SOBIESKI VODKA
This number one selling super premium vodka from Poland is now available. It is the flagship brand for Imperial Brands, the newly formed US subsidiary of Belvédère SA. Retail is $1O.99 per 75Oml.
The CUTE KEG
MOVE OVER WINE-IN-A-BOX, beer-in-a-bag is coming. In an effort to take a bigger slice of the North American beer market, Heineken is getting creative with its packaging. Their first step was the 4.75 liter mini-keg which made its US debut in January. This fall Heineken will bump the mini-keg up... Read More
PRECIOUS METALS
WHO KNEW THE ILLEGAL scrap metal market would be so lucrative? With metal prices rising, beer makers are anticipating losing hundreds of thousands of kegs and millions of dollars this year as more and more kegs are being stolen and sold for scrap. The beer industry is joining with the... Read More
HOW MUCH for a PINT?
SO MUCH FOR THE DAYS of dollar drafts. Faced with rapidly escalating production costs, the prices of beer are creeping upwards, much to the dismay of brewers throughout the world. Demand for corn to convert into biodiesel has farmers ignoring their less-lucrative barley crops. As a result, low barley production... Read More
PIZZA and BEER: UNITED in a GLASS
FEW THINGS IN LIFE go together as well as pizza and beer. But what if you could have a pizza-flavored beer? Chicago real estate broker Tom Seefurth accidentally invented pizza beer last year while practicing his home brewing. On a whim he added some tomatoes, oregano, garlic, and basil to... Read More
GOING GREENER DOWN UNDER
AUSTRALIA MAY BE SUFFERING from a severe drought but that hasn’t stopped the country from being proactive with its environmentally friendly wine packaging. Wine bottles are being replaced by milk cartons, aluminum cans shaped as bottles, tetra packs and soft sports-like packs. Demand from the northern hemisphere’s private sector is... Read More
I SMELL a RAT
THIS GIVES NEW DEFINITION to the term “critter wines”. While rats and wine do not, as a rule, go together that may all change with the recent release of Ratatouille Chardonnay. A licensing tie-in with the Pixar Animation Studios and the Walt Disney hit movie, the wine hit Costco stores... Read More
SIP and SAVOR in VIRGINIA
CALIFORNIA AND FRANCE has better watch out – Virginia has its sights set on becoming a major wine destination. travel + leisure has named Virginia one of the top five new wine destinations in the world. The state is the only American region featured in July’s “Wine-Lover’s Guide”, which highlighted... Read More
SOGGY VINEYARDS
RAIN KEEPS FALLING IN FRANCE. The torrential rain afflicting northern Europe has left French vineyards at risk of losing much of the 2OO7 vintage from rot and mildew, with Bordeaux one of the worst-hit regions standing to lose 9O% of its crop. According to the Bordeaux Met Office, six inches... Read More
THE WINE & SPIRITS WHOLESALERS OF AMERICA
CHRIS KENNEDY has been hired as the organization’s new Communications and Public Affairs Manager. In his new position, Kennedy will serve as the primary point of contact for all trade media inquiries directed to WSWA. Kennedy will also work closely with every department within WSWA’s office, focusing heavily on enlivening... Read More