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A U.S. ban on several Canadian imports, including alcohol, molasses, motorcycles, and select dairy items, took effect Sept. 29, after those same products had already drawn 50% tariffs, CBC News reported. Trade lawyer Barry Appleton told the outlet that bans mark a sharper escalation than tariffs because they can cut off supply entirely and are hard to unwind once in place.
The Cool Down |
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The Trump administration imposed additional import controls, effective Tuesday, on roughly $1 billion in Canadian goods covering dairy, alcohol and certain automobiles. Post Oak Group's Karan Ramchandani told Fox News Digital that small and mid-sized businesses near the US-Canada border should be worried, and that costs initially absorbed by producers could pass to consumers if prices do not stabilize.
Fox Business |
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Summit Lake and Smith-Madrone have filed three preliminary-injunction motions in their federal lawsuit challenging Napa County's winery restrictions. The wineries want to keep hosting visitors, holding events, and pouring wine, as they say they have done for decades, while the case proceeds.
Wine Industry Advisor |
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NIQ's September 2026 quarterly update shows the U.S. on-premise beverage alcohol market remaining value-led, with higher pricing helping offset continued volume pressure across major categories.
BevNET |
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Diageo is permanently closing the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore to the public on November 1.
Brewbound |
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William Grant & Sons posted 2025 sales of £1.76 billion ($2.3b), down 4% from the prior year, with pre-tax profit off 13% to £337 million ($447m) as the company cited geopolitical and trade pressures and weak consumer demand. Per Impact Databank, its U.S. volume runs about 3.2 million cases, and the portfolio slipped 4% in control states through July, with Hendrick's gin, Reyka vodka, and Glenfiddich rising while Milagro Tequila and Sailor Jerry rum declined.
Shanken News Daily |
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Dan Aykroyd told CNN the U.S. ban on Canadian alcohol imports, effective Sept. 29, 2026 under Section 338 of the Tariff Act, will force him to shut down Crystal Head Vodka or run it at a loss; the vodka is made in Newfoundland from Ontario corn and sells at the LCBO for $54.95 per 750ml bottle, which does not meet the ban's exemption criteria. Aykroyd, also a partial owner and co-creator of Signal Hill Canadian Whisky, said that brand is affected as well, and the ban comes in reaction to Ontario's pull of U.S. alcohol such as Jack Daniel's, Jim Beam and SKYY Vodka.
Inside Halton |
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NIQ's September 2026 read on the on-premise beer market shows topline declines alongside growth in imported and non-alcoholic beer, with draft strengthening relative to packaged beer.
Brewbound |
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Stateside Brands projects 4 million cases for its Super Lyte RTD in year one, a pace it says would quadruple the first-year sales of the previous top spirits-based RTD launch.
BevNET |
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GMB Scotland is escalating industrial action at Diageo's Cameronbridge grain whisky distillery in Fife after a second round of talks failed, calling all members out on four days: 12, 15, 19 and 22 October. The dispute centers on Diageo's plan to remove up to 10 roles, two of them already vacant, with around 73 workers at the Levenmouth plant at risk; Diageo says it expects no disruption to product availability.
The Spirits Business |
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Diageo took a Sh5.5 billion loss on the sale of its EABL and UDV stakes, part of a strategy to focus on more profitable brands and regions while simplifying the business and its supply chains.
Business Daily Africa |
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Carlsberg India has won SEBI approval for the confidential IPO papers it submitted in July 2026, moving the brewer closer to a listing in India. The issue's size, timing and terms will not be known until the offer documents are made public.
Business Today |
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Czech beer sales have dropped to a record-low 121 litres per capita, Plzeňský Prazdroj's Jan Krafka told Around Prague. Krafka said digitalisation will reshape rather than end the country's beer culture, and noted younger drinkers are both consuming beer differently and moving away from cash.
Around Prague |
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Ondřej Hladek, founder of a Třebíč investment fund, has been charged with fraud after his sale of whisky barrels allegedly turned into a pyramid scheme. More than 700 investors were affected in the case, which Around Prague puts at 100 million crowns.
Around Prague |
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Canada's Corby Spirit & Wine, majority owned by Pernod Ricard, added five years to its production and administrative services deal with contract distiller Hiram Walker & Sons, which was set to end September 30 and now runs to September 30, 2031. Hiram Walker makes Canadian whisky brands including JP Wiser's and Lot No 40 for Corby at its Ontario distillery; last month Corby sold the Lamb's rum brand and certain assets to Phildan and COFEPP for CAD$39.2m (US$27.8m).
Drinks Intel |
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Boston Beer signed a multi-year deal putting its vodka-based RTD Sun Cruiser inside New Jersey's MetLife Stadium and alongside its two NFL teams, the Jets and Giants, with branding on gate pylons, video boards and highway marquees at games, concerts and other events. Financial terms were not disclosed; Sun Cruiser is already sold on-site, and Athletic Brewing took the stadium's non-alcoholic beer sponsorship in August.
