Massachusetts: Direct wine shipping: Progress, but problem not solved
A legislative research committee held a hearing on Monday on whether or not wine distributors should be allowed to ship customers bottles of wine in the mail, and how the shipping could be regulated. For wine lovers, the Legislature has some good news. Sort of....
Pernod takes a $100M gulp of Tequila Avion
New York-based Tequila Avion, the 5-year-old spirits brand backed by big name investors - including AOL's Tim Armstrong, YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley and Coach Chairman Lew Frankfort - has sold a significant majority stake to French beverage giant Pernod Ricard....
USA pioneering growth of hybrid spirits
There's a party going on in US spirits with producers pushing boundaries as never before. Tom Bruce-Gardyne investigates the latest craze for hybrid spirits In a strive for innovation, hybrid spirits have emerged as cross-category champions It's not just...
Nielsen Spirits: Sales growth steady; brown spirits still gaining
Spirits sales growth steady; price/mix moderates a bit Total spirit sales in Nielsen-tracked xAOC (food, drug, mass, WMT; ex-Washington) grew +5.0% for the four weeks ended 6/21, in-line with its 12-wk average, driven primarily by volume growth of +3.8% and price/mix...
Washington Privatization – Promises Made, Promises Broken
Despite the many promises made by proponents of Washington State's privatization Initiative 1183, the citizens of that state didn't reap major benefits. In the Initiative ad campaign, proponents claimed the benefits of privatization would include lower prices,...
Royal Dutch Distillers Appointed As New Importer of Chocovine
De Kuyper Holding NV based in Schiedam, the Netherlands has reached agreement with Clever Imports LLC that Its Miami---based subsidiary, Royal Dutch Distillers, Inc, will as of today act as sole importer of the Chocovine portfolio in The United States. Royal Dutch...
Bill Would Let Wineries Ship Legally to Massachusetts
Legislation creating permit system needs governor's signature Massachusetts consumers are one step closer to getting wine delivered straight to their doorsteps. The state Legislature has created a new permit system that will allow out-of-state wineries...
Diageo Takes Full Control of USL
India's largest alcoholic beverage manufacturer United Spirits (USL), formerly owned by Vijay Mallya's UB Group, is now safely back in the hands of the British. Drinks giant Diageo, with its headquarters in London, has increased its stake in USL to 54.8% from 28.8%...
Emperador Brandy Now World’s Second Largest Spirit
Philippines-based Emperador brandy became the second largest spirits brand in 2013, knocking Thai spirit Ruang Kao back to third place. According to the IWSR's (International Wine and Spirits Research) Real 100, Emperador, owned by Alliance Global Group, is now...