PERNOD RICARD HELPS SANDY’S VICTIMS
Pernod Ricard USA has made a $1OO,OOO contribution to the American Red Cross to fund donations of bottled water and other needed supplies for those affected by Hurricane Sandy. “We are focusing our immediate efforts to provide the best and most direct support to those affected by this devastating natural... Read More
DON’T MESS WITH THE SWA
If you’re in the business of dealing with black market Scotch and you get caught, you can expect the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) to come after you with all they’ve got. The SWA has called for further sanctions on producers and distributors of imitation Scotch in China. Now a top... Read More
L.KNIFE & SON EXPANDS
Kingston-based beer distributor L.Knife & Son will move its Craft Brewers Guild of Boston divisions from Danvers to Everett – a 2OO,OOO-square-foot facility. As craft breweries have seen increased popularity and increased distribution in recent years, their craft beer arm needed more space. They plan to add about 2O jobs... Read More
FRANCE DEALS A BLOW TO BEER
There is no beer love bubbling up in France. Indeed, President François Hollande is giving imported beer a downright cold shoulder. Desperate to lower France’s budget deficit while funding his struggling social security programs, the president is pushing through legislation to increase taxes by 16O%. The tax would affect local... Read More
HURRICANE SANDY DEALS A BLOW TO BEER
Hurricane Sandy devastated huge swaths of the Eastern seaboard and left a long-lasting trail of destruction in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Countless businesses were impacted, including several of New York’s craft breweries. While most breweries made it through the storm intact, the surges of saltwater, power outages and... Read More
THE ART OF BEER
For many brewers, making beer is an art. For artist Ron Pomeroy, beer is his medium. He uses a mixture of watercolors and beer to create his paintings. The majority of the works are nature-themed featuring a variety of fish, birds and other wildlife. To showcase his beer artwork, Pomeroy... Read More
Pilsner Urquell
The first was last September. I was at the brewery in Pilsen, in the Czech Republic. We saw the huge, modern brewery with the big copper brewing kettles (heated by direct fire) and the massive stainless fermentation and maturation tanks . . . all aboveground. Then we were led below... Read More
ITALIAN FINE WINE AND ALTERNATE CLOSURES
No matter what your opinion on alternate wine closures, they are an indisputable part of the industry’s future. As a testament to this, Italian authorities have approved the use of synthetic corks and screwcaps on higher quality DOC and DOCG wines for the first time. The move opens a new... Read More
BAD NEWS IN BURGUNDY
Whether you see the writing on the wall regarding global warming or your head’s buried in the sand, there’s no denying that Mother Nature is globally wreaking havoc on sectors of the wine industry. Coming on the heels of Champagne suffering one of its worst seasons, Burgundy is facing up... Read More
ROSÉ CONTINUES TO ROCK
Rosé wines have been on an incredible roll for the last few years and they show no sign of slowing down. According to Nielsen numbers, US retail sales of imported rosés priced $12 and above shot up 26.4% by volume and 22.8% by value in the first half of the... Read More