The “Judgement of Paris” catapulted the fortunes of the American wine industry.

A new wine type “invented” in 1972 was called “White Zinfandel” by winemaker Bob Trinchero at SutterHome Wines .?

In the mid-1970s, wine writers like Robert Parker Wine Advocate began influencing wine consumers and collectors in unprecedented ways; a trend that would continue for decades.?

Hugh Johnson’s “World Atlas of Wines” was published in 1971 and was widely considered the most ambitious and authoritative book on the subject available.?

Launched in 1978, TV commercials for Paul Masson feature actor Orson Wells, causing a rise of 30% in sales. Well’s quip, “We will sell no wine before its time,” became a pop culture sensation.?

Interesting fact: Liquor by the drink did not become legal in on-premise establishments in Texas until 1971.

1980s “Thank you for your support.”

It's hard to talk about the 1980s without mentioning wine coolers. Led by Bartles & Jaymes (from E&J Gallos) and Seagrams (who can forget the Bruce Willis commercials?), the billion-dollar wine cooler category peaked in 1987. At the time, it accounted for twenty percent of all wine consumption in the US.

Sales of Blue Nun hit their peak in 1985 with sales of 1.25 million cases.

It was in the mid-1980s that sales of “varietal” wines eclipsed sales of GAMIT brands - a major turning point in US wine sales. During this time, “wines by the glass” became popular in restaurants across America. Until this time, on-premise wine drinkers had only two choices: A glass of cheap red, white, or rose “house wine” or ordering a full bottle from the wine list.?

The inaugural release of Beaujolais Nouveau occurred every third Thursday in November to much fanfare. Attending a lavish Beaujolais Nouveau party signaled you were on the cutting edge of the wine scene!

The 1980s was also the decade of Chardonnay. Powerhouse brands like Fetzer's Sundial, Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates , and Glen Ellen dominated the shelves, floor displays, and by-the-glass lists. Instead of ordering “a glass of white wine” in a restaurant, everyone asked for “a glass of Chardonnay.”

1990s: Morley Safer convinces Americans to drink more wine

November 17, 1991, TV news magazine “60 Minutes” aired a segment called “The French Paradox,” which caused a seismic shift in the consumption of red wine.?

In 1991, the federal government doubled the FET (Federal Excise Tax) on beer and raised the tax rates on wine and spirits, causing prices to jump more than 6%.

Molson Coors Beverage Company launched the Zima brand in 1993 as an alternative to beer. Coors spent $50 million in advertising in its first year alone, convincing nearly half of American alcohol drinkers to try it. At its peak in 1994, Zima sold 1.2 million barrels.

Oracle executive Marc Benioff launched Salesforce as a software-as-a-service company (SaaS).?

In 1992, the Fetzer family sold their brand to Brown-Forman Corp.

For the first time, wine and spirits brands begin to get access to detailed depletion data (retail account depletion data, a.k.a. “RAD”), shifting the balance of the power of information from the distributor to the supplier. Major brands begin investing in resources to harvest insights from these monthly data dumps.?

In 1993, another blockbuster winery deal transpired when the Benziger family sold its Glen Ellen wine label to Heublein for an estimated $80 million.?

In 1996 some cable networks began airing TV advertisements for hard liquor brands.?

Merlot became extremely popular in the 1990s because it was easy to pronounce and drink. Top brands like Clos Du Bois and Columbia Crest lead the way. In fact, in 1997, Columbia Crest Merlot was highly allocated!?

The Phylloxera endemic devastated enormous vineyard holdings throughout California and led to massive replantings. Ironically, this “catastrophe” eventually benefited the wines as new grape clones, planting density, and modern trellising techniques helped to create better grapes for the future.

2000s: The Sideways Effect

The cult film “Sideways” premiered in 2005, pulling the rug from under Merlot sales for the next decade and launching unprecedented demand for Pinot Noir.?

In 2002, Trader Joe’s debuted “Two Buck Chuck,” which, eventually, sold more than one billion bottles.?

Buoyed by the French Paradox, red wine sales eclipsed white wine sales in the US in 2005.?

In 2001, after a disastrous entry into the music and entertainment business, Seagrams was dismantled and its wine and spirits assets were sold to Diageo and Pernod Ricard.?

Hard cider's popularity began to accelerate on the heels of the craft beer movement with brands like Boston Beer Company’s Angry Orchard.

In 2004, Robert Mondavi Winery merged with Constellation Brands in a deal worth 1.36 billion

Also in 2004, Diageo agreed to purchase the Chalone Group in a deal worth $260 million.?

In Granholm v. Heald, the Supreme Court decided (in 2005) that the laws in NY and MI that permitted in-state wineries to ship wine directly to consumers but prohibited out-of-state wineries from doing the same were unconstitutional, flinging the door open for DTC wine sales.?

In 2006, Gary Vaynerchuk took charge of his father’s liquor store in New Jersey and launched online sales using his new YouTube channel, Wine Library TV as the promotional vehicle. Within 5 years, sales went from $ 4 million per year to $45 million.?

In 2007, Ciroc became one of the first celebrity-owned brands. Dozens of other celebrities would soon follow, including George Clooney (Casamigos Tequila), Ryan Reynolds (Aviation Gin), and many others.?

For a brief window between 2007 and 2009, The Wine Consortium shared retail account depletion data for on-premise by combining the data of a dozen or so of the largest US wine companies. This allowed an unprecedented look at “category” data for on-premise, revealing for the first time insights into why some accounts are capable of much more volume than others.?

GreatVines - Beverage Sales Execution Platform . was founded in 2009, and built upon the Salesfore.com platform. It became the first cloud-based CRM system built specifically for the adult beverage industry.?

Free Flow Wines , founded in 2009, ushered in the era of premium wine on tap.?

2010s: Creating new categories

Sweet red wines with high levels of alcohol and equally high residual sugar quickly become the second most popular category of wine (behind Cabernet Sauvignon). Brands like The Prisoner Wine Company , Apothic, and Menage a Trois Wine and Spirits led the way. This trend perplexed and vexed wine professionals who did not see it coming.?

Prosecco becomes the best-selling sparkling wine in the world

Wines-in-a-can begin appearing on shelves led by Underwood Wine, Infinite Monkey, and Sofia Wines.?

In 2014, “Dry January” became a thing and has been growing steadily in popularity.?

In 2016, Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits announced an agreement to merge businesses, creating the largest wine & spirits distribution company.?

Rosé comes from nowhere to become one of the biggest wine categories. In 2017, the Rosé category stood at $207 million (a 53% jump in volume versus the previous year).

In 2017, daily transactional depletion data for three-tier wine sales became available.?

2018 Republic National Distributing Company formed a strategic alliance with newly founded digital 3-tier distributor LibDib, LLC .?

2020s: Technology and investments descend upon the adult beverage category??

Canned wine sales jumped from just $2 million in 2012 to over $183 million in 2020.?

In 2021, Andavi Solutions acquired GreatVines - Beverage Sales Execution Platform , a leading sales execution and CRM software provider.

Uber Technologies completed its acquisition of Drizly, an Uber Company —a deal valued at $1.1 billion.

GALLO acquired 30 wine brands from Constellation Brands , including Black Box, Clos du Bois, Mark West, and Estancia.?

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates sold to Sycamore Partners for $1.2 billion.?

In March 2021, The Duckhorn Portfolio , Inc. began trading on the NYSE.?

In May 2022, Andavi Solutions acquired Tradeparency, the industry's leading trade promotion and pricing software company.?

Beverage inventory platform Provi and online alcohol marketplace SevenFifty join forces as the booze industry goes digital.

In June 2022, Andavi Solutions acquired Business Impact, significantly expanding its analytics, intelligence, and data services.

In January 2023, Southern Glazer’s e-commerce platform, Proof, surpassed the $3 billion revenue milestone.?

The only thing constant is change. Are YOU ready?

We’ve learned from assembling this compendium of retrospective miscellany that anything can happen. Just look at some of the surprises, twists, and turns that have already taken place.

Who knows what the future holds??

But you don’t need to be caught unaware. Armed with the best data, tools, and partnerships, you can capitalize on anything this crazy world of beverages throws at you.

2024 and Beyond

As we raise our glasses to toast the remarkable journey of wine and spirits since Prohibition’s repeal, we find ourselves standing at the threshold of an even more exciting era of innovation. The decades to come promise to be a period of exciting transformation, where the three-tiered system, the backbone of our industry, will undergo a profound evolution, catalyzed by the seamless sharing of data and insights on unified platforms. With the power to rapidly exchange information and align on goals, modern-day technologies—like those that Andavi Solutions offers—promise to reshape our industry’s landscape.?

Imagine a world where we are no longer constrained by information silos, where real-time data flows seamlessly between producers, distributors, and sellers. The interconnectedness will empower stakeholders to make informed decisions, predict trends, and tailor their offerings to meet ever-changing consumer demands.?

The benefits of a unified platform extend to consumers, as well. With access to accurate information, they can make more informed beverage choices, discover new products aligned with their preferences, and enjoy a more personalized consumption experience. This harmony between suppliers, distributors, retailers, and consumers exemplifies the industry’s evolution from transactional to collaborative—propelling it to unprecedented heights of success. What will be the next cocktail? The next RTD? The next hot wine??

Let’s toast to the next 90 years where innovation isn’t just about embracing new technologies, but about harnessing their potential to create a brighter future for all stakeholders. Just as the past has shown us the resilience of the industry, the future will demonstrate its adaptability and commitment to staying relevant in a rapidly changing world.?

So cheers to the interconnected future, where every sip and byte tells a story of collaboration, innovation, and the enduring spirit of a dynamic industry.?

Learn more about the beverage alcohol technology solutions at https://www.andavisolutions.com?