New breweries and distilleries are opening and established ones are expanding in the Triad. Plus, the mystery surrounding thousands of dollars worth of rare, stolen wine found in the Greensboro area. Justin Catanoso and the Triad Business Journal's Owen Covington discuss spirits in this week's Business Report.
There's been a rush of new microbreweries, but the largest ones are getting bigger, too. Natty Green's in Greensboro expects to get 100,000 barrel capacity on an annual basis. Covington says they're looking for a bigger space.
"So, they've been looking around Greensboro. They've also said they're looking at other cities. There's the possibility that they could relocate outside Greensboro, outside the Triad, even outside the state," says Covington.
He adds that Foothills Brewery has also been expanding in Winston-Salem.
Distilleries are also popping up across the region. Covington says there are several in Winston-Salem and a new one is planned for Greensboro.
"People are seeing craft distilling as this sort of next wave. But there's a pretty big investment on the front end in equipment and space," says Covington. "You've got time involved, as well. Beer can be produced relatively quickly. Spirits take a little longer. Craft distilling is emerging, but it's also going to get crowded pretty quickly."
Covington also touches on the recent story about stolen wine from French Laundry in California which was uncovered in the Triad. It's still unknown who was in the possession of the rare bottles. Covington says a couple factors make it difficult to pinpoint who the culprit is--local police were not part of the investigation, and it's not clear what town the wine was actually found. So, until any of those details are made known, Covington says we'll all remain in the dark.
The Business Report on 88.5 WFDD is a partnership with the Triad Business Journal. You'll find Owen Covington's story and more breaking business news at Triad.Bizjournals.com.
Justin Catanoso is director of the Journalism program at Wake Forest University and a regular contributor to 88.5 WFDD.
300x250 Ad
300x250 Ad