[BND] Kane's Beverage News Daily

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday, July 28, 2025

Brown-Forman Rejects Another Offer from Sazerac

Brown-Forman Corp. closed the door to Sazerac Co. and any other would-be acquirer with a simple statement in which Wolf Pen Branch, "a collection of Brown family members representing the majority of Brown-Forman Class A shares," stated its opposition to a sale. Brown-Forman has a two-class share structure. Class A shares are the only shares with voting rights, so if Wolf Pen Branch says its not interested in a sale, there won't be a sale. Brown-Forman's board dutifully followed soon thereafter

New York State's 2d-Largest Winery Purchased, Operations to Be Restored

Vine Enterprises LLC, a private equity firm from Carmel, Ind. will acquire and take over operation of the historic Pleasant Valley Winery. Including the cost of redeveloping and restoring the winery, which closed last year, the transaction is valued at about $47 million. Before it closed, Pleasant Valley was the second largest winery in New York State. Founded in 1860, it was the first federally bonded winery in the U.S. and was legally able to market its sparkling wines as "champagne." For ma

Toasts Not Tariffs:Trump's 50% Tariffs Underscore Troubling Reality

If President Trump thought he would win plaudits by imposing a 50% tariff on wine and spirits from Canada effective Aug. 19, he was sadly mistaken. