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Martignetti completed its purchase of RNDC's 17-state control business, lifting its reach to 20 states. It also agreed to acquire Girardi, a longtime Massachusetts distributor, widening its New England presence.
Modern Distribution Management |
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The bankrupt Republic National Distributing Co. is working to complete a sale of its control-state brokerage operations spanning 17 states, Michigan among them. The deal carries a base cash price of $14.5 million.
winebusiness |
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The hemp-derived THC industry, which PBS puts at $28 billion, is fighting a looming federal ban, according to a PBS NewsHour report.
pbs.org |
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Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin told Fox Business that US and Irish officials are now meeting to work through details after President Trump publicly committed to lifting tariffs on Irish whiskey during his September visit to Doonbeg, County Clare. Martin said he argued Irish whiskey should get the same treatment as Scotch, and named Kerrygold butter, which generated more than $1 billion in US retail sales in 2025 per owner Ornua, as the next Irish export he hopes could win tariff relief.
Fox Business |
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E. & J. Gallo is permanently closing its Ranch Winery production facility in Napa Valley and plans layoffs at four other California wineries and tasting rooms, cutting 93 jobs in all.
winebusiness |
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A federal grand jury in Oakland has indicted five senior Southern Glazer's employees along with a Napa-based wine supplier, accusing them of running a bribery scheme spanning roughly eight years to win grocery store wine placements.
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Constellation Brands reports fiscal Q2 2027 results on October 6 after the US close, with a call set for October 7, following a 13.5% stock drop from $130.62 on August 31 to $112.99 on October 1. The company's fiscal 2027 guidance calls for beer net sales between a 1% decline and 1% growth and beer operating margin of 37% to 38%; in Q1, total beer depletions fell 0.3%, with Modelo Especial down 2% and Corona Extra down 5%.
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A federal judge in the Eastern District of New York dismissed a class-action suit alleging Diageo's Don Julio and Casamigos are not 100% agave, with Judge DeArcy Hall finding the plaintiffs' case rested on a single study of five samples, insufficient to show systemic mislabeling. Per Impact Databank, Don Julio led the U.S. spirits category last year with $2.7 billion in retail value and Casamigos tallied just over $1 billion.
Shanken News Daily |
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Pop-Tarts owner Mars, Inc. ended its collaboration with ready-to-drink brand BuzzBallz over concerns it would target underage drinkers, cutting the partnership one month into the campaign following a meeting with U.S. officials.
VinePair |
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Spirits-based RTDs rose 21% in NIQ's latest weekly off-premise scan data, with Surfside, Super Lyte, Sun Cruiser, Cutwater and BuzzBallz leading the growth. Brewbound reports the prepared cocktails segment posted another strong week while the rest of the industry continued to face year-over-year declines.
Brewbound |
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India's market regulator SEBI has signed off on Carlsberg India's IPO plans, following the brewer's confidential draft filing in July 2026. Its Danish parent posted 2.8% volume growth in the first half of 2026, with Central and Eastern Europe and India among the contributors.
Best Media Info |
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Fires across Ávila have scorched more than 50,000 hectares, with several historic parcels of old-vine Garnacha and Albillo Real in Sierra de Gredos affected. Producers are still assessing how much damage the vineyards have sustained.
winebusiness |
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Neha Kumar's Full Glass Wine Co. has acquired Winc, Wine Insiders and Bright Cellars. The company says it will optimize operations and build market presence while keeping each brand's identity intact.
winebusiness |
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Bronco Wine Company has acquired Resurrection Brands, a wine sales and marketing organization that represents a group of family-owned wineries. Bronco said the deal expands its national representation portfolio.
winebusiness |
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Viña Concha y Toro has reached the top 3 in the global wine industry, a result the company credits to the premiumization strategy it has pursued since 2017 to build out its higher-value portfolio.
winebusiness |
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Mars Inc.'s legal department appears to have reversed course on a planned alcoholic beverage collaboration between its Pop-Tarts brand and Sazerac's BuzzBallz, after the pairing drew widespread concern.
Brewbound |
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California wine sales have fallen more than 20 percent over five years, pushing down grape prices and leaving many growers unable to sell their fruit at harvest. Growers have pulled roughly a quarter of the state's vineyards out of production, with some families tearing out vines grown for generations.
The Columbian |
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Craft beer's off-premise declines accelerated last month as summer wound down, and those losses aren't expected to ease much as beer enters its slow season, according to a new report from Bump Williams Consulting. BWC argues craft could change that trajectory by leaning into the seasonal patterns imports have used.
Brewbound |
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Two-thirds (67%) of consumers are spending less on restaurants than a year ago, with cutting alcohol, skipping delivery and drinking free water among the tactics they use to stay on budget, per a Popmenu report drawn from three 1,000-person national surveys run in February, May and July 2026. Consumers now spend about $100 a week on restaurants, $15 below June 2025, and 40% say they are tipping less this year.
