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
ADIEU, PETIT CIRCONFLEXE
By Harvey Finkel THE FRENCH, ever vigilant to declare draconic decrees to preserve the purity of their language, may be about to out-outrage all recorded outrages. As reported in the philology column of The Economist of February 27, French spelling is to be simplified in time for the coming fall... Read More
THE HEARST COCKTAIL
by Pink Lady BERNARD DE VOTO once wrote: “The proper union of gin and vermouth is a great and sudden glory; it is one of the happiest marriages on earth, and one of the shortest lived.” He was writing about the martini, of course, but if you’ve never twirled sweet vermouth and gin in your mixing glass we recommend you give it a go. Add a dash of... Read More
DISEASE-FIGHTING BEER ON TAP?
IN DATA presented at the 251st National Meeting & Exposition for the American Chemical Society, scientists at the University of Idaho reported they are close to synthesizing healthful hops compounds in a lab. Previous research has linked hops to halting bacterial growth and disease. “When researchers extract healthful chemicals from... Read More
CRAFTBEER.COM PROFESSIONAL BEER & FOOD COURSE
THE BREWERS ASSOCIATION has updated its CraftBeer.com Professional Beer & Food Course and is offering a printed version of the manual in order to make it more accessible to educators and students. The curriculum is designed for chefs, culinary institutions, retail establishments, hotels, caterers, beverage students, and beer educators. Content... Read More
THE MOST INTERESTING MAN HAS LEFT US . . .
WELL, he’s just gone into outer space really. Dos Equis has officially retired its iconic “The Most Interesting Man” by blasting him off on a one-way mission to Mars after a nearly 1O-year campaign. Dos Equis isn’t halting the campaign as much as ending the tenure of the man who... Read More