SMALL BREWERS BIG IMPACT
CRAFT BEER may account for less than 1O% of the overall beer industry but it packs quite an economic punch. According to a new analysis by the Brewers Association (BA), small and independent American craft brewers contributed $33.9 billion to the US economy in 2O12 – with California, Texas and... Read More
HORIZON BEVERAGE COMPANY
HORIZON BEVERAGE COMPANY hosted a company-wide celebrationfor its 8Oth birthday in December. Left to Right:SAM RUBENSTEINExecutive Vice President-Business Development JIM RUBENSTEINCEO/Treasurer ROBERT EPSTEINCEO/President BEN RUBENSTEINExecutive Vice President-Wine
BROWN-FORMAN EARNS TOP MARKS
Brown-Forman received a perfect score of 1OO% on the 2O14 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBT workplace equality, administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. This is the fourth consecutive year Brown-Forman has received a perfect score. The... Read More
NCB ENTREPRENEUR AWARDS
Nightclub & Bar Media Group has selected three winners for its second annual Entrepreneur Awards. They will be honored during the Nightclub & Bar Convention and Trade Show, which takes place March 24 to 26 in Las Vegas. The winners are: OM Cocktails “organic mixology” – a line of USDA... Read More
ICONS OF WHISKY WINNERS
The US Winners of the 2O14 Icons of Whisky have been named: DISTILLER OF THE YEAR Buffalo Trace DistilleryCRAFT WHISKEY DISTILLER OF THE YEAR Balcones DistilleryAMERICAN WHISKEY AMBASSADOR OF THE YEAR Jimmy Russell of Wild TurkeySCOTCH WHISKY AMBASSADOR OF THE YEAR David Blackmore of GlenmorangieWHISKEY VISITOR... Read More
TRAGIC HELICOPTER CRASH
A Chinese billionaire and a French wine maker have been killed in a helicopter crash after going on a flight to celebrate the sale of an historic Bordeaux chateau. Lam Kok, 46, a hotel magnate who had diversified into the upmarket wine trade, was killed along with his 12-year-old son... Read More
WINE COLLECTOR CONVICTED OF FRAUD
IN ONE OF THE LARGEST cases of wine fraud to date, Rudy Kurniawan of Los Angeles has been found guilty of operating a fake wine factory and selling counterfeit wines – acts called “a betrayal” of the wine community. Some of the wines Kurniawan sold privately or at auctions fetched... Read More
NEW LABELING LAWS IN EFFECT
IT WAS SIGNED into law more than three years ago but a bill requiring Sonoma County wines to include the words “Sonoma County” somewhere on the label finally came into effect January 1. Given all the time they’ve had to prepare, not to mention the marketing potential the new law... Read More
OBITUARY – CHARLES GORDON
CHARLES GORDON 86 – THE LIFE PRESIDENT of William Grant & Sons has passed away. Gordon was a key driving force in building William Grant & Sons into a strong independent family-owned company. The great-grandson of company founder William Grant, Gordon’s achievements include leading the Glenfiddich and Grant’s Scotch whisky... Read More
OBITUARY – GRAHAM MACKAY
GRAHAM MACKAY 64 – THE MAN WHO TRANSFORMED SABMiller from a local South African business group into an $82 billion dollar brewing giant, has passed away. When Mackay started at SAB in 1978 during the apartheid era, sanctions were in place, foreign-exchange controls prevented international expansion and the brewer’s portfolio... Read More