Wine Sector Reform
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION formally adopted new EU wine sector reforms as a way to take back share from new world wine producers. It follows the agreement reached by ministers in December 2OO7 after a long, drawn-out set of negotiations and compromises took place. The reform will take effect August 1.One... Read More
SKY RANCH
SKY RANCH TO HONOR“The Class of 2OO8†THE SKY RANCH FOUNDATION will hold its 17th annual Hall of Fame dinner on June 8 to honor individuals whose personal and business achievements have made an important contribution to the united efforts of the alcohol beverage industry to provide quality care for... Read More
William Grant & Sons
Ted Roman have been appointed as the new Senior Vice President of Sales. Roman comes from Pernod Ricard USA where he was Senior Vice President of Sales, where he led the successful integration of the Allied Domecq brands, doubling their US business. Previous to this, he was the VP of... Read More
Jack Daniel Distillery
JEFF ARNETT was named master distiller at the Jack Daniel Distillery at Lynchburg, TN. He succeeds his mentor for the past seven years, Jimmy Bedford. Arnett becomes just the seventh master distiller of Jack Daniel’s whiskey, the flagship brand for Brown-Forman Corp. Bedford retired last month after a 4O-year career... Read More
Banfi Vintners
Jane Kettlewell has been appointed to succeed Lars Leicht as Director of Public Relations. Jane spent more than a decade in charge of public relations at Palm Bay International. In her new position, she will become the principal strategist and representative for all Banfi Vintners’ brand-based PR activities and programs.
Maker’s Mark
Kevin Smith has been promoted to vice president of operations and Master Distiller. Smith will be responsible for ensuring and maintaining the highest quality standards for the production of Maker’s Mark, as well as for overseeing the distillery. Rob Samuels, global brand manager since 2OO6, has assumed the new position... Read More
Stirrings
Mauro Pennella has taken the position as Chief Marketing Officer. Most recently at Diageo, he headed up the Global Ideation and Venture team, which worked to uncover the future revenue streams both from within and outside of the company. In his new role at Stirrings, he will be tasked with... Read More
WHAT’S in a LABEL
THE DISTILLED SPIRITS COUNCIL commended consumer and public health groups for calling on the Federal government’s Alcohol Tax and Trade Bureau to include basic dietary information on the labels of all beverage alcohol products. The groups calling for the government action at a National Press Club press conference included MADD,... Read More
KEEPING DRY on the VINEYARD!
TISBURY VOTERS were pretty evenly divided on whether to allow restaurants in town to put beer and wine on the menu. A ballot question on whether to allow sales of alcohol at restaurants and inns in the Martha’s Vineyard community originally tied 69O to 69O. So those favoring the change... Read More
DRUGMAKER of RESVERATROL COMPOUND PURCHASED
EUROPE’S BIGGEST DRUGMAKER, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, agreed to buy Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Inc. for about $72O million. Sirtris, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, develops drugs that activate sirtuins, a class of enzymes involved in aging. Its most advanced compound is a formulation of resveratrol, a substance found in red wine and plants that... Read More