Drinks Intel |
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Speaking at The Beverage Forum Europe 2026 in London, Benchmark Drinks MD Paul Schaafsma said that below a UK per-bottle SRP of GBP7.50 (US$9.95), consumers care less about where a wine is sourced or which grapes it uses than about taste profile and occasion. On the same panel he urged brands to avoid the term "mid-strength" for no- and low-alcohol products, warning that the risk of disappointing consumers is too great, weeks after Diageo rolled out 20%-ABV "mid-strength" Captain Morgan, Gordon's and Smirnoff extensions in the UK.
Drinks Intel |
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BrewDog is starting to see improvements in off-trade sales depletions in the UK, Tilray Brands' CEO told Just Drinks, adding that "the most important thing" was building the strength of the BrewDog brand.
Just Drinks |
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The New York Times reports on California producers trying to fill the gap for good wine in the $20 to $30 range, as cheap bottles have largely meant bad, processed wines. The hope, per the piece, is that well-farmed grapes sold at a slightly higher price will meet that need.
The New York Times |
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William Grant & Sons has given its blended Scotch Monkey Shoulder a new global look, moving the three monkeys emblem to the left shoulder in a larger antique-copper finish and giving the brand's story more prominence on the front label. The 40% ABV liquid, matured in first-fill ex-Bourbon casks and blended in small batches from three Speyside single malts, is unchanged; the redesign follows a new look for Glenfiddich earlier this year.
The Spirits Business |
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Varun Beverages' newly formed subsidiary Kiva Spirits is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire Alcobrew Distilleries India at an enterprise value of about Rs 2,000 crore to Rs 2,500 crore (US$207.8M to US$259.8M), which would hand it Alcobrew's whisky, vodka, gin, brandy and rum brands, manufacturing facilities and distribution across roughly 15 states and Union Territories. Alcobrew, which holds the Indian licence for Campari's Old Smuggler and reported FY2025 revenue of about ₹1,615 crore, had received regulatory clearance for an IPO in January; whether a deal would affect those plans is unclear.
foodbusinessmea |
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The NHL signed E. & J. Gallo's Black Box as its first wine-category sponsor, a multiyear U.S. deal built around a "Wine Wednesdays" at-home viewing platform spanning digital, social and retail, with financial terms undisclosed. The league cited its "momentum among women" as a key driver; ESPN said its average female postseason audience last year was 786,000 per game, up 164% over 2025.
Sports Business Journal |
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Château Angélus and auction house Acker are holding what they call the first direct-from-the-estate Angélus offering of this scale, bringing rare cuvées, library vintages and an estate experience to Acker's US auction on October 17, 2026.
Wine Industry Advisor |
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Christie's will hold a live auction in New York on October 23, 2026 offering "The Distinguished Cellar of an American Connoisseur," part of the house's celebration of 60 years of selling wine and spirits.
Wine Industry Advisor |
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Treasury Wine Estates spent $12.8 million in FY26 on climate adaptation as pressure on its vineyards mounts, and has committed $100 million to the effort by 2030.
Stocks Down Under |
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Around four in ten alcohol shoppers in global travel retail cite lower prices as their primary reason to buy duty-free, well above the all-category average, per Swiss research agency m1nd-set. Exclusives rank lower for alcohol buyers but still convert: 47% bought a duty-free-exclusive product in 2025, down from 62% in 2022, while Chinese alcohol shoppers remain the keenest on rarities, with 65% of those travelling through Europe buying a channel-exclusive over the year to mid-2026.
Drinks Intel |
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Amber Beverage Group's Latvian arm booked a loss of €0.95m ($1m) in the first six months of 2026, against a €1.2m profit a year earlier, as sales volumes in 9-litre cases fell 38.2% and net revenue dropped 30.4% to €24.6m. The company tied the decline to weaker Baltic consumption, higher excise rates, fewer contract manufacturing orders and lower export orders from Stoli Group, with Stoli and Elit sales down 35%.
Just Drinks |
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Heineken rolled out Amstel 0.0 in Brazil on September 30, an alcohol-free, gluten-free take on the all-malt beer carrying 59.5 calories per 350ml can. Sales begin in the South and Southeast plus Goiás, Bahia, and Sergipe, with production starting at the Ponta Grossa plant in Paraná and nationwide distribution targeted by 2027.
valorinternational |
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Three beer brands are using ordinary 5-gallon plastic pails for their multipacks to stand out from standard paper packaging, PlasticsToday reports.
PlasticsToday |
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Carlsberg Kazakhstan opened a $344 million non-alcoholic beverage plant in Boraldai, in the Almaty region, producing drinks under license from PepsiCo with annual capacity of up to 1 billion liters. Output will be sold in Kazakhstan and exported to CIS countries including Kyrgyzstan, with five production lines running in the first phase.
Kursiv Media Kazakhstan |
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Fort Worth's La Pulga Spirits signed on as the Tennessee Titans' official tequila for the 2026 season, putting the brand at Nissan Stadium bars with cocktails like the Titan-Rita and Blue Paloma Storm. To mark the Titans' final season at the stadium, La Pulga released a limited edition 2026 Farewell Season bottle of its blanco tequila, sold at select Tennessee venues and retailers.
The Spirits Business |
