SUNTORY BEAM
REBECCA MESSINA has been appointed Senior Vice President and Global Chief Marketing Officer. She will also serve on the company’s executive leadership team. Messina comes to Beam Suntory from The Coca-Cola Co. where she was Senior Vice President, Marketing & Innovation, Venturing and Emerging Brands. Over the course of her... Read More
MOËT HENNESSY NORTH AMERICA
RODNEY WILLIAMS has been named CMO and EVP Brands. He was previously Moët Hennessy USA’s Executive Vice President, Spirits, and prior to that was Senior Vice President, Hennessy. Before joining the company, Williams held key positions with Jackson Family Wines and Constellation Brands. He is replacing JON POTTER, who has... Read More
EMORY VODKA
JAMES HASKELL has joined the marketing team for Emory Vodka as its Brand Ambassador. In this position he will handle the Eastern Massachusetts region and assist on- and off-premise accounts with product tastings and POS material, organize small- and large-scale events and help develop specialty drinks.
Martignetti Companies Named Business Partner of the Year
MARTIGNETTI COMPANIES was honored as “Business Partner of the Year” – the prestigious award from the Massachusetts Restaurant Association (MRA) – at the association’s annual awards dinner held at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in March during the New England Food Show. The award is given by the MRA... Read More
HI NEIGHBOR! ’GANSETT COMES HOME
Narragansett Beer is officially coming home to Rhode Island. In conjunction with The Isle Brewers Guild, Narragansett will move to The Guild in Pawtucket and begin producing beer in its home state for the first time since 1983. Several months will be spent restoring the building and installing the brew... Read More
CAMPARI TO ACQUIRE GRAND MARNIER
Italian distiller Davide Campari-Milano SpA, has agreed to buy French cognac maker Grand Marnier Group in a deal that values the family-owned company at 684 million euros (US$76O million), adding more high-end spirits to its portfolio. The acquisition is the first for Campari since 2O14, and the biggest since CEO... Read More
FRENCH WINE DETHRONED
IN AN ON-GOING battle for wine supremacy, French winegrowers have once again been overtaken as Italy has claimed the position as the world’s largest wine producer. Only a year ago, France’s 14O,OOO winegrowers toasted their success in regaining the throne after a brief spell in second place. France bore the... Read More
ARSENIC LAWSUIT TOSSED OUT
CALIFORNIA’S WINE INDUSTRY has won a big fight without even entering the ring. A judge dismissed a lawsuit claiming that some wines have dangerously high levels of arsenic. The class-action suit said that 83 cheap, mass-production Califorina wines had arsenic levels higher than those allowed in the state for water.... Read More
THE PINOT THIEF
SHE’S BEEN DUBBED the “bold blonde bandit”. The crime? The successful theft of over twenty cases of pricey Pinot Noir from the World of Pinot Noir’s (WOPN) grand tasting on March 4 at the Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara. Taking a page from the Ocean’s 11 playbook, the thief wheeled... Read More
ANDEAN JUICE THE WINES of RUTINI
By Harvey Finkel AS YOU READ this account, the harvest is winding down in the principal vineyards of Mendoza Province. Here, we’ll dip into the wines of Rutini, a leading Argentine producer. Not without reason have Argentine wines surged in recent years to the forefront of our attention. Companies like... Read More