Taste Radio

He’s one of the most successful brand creators in the wine and spirits industry, but, until recently, Brett Berish avoided the limelight.  Twenty-two years ago, Berish, whose family has long ties to the spirits business, launched Sovereign Brands, a brand development company that’s responsible for the massively successful super-premium Champagne label, Ace of Spades, and premium cognac D’usse. Hip-hop icon Jay-Z acquired the former in 2014 and also bought a stake in D’usse, which is now co-owned by rum giant Bacardi. Sovereign’s reputation for creating winning concepts continued with Luc Belaire, a line of French sparkling wines that, according to measured sales data, is the fastest growing premium sparkling wine brand in the U.S. and the fastest-growing French sparkling wine in the world. The company also owns Bumbu, a critically acclaimed craft rum from Barbados and the best-selling brand in the U.S. premium rum category, as well as McQueen and the Violet Fog, a small-batch gin from Jundiai, Brazil. Despite