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More than 400 workers at Molson Coors' Shenandoah Valley facility in Elkton, Virginia, voted to join Teamsters Local 29, covering packaging, warehouse, brewing, interplant distribution, utilities, and maintenance roles. The union said workers organized for higher wages and improved benefits, and now prepare to negotiate a first contract.
PR Newswire (Wine & Spirits) |
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The U.S. wine market will drop for a sixth consecutive year in 2026, with total depletions falling below 300 million cases for the first time in 20 years after a projected 3.6% decline this year, per Shanken's Impact Databank Review & Forecast. The report expects the decline to slow to under 2% annually through 2030, driven by wine-based cocktails, which are forecast to reach nearly 11% of total wine volume by the end of the decade, up from 6% last year.
Shanken News Daily |
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Wine and spirits fell 6.7% by volume and 5.8% by value over the past 12 months, but WSWA's SipSource data shows the on-premise down just 2.4% by volume and value, versus a 7.5% value decline off-premise. In wine, offerings below $16 keep struggling while the $20-$30 band posted 0.9% revenue growth; in spirits, 61% of volume comes from brands priced under $20 a bottle and only 6.5% from products at $50 or more.
Shanken News Daily |
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The National Beer Wholesalers Association's latest Beer Purchasers' Index points to a weak start to autumn, with September readings in contractionary territory, per Brewbound.
Brewbound |
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A federal judge in the Eastern District of New York dismissed on September 30 a proposed class action alleging Casamigos and Don Julio were not made exclusively from Blue Weber agave, finding the plaintiffs' testing of five products insufficient to prove "systemic and widespread adulteration." Diageo still faces similar suits in San Francisco, Miami-Dade County and Canada; the company says both brands are made from 100% Blue Weber agave.
The Spirits Business |
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Moosehead, hit by a U.S. import ban, is trying to fill the gap by growing domestic sales or finding new trade partners, CEO Andrew Oland told the Financial Post. The U.S. is the brewery's second largest destination.
Telegraph-Journal |
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Heaven Hill Brands has sold the Irish Mist liqueur to Dublin-based Old Canal Quay Spirits, led by David Phelan and backed by investors including Pat Rigney of The Shed Distillery and Tom Cleary of The Temple Bar. US-based Blue Ridge Spirits and Wine Marketing will distribute the brand in the United States, its largest international market.
Hospitality Ireland |
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Honig's 2025 Sauvignon Blanc will be the first Napa wine to print its ingredients on the label, according to Wine Industry Advisor.
Wine Industry Advisor |
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Tilray Brands reports first-quarter fiscal 2027 results on October 8, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate projecting a loss of about 16 cents per share on $268 million in revenue, and beverage segment revenue pegged at $47.6 million, down 15% year over year on SKU rationalization and craft beer headwinds. The company, whose stock has fallen 57% in 2026 to around $3.72, is working down a $5 billion accumulated deficit through debt-for-equity exchanges while absorbing consolidation costs from recent beverage acquisitions including BrewDog.
ainvest |
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California has passed and signed legislation sponsored by the Napa Valley Vintners that updates social media rules for wineries doing business in the state, giving them another way to reach consumers.
Wine Industry Advisor |
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TKC Distilling, parent of True Story Whiskey and The Kentucky Castle, has terminated CEO Wes Henderson effective immediately after relatives filed a lawsuit alleging they found 15 hidden cameras recording them at his home, per the Lexington Herald-Leader. Kyle Henderson takes over as CEO of both operations while the board runs an independent investigation; Wes Henderson, who co-founded Angel's Envy before leaving in March 2022, had planned a $92.5 million Kentucky distillery that is now on hold.
The Spirits Business |
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Santa Rosa winemaker Carol Shelton is shutting down her wine business, which she has run for 27 years. Shelton said Trump's tariffs and trade policies have hurt the wine industry and her business.
Yahoo |
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Mars and Sazerac have pushed back on a Bloomberg report that Mars was stepping back from its BuzzBallz x Pop-Tarts collaboration after more than 30 public health groups signed a letter raising underage-appeal concerns; both companies say the co-branded 15% ABV RTDs, launched in the US in August, have not been withdrawn and remain in retail, though the limited-edition product is no longer in production. Mars said the Pop-Tarts partnership predated its December 2025 Kellanova acquisition, and Sazerac said it has no plans to make more inventory.
The Spirits Business |
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Carlsberg has agreed to buy PepsiCo's bottlers in Georgia and Armenia, Iberia Refreshments and JI Pepsi Cola Bottler Armenia, from Revery Group, taking over production, sale and distribution of the PepsiCo soft-drinks portfolio in both markets. The two additions bring Carlsberg's PepsiCo bottling agreements to 17 markets, with bottling in Georgia and Armenia to begin after the acquisitions close.
Drinks Intel |
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Vinarchy is rebranding Hardys and backing it with a global marketing campaign it called the "biggest investment in many years" in the Australian wine brand, redesigning the Core, VR and Stamp ranges and renaming Core to Crest and VR to Voyaging Range. A worldwide campaign titled "Almost Unbelievable," including a 30-second ad, rolls out next month across the company's EMEA, Asia and Australia regions through TV, out-of-home, social, in-store and online.
Drinks Intel |
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U.S. imports of Hungarian wine and grape must totaled $3.04 million in 2025 per the UN Comtrade database, down from a 2022 peak of $5.95 million but up slightly from a decade ago, as dry Furmint and reds like Kadarka and Kékfrankos win over sommeliers. Marketing support is thinning: following Péter Magyar's election as prime minister in April, the state-backed Wines of Hungary was dismantled, with U.S. events halted amid an investigation into intermediary Lounge Event Kft. over alleged misappropriation of funds.
SevenFifty Daily |
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UK start-up Sentia Spirits, backed by GABA Labs, is launching its first RTDs for Sober October, formulated as food rather than food supplements like its GABA spirits. Managing director Jerome Pellaud, a former AB InBev executive, said the company is majority direct-to-consumer and aims to land a national UK retailer next year, with co-founders David Orren and David Nutt looking to raise more than £1m ($1.3m) in the coming weeks.
Just Drinks |
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Portuguese distributor Casa Redondo bought the dual-chamber coffee-and-cream liqueur Sheridan's from Diageo in early 2026 and is backing it with what CEO Daniel Redondo calls a period of accelerated investment. Speaking at the Tax Free World Association show in Cannes, Redondo said the focus is on fixtures, visibility and gift packs in travel retail, where the brand leans on its gifting occasion.
The Spirits Business |