FSR Magazine |
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Restaurant and bar operators across the country are optimistic about on-premise wine, with many reporting that sales are trending up. Interest in glass pours is rising, operators say, alongside greater consumer willingness to experiment.
winebusiness |
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Unite is extending strike action at Diageo's Cameronbridge distillery in Scotland, with walkouts "involving all members" set for 12, 15, 19 and 22 October after talks over job cuts failed. The union said the escalation follows Diageo reaffirming its plan to push through compulsory redundancies; Diageo has proposed removing up to ten roles among the 72 grain distilling staff and said it does not expect product availability to be disrupted.
Just Drinks |
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The global value of status spirits, which IWSR defines as bottles with a weighted average retail price of $100-plus, fell 10% in 2025 versus 2024, a second consecutive year of decline, per IWSR's Status Spirits Strategic Study 2026. China dropped 25% in value while the US fell 6% and travel retail 3%; cognac slid 17% and scotch 9%, and agave-based spirits were the only category to grow, up 2%.
Drinks Intel |
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Anaheim's Bottle Logic Brewing will merge with Placentia's The Bruery and sister brand Offshoot Beer Co. under a new company called The Bruery Group, with the deal expected to close later this year and terms undisclosed. The brands keep their own identities but share production, distribution, and sales and marketing; The Bruery and Offshoot CEO Barry Holmes will lead the group, and Bottle Logic releases will reach The Bruery's direct-to-consumer platform, which ships to 43 states.
Orange County Register |
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India's ready-to-drink market crossed $200 million in value in 2025, growing 11% on about 5.3 million nine-litre cases and expanding at a 6% CAGR from 2022 to 2025, against 3% globally, per IWSR, driven by higher-ABV products like 15% wine-based drinks, soju and premixed cocktails rather than the hard seltzers behind the US boom. Flavoured alcoholic beverages made up 54% of 2025 RTD volumes and long drinks 44%, with hard seltzers at just 1%, and IWSR forecasts Indian RTD volumes to rise 8% a year through 2030.
Mint |
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E. & J. Gallo is continuing its efforts to court American wine drinkers who watch professional sports, per Fingers.
Fingers |
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Employees at Sonoma County's Rodney Strong are seeking a collective bargaining agreement, backed by Teamsters Local 665 and North Bay Jobs with Justice. The organizers cited concerns about layoffs.
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Twomey, owned by Silver Oak Cellars, abruptly closed two of its three tasting rooms this week. Among them was its original Napa Valley location, which had been open for 21 years.
winebusiness |
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TKC Distilling, parent of The Kentucky Castle and True Story Whiskey, removed founder Wes Henderson as CEO effective immediately after court filings accused him of secretly filming people, including during sex acts at the Kentucky Castle, allegations he denies. His son Kyle Henderson takes over as CEO of both businesses, and plans for a $92 million True Story distillery are on hold.
Yahoo |
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Two Roads Brewing has formed a sales partnership with U.S. Beverage, the latest craft brewery to join the platform. The relationship began September 14.
Brewbound |
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Ciatti's latest California Report says grapes for sparkling wine were picked in Santa Barbara County on June 30, the earliest anyone there can remember. The report breaks down by region how early the growing season has run and how the industry is responding.
winebusiness |
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Some 20,000 bottles of rare wine worth millions remain unclaimed following the collapse of New York City wine retailer Sherry-Lehmann, per Wine Industry Advisor.
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Edinburgh's Holyrood Distillery has paused Scotch whisky production, though MD Rob Carpenter told Just Drinks the business is not closing, citing "challenging times" in the sector. The company recently launched a whisky called Smoulder and plans further releases from maturing stock; its Brand Home stays open for tours and tastings, and Holyrood declined to say how long the pause will last.
Just Drinks |
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Australian Vintage has signed binding agreements to sell its Adelaide Hills cellar door and vineyard, used for its Nepenthe brand, to Woodthall and Adelaide Wine Co. (Tomich Wines) for A$5m ($3.6m), with settlement due in November and net proceeds going to debt reduction. The company keeps full ownership of the Nepenthe brand and has set up a grape supply contract with Tomich for next year's vintage; CEO Tom Dusseldorp cited declining wine tourism, saying loss-making cellar doors "do not add the value they once did."
Just Drinks |
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Speaking at the TFWA show in Cannes, Diageo Global Travel managing director Andrew Cowan argued travel retail can beat the industry's low single-digit growth projections, noting that only 11% of passengers visit an alcohol duty free fixture and those who buy spirits spend an average of US$85 per bottle, four times the domestic-market average. He said lifting footfall by one percentage point could turn 2% growth into 12%, and pointed to Diageo's Dubai Duty Free collaboration that sold 50,000 AI-designed Johnnie Walker Black Label bottles.
The Spirits Business |
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J D Wetherspoon's pre-tax profit fell 28% to £58.6m (US$77.4m) in the 52 weeks to 26 July 2026 even as revenue hit a record £2.24 billion (US$2.96bn), up 5.2%, with like-for-like sales up 4.2%. Chairman Tim Martin pinned the decline on government tax and regulatory costs, calling VAT "the main culprit" in the disparity with supermarkets and urging the government to equalize taxes for hospitality.
The Spirits Business |
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Two 500-barrel fermentation tanks at Lagunitas Brewing imploded after being emptied without adequate venting. The tanks are built to withstand the internal pressures of brewing, but draining them without venting created a vacuum that caused the collapse.
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