Beverage Group Vice President Jeremy Nedelka Tel : 763-383-4413 email : jnedelka @ epgmediallc . com

Editor , Off-Premise Kyle Swartz Tel : 763-383-4447 email : kswartz @ epgmediallc . com

Contributing Editors Melissa Dowling , Marnie Old , Tom Shay , Thomas Henry Strenk

Sales Managers Mark Marcon Tel : 763-383-4456 email : mmarcon @ epgmediallc . com

Debbie Rittenberg Tel : 763-383-4455 email : drittenberg @ epgmediallc . com

Senior Art Director Nicole Siewert

Sales & Traffic Coordinator Kurt Eisinger Tel : 763-383-4420 email : keisinger @ epgmediallc . com

Senior Product Manager , Data & Insights Marina Velez Tel : 763-383-4400 x2212 email : mvelez @ epgmediallc . com

LIST RENTAL Kris Grauer email : kgrauer @ npsmediagroup . com Tel : 203-822-7933

REPRINTS For more information on e-prints or reprints from Beverage Dynamics visit https :// epgmediallc . com / creative-solutions / and contact us today or email us at info @ epgmediallc . com .

Sr VP / Audience Development Joanne Juda-Prainito Operations Director Bernadette Wohlman CEO Marion Minor

DURING SUMMER I took advantage of the nice weather and lower Covid cases ( at that time ) to travel . A lot , actually . It was the most I had moved around the country since the pandemic began .

In Minneapolis , smoke from the Canadian forest fires had drifted down , cloaking the city in a smoky hue like a “ Blade Runner ” metropolis . Vacationing in Cape Cod , my wife and I lounged on the beach by day and hunted down the best clam chowder and lobster rolls by night . Weeks later in the New York Adirondacks , I floated on a lake by my friend ’ s family ’ s ancestral cabin , build in the 1940s . Somehow I also found time for a weekend in New Hampshire , where we hiked the White Mountains . They were green and beautiful and chockfull of weddings .

Really , that was the theme wherever I went : lots of people getting out . The Mall of America in Minneapolis was packed , as was the Mennonite-run smokehouse down a dirt road from my friend ’ s New York cabin . Restaurants in Cape Cod were booked solid for weeks , so thank goodness I had the forethought to make reservations well ahead of time . And New Hampshire truly was teaming with brides , grooms and weekend hikers .

Everyone is fed up with Covid-19 . Even as numbers spike with the Delta variant , it seems that most people are ready to move on from the pandemic . Can you blame anyone ? Cooped up for so long , we naturally want to escape the confines of our homes , which , for many people ( like yours truly ), have also transformed into our workplaces . Too much time spent within these walls .

Winter will push us back inside , as will any worsening of the Delta wave . But this will still be a celebratory holiday season . Everyone has much to cheer for , after we have come so far through two of the most difficult years of our collective lives . Check out our gift guide on page 18 for a peek at what shoppers will scoop up as gift-giving days approach .

We also review sparkling wines on page 29 , the mainstays of our winter celebrations . As are cordials and liqueurs , the backbones of soul-warming cocktails ; see our feature on page 26 .

And pat yourself on the back for making it through another challenging year . As Covid exhausts the ( hopefully ) final stretches of its crippling grip on our lives , may we all get out and enjoy more of the world outside of our homes , celebrate with other people , and always keep something good to drink , close on hand .

Beverage Dynamics is published by EPG Media & Specialty Information Editorial and executive offices at 10405 6th Ave N , Suite 210 , Minneapolis 55441 Telephone : 763-383-4400 Fax : 763-383-4499

Kyle Swartz Editor , Off-Premise

www . beveragedynamics . com September / October 2021 • Beverage Dynamics 7