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Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits has closed its acquisition of Anheuser-Busch's company-owned distribution operation in New York City, bringing the brewer's portfolio and team into Southern Glazer's New York business. CEO Wayne E. Chaplin said the company is "proud to welcome Anheuser-Busch's iconic portfolio and talented team."
winebusiness |
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Arguments opened this week in the Denver district court in the distributor termination dispute between Coors Distributing Company and Constellation Brands. CDC argues the termination poses a "substantial threat" to its business, while Constellation calls it a "classic money damages case."
Brewbound |
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Pernod Ricard reported fiscal Q1 2027 net sales down 0.9% organically to €2.234 billion ($2.5b), with U.S. sales off 10% and China off 25% on expected inventory adjustments. The company expects organic net sales to stay broadly stable for the year, with U.S. sales remaining depressed, and projects low single-digit organic growth across FY27 through FY29.
Shanken News Daily |
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Winebusiness looks at how the US three-tier distribution landscape has shifted following changes at RNDC, arguing the question for suppliers has moved from which distributor to use to whether they rank as a priority brand for wholesalers that now hold more market power.
winebusiness |
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Hemp Beverage Alliance president and CEO Christopher Lackner said at the NBWA conference he is "optimistic that the hemp beverage category will prevail as a federally regulated category," though he warned a "miniature prohibition" remains possible.
BevNET |
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At the 50th Annual Impact Seminar in New York on October 8, Diageo North America U.S. spirits president Stephen Rust said that of 4,600 spirits and RTD SKUs launched from 2022 to 2026, only 26 reached 100,000 cases and just six are still growing, even as SKU counts doubled and dollars per SKU fell 20%. Reyes Beverage Group CEO Tom Day said the distributor now moves 360 million cases a year across 260,000 accounts in 16 markets, covering 52% of the U.S. legal-drinking-age population, following its purchase of 11 markets from RNDC.
Shanken News Daily |
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Riboli Family Wines, the owner of San Antonio Winery since 1917, is expanding its distribution relationship with Breakthru Beverage Group across California.
winebusiness |
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Guala Closures has agreed to acquire most of the production equipment from G3 Enterprises' aluminum wine screwcap business, which will add manufacturing capacity at its operations in Mexico.
winebusiness |
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Bronco Wine Co. laid off nearly 150 employees in Ceres, California, which it said is part of a "strategic restructuring plan to align operations with the evolving dynamics of the wine industry."
winebusiness |
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Russia has proposed a EUR 5 tariff on imported beer and spirits, now part of the country's budget talks. The measure would apply to alcohol from countries Moscow classifies as unfriendly if lawmakers approve it.
Vinetur |
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California growers removed 47,229 vineyard acres over one year, according to a statewide mapping project. The survey counted 439,115 acres still in the ground, a figure that includes abandoned, mothballed and nonbearing vines.
Vinetur |
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A Seattle federal judge dismissed a proposed class action claiming Costco falsely labeled its Kirkland Signature tequila "100% de Agave," deferring to Mexico's authority over tequila regulation. The ruling cited a Mexican government body's rejection of similar adulteration claims.
Law360 |
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Wine and spirits volumes stayed below prior-year levels across every major measure in Q2 2026, but the pace of decline narrowed for the third straight month, according to WSWA SipSource data. Distribution trends and on-premise performance point to a gradually improving market.
winebusiness |
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Kendall Jenner's 818 Tequila grew 73 percent even as its category shrank, with parent company 818 Spirits president Lanay Jacobs telling Food Dive that expanded distribution has made 818 the fastest-growing tequila line priced above $25.
Inc.com |
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MGP Ingredients, the bulk whiskey distiller with bottling operations in St. Louis, is changing its name.
The Business Journals |
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Fawn Weaver's Uncle Nearest whiskey brand is close to finding a buyer after a legal saga running more than a year, according to a court document filed last Friday by receiver Phillip G. Young Jr.
VinePair |
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Heineken USA spent $140,000 on in-house lobbying related to tariffs in the third quarter of 2026, according to a disclosure filing covering its import-cost and trade-policy concerns.
legis1 |
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Fingers reports in its Weekender digest that Uncle Nearest is nearing a sale. The same edition flags that Jackson Family Wines is rolling out a sparkling brand and that MGP Ingredients is rebranding itself under a new name.
Fingers |
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At its annual meeting, Treasury Wine Estates reported a positive start to the fiscal year, with chairman John Mullen ruling out further fire sales of brands as the company works to halve its portfolio; the comments followed last week's agreement to sell Rosemount, Ingoldby and Secret Stone to AG Oatley Wines for a combined $50 million. CEO Sam Fischer said Penfolds depletions in China grew slightly ahead of plan and led depletion growth among Australian brands in the US, and TWE reiterated guidance for FY27 EBITS at least in line with FY26.
Inside FMCG |
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Facing weak wine sales as younger drinkers shift to other beverages, some California wineries are ripping out and burning vineyards, according to Wine Business. Grower Jason Smith sold his trophy vineyard to pay off debts and avoid bankruptcy, with the decline of pinot noir cited as emblematic of the broader downturn.
winebusiness |
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Ste. Michelle is closing the 14 Hands and Columbia Crest tasting rooms in Eastern Washington and shutting their wine clubs, saying it is focusing on winemaking and growing its top brands. Both brands will keep producing wine.
winebusiness |
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Napa's 49-year-old family-owned Signorello Estate has filed for bankruptcy facing $36 million in debt, and may sell the winery to Canadian investors Amar Doman and Ashley Cooper, who placed a $16 million stalking-horse bid that could reach up to $20 million.
winebusiness |
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Garage Beer landed a $20 million credit line and a private equity firm acquired Canworks, among the beer-industry headlines Brewbound rounded up from its Insider Newsletter for October 12-16. The roundup also covered breweries taking home medals at the 2026 Great American Beer Festival.
Brewbound |
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Non-alcoholic wine dollar sales rose 15.6% and volume climbed 11.6% in the latest four weeks ending June 6, 2026, per NIQ's BevAl market report, which tied the gains to ongoing moderation trends.
winebusiness |
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Ningxia State Farm Group has proposed selling its 40% stake in Chandon (Ningxia) Vineyard Co, a grape-production joint venture formed in 2011 to supply Chandon's Chinese sparkling operations, in which Moët Hennessy holds 60%; per Vino Joy News, the stake is listed at a starting price of CNY1 (US$0.15) through an online auction after a 20-working-day notice period ending October 22, with the venture's liabilities said to exceed assets by more than RMB17m. Moët Hennessy said the vineyard's "original scale and structure no longer fully reflect our current needs" and that the stake is "entirely separate" from the entity producing Chandon, with "no impact" on the brand.
Drinks Intel |
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Sun Cruiser is winning in the independent on-premise channel while Super Lyte is sourcing share from beer, per NIQ data. Competition in the vodka-based tea and lemonade segment is fierce, with many brands offering similar flavors, pack formats, and packaging built on light color palettes and sun imagery.
Brewbound |
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RX Deutschland will run Bar Convent Berlin as a two-day show on 4 and 5 October 2027, down from three days, citing event data showing the first two days matter most for business and networking. This year's 20th-anniversary edition drew around 11,000 visitors and over 400 exhibitors, down from around 12,100 visitors and roughly 566 exhibitors in 2025.
Drinks Intel |
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The global value of status spirits (bottles retailing at US$100-plus, excluding baijiu) fell 10% in 2025, a second straight annual decline, with China's high-end market down 25% and Cognac off 17%, per IWSR's Status Spirits Strategic Study 2026. Agave was the only category to grow, up 2%, while US$100-plus Scotch slipped 9% and the US market fell 6%.
The Spirits Business |
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The US Alcohol Policy Alliance says alcohol marketing on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, along with sweet crossover collaborations such as BuzzBallz x Pop-Tarts and Cinnabon's pre-mixed cocktail with BeatBox, risks appealing to underage consumers by borrowing brand recognition built among children. Discus rejected the arguments as "false assertions," citing its Code of Responsible Practices and age-gating work with social media platforms.
The Spirits Business |
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Molson Coors, maker of Carling and Madrí, reported a 4.2% drop in UK turnover to £1.56bn for the year ended December 31, 2025. The brewer tied the decline to soft beer market conditions, weaker on-trade demand, and cost-of-living pressures.
MCA Insight |
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Whole Foods Market released its 2027 trend predictions, naming eight trends it expects to shape grocery shelves, kitchens, and dining tables in the year ahead.
winebusiness |
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Beckstoffer removed 800 acres of grapevines in Lake County and 400 acres in Mendocino County as it scales back its wine grape operations. At its peak the grower farmed 4,000 acres of wine grapes across the two counties and Napa.
winebusiness |
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Coterie Holdings-owned fine-wine importer The Wine Experience will acquire Berry Bros & Rudd's Japan wholesale division, including most of the producers it represents there; terms were not disclosed. Berry Bros keeps its private client division, which it formed in 2008, and chair Lizzy Rudd said the sale lets it focus on private client service across Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan.
Drinks Intel |
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Consumers over 45 buy 85% of the wine sold by volume in Britain, according to Wine Industry Advisor.
Wine Industry Advisor |
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IWSR's Global Trends Report 2026 finds cultural connection reshaping what "premium" means in beverage alcohol, with soju building US presence on Korean media interest, the spritz leaning on Italian lifestyle appeal, and agave spirits lifted by appreciation for Mexican culture. Soju volumes outside South Korea rose 9% in 2025 against a 2% home-market decline, and US soju is projected to grow at a 14% CAGR through 2030 while overall US spirits fall at a -1% CAGR; global tequila grew at a 7% CAGR from 2019 to 2025, with Colombia up 26% last year.
Drinks Intel |
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The Portman Group upheld a public complaint against AB InBev's RTD brand BeatBox, ruling its Blue Razzberry, Fruit Punch, Juicy Mango and Orange Blast flavours breached rules on appealing to under-18s and communicating the drinks' alcoholic nature, citing the brand typography, 330ml Tetra Pak format and sweet fruit flavours. BeatBox said it disputes the conclusions but has worked with the body to modify the packaging.
Just Drinks |
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The Martini's current ubiquity, especially vodka-based Dirty and Espresso versions, is reviving interest in vodka, with NielsenIQ BeverageTrak data cited by Smirnoff showing the Martini rose 29% in US popularity in Q4 2025. Vodka is also outperforming the broader spirits category in the US per WSWA's SipSource, which reported overall spirits depletions down 5.3% in July 2026 versus a 4% decline for vodka; globally IWSR recorded a 2% vodka volume drop between 2024 and 2025 against a 1% rise in value.
The Spirits Business |
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Jancis Robinson, lead author of the World Atlas of Wine, told Wine Industry Advisor she remains optimistic about wine despite the sector's current challenges.
Wine Industry Advisor |
