Sunday liquor sales debate on tap again in Minnesota Legislature
Thirsty for change, Minnesota legislators plan to try once more to lift the state's long-standing ban on Sunday liquor sales. The Legislature debates Sunday liquor sales regularly, but every year the blue laws remain firmly in place. This year's effort is being driven...
Fight for happy hour in Massachusetts continues – alcohol regulators say happy hours should remain banned
Repealing the state’s ban on happy hours would be economically and socially detrimental and would not substantially protect restaurants from losing business to casinos, says a report by alcohol regulators. Some lawmakers had floated the idea of rolling back...
Active Duty Military could drink at 18 under proposed law – law would change the definition of ‘a minor’ for the purpose of the state liquor code
A measure introduced in the Texas Legislature would lower the legal drinking age to 18---for members of the active duty U.S. military. State Rep J.M. Lozano (R-Kingsville) would rewrite the state Liquor Code to declare that a person who is 18 or older and 'is a member...
Prohibition slowly ending – last of U.S. dry towns loosening up to alcohol sales
The rural Upstate New York town of Seneca largely lives and dies by income from its landfill. Yet that county landfill is due to close in 2028, so the town — about halfway between Syracuse and Rochester — had to start thinking about other ways to pay for government...
Lawmaker proposals could undercut privatization efforts in Pennsylvania
While state lawmakers consider Gov. Tom Corbett's plan to privatize wine and liquor sales, at least eight members have introduced proposals to change Pennsylvania's alcohol laws. Dozens of measures aim to “modernize” wine and liquor sales and change what liquor...
Pernod Ricard in exclusive talks to buy Cognac maker Le Maine au Bois
Source: Wall Street Journal French alcoholic beverage group Pernod Ricard Monday said it has started exclusive talks to buy Le Maine au Bois SAS, a French cognac maker fully owned by Pierre-Hubert Lassalle. In a regulatory filing with the Paris stock regulator, Pernod...
Buying wine on-line – there doesn’t appear to be a universally successful approach to online wine selling
Source: New York Times In an ever more digital world, there are a few things that remain reassuringly analog. Wine, for example. The mysteries of a Montrachet or the magic of a Margaux remain too complex and too nuanced to reduce to the zeros and ones of digital DNA,...
LVMH’s wine and spirits portfolio records sales growth of 11% and profit growth of 14% in 2012
Source: The Spirits Business Revenue for the group as a whole, which also includes fashion label Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, rose by 19% to €28.2billion compared to the previous year. LVMH’s wine and spirits portfolio itself recorded organic sales growth of 11%...
Diageo to build its own Tequila, following the organic route similar to Ciroc
Source: Reuters Diageo, the world's biggest spirits group, signaled a more reticent acquisition strategy following a recent buying spree, saying it wants to develop its own tequila brand after ending talks to buy a stake in Jose Cuervo. Diageo will announce details...