INDUSTRY NEWS

Proposal To Reduce Legal Driving Limit To 0.05% BAC Attracts Wide-Ranging Opposition- The National Transportation Safety Board’s proposal for the legal limit for a driver’s blood-alcohol content to be reduced to 0.05% has attracted a torrent of criticism—both from likely and unlikely sources.

Premium Boxed Wine Thrives, As Black Box Nears 3 Million Cases- The premium three-liter boxed wine segment continues to enjoy strong momentum in the U.S., up 25% by value and 27% by volume in the 52 weeks. It has consistently been led by Constellation’s Black Box, which last year reached nearly 2.7 million nine-liter cases on 29% growth, earning Impact “Hot Brand” status.

California Winery Ages Wine in Ocean- A winery is aging it's wine where no U.S. bottle has gone before: at the bottom of the ocean. Mira Winery, based in the Napa Valley, will drop four cases of 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon off the coast of the Charleston, S.C., harbor in specially-designed cages today.

Master Distiller for Jameson Irish Whiskey, Set to Retire- Irish Distillers has announced that Barry Crockett, master distiller for Jameson Irish whiskey, is set to retire this March. Crockett, who spent a total of 47 years at the Cork-based Midleton Distillery and served as its master distiller for 31 years, will be succeeded by his protégé Brian Nation. Earlier this week, Whisky Advocate awarded Crockett its Lifetime Achievement Award, citing his contributions to both Midleton and the general rise of the Irish whiskey segment.

Whisky Advocate Names Highland Single Malt Of The Year- Whisky Advocate has named Glenmorangie Pride 1981 as its Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky of the Year. The 56.7%-abv product retails at $3,500 a liter. The individual winners from the 19th annual installment of the Whisky Advocate Awards are being unveiled one day at a time at WhiskyAdvocateBlog.com, and will also be featured in the magazine’s upcoming Spring edition, due out March 1.

Festa Italiana's 35th Anniversary & LoDuca Wines- Festa Italiana is pulling out the stops to mark its 35th anniversary of being one big family reunion. New this year is wine tasting, courtesy of LoDuca Brothers Wine. Wine flights from Italy and the Napa Valley vineyard owned by IndyCar racer Mario Andretti will be offered. The tasting is accompanied with a short but sweet wine lesson.

Justin Vineyards Focuses On Quality With New Vineyards, Winemaker, Label - Since Justin Vineyards & Winery was sold to Fiji Water owners Lynda and Stewart Resnick in November 2010, the 100,000-case Paso Robles property has focused on wine quality and improving operations.

Black Box Looks To Maintain Double-Digit Growth - Premium boxed wine pioneer Black Box crossed 2 million cases in U.S. depletions last year, even as competition in the small but fast-growing boxed wine segment intensified. This year, Constellation-owned Black Box expects to maintain double-digit growth through new line extensions and packaging innovations.

Sobieski Is Fastest Vodka Ever To 1 Million Cases - Sobieski vodka brand shipped more than 1 million cases in the U.S. during the 2011 fiscal year, making it the fastest vodka ever to reach that mark, according to Impact Databank.

Beam To Unveil Two Red Stag Extensions For 2012 - Beam Inc. will add two new extensions to its fast-growing Red Stag flavored Bourbon brand next year: Red Stag Spice and Red Stag Honey Tea.

Trinchero Adding To Hot Brand Success - Trinchero Family Estates has three Impact “Hot Brands” in its portfolio: Sutter Home, Ménage à Trois and Sycamore Lane.

With Ice, Size Matters-  From shards to spheres, using the right shape can turn great drinks into extraordinary ones!

Fortune Brings Skinnygirl Into Fold-  Fortune Brands Inc., seeking to capitalize on the emerging market of low-calorie cocktails, has acquired the Skinnygirl brand created by reality-television star Bethenny Frankel.

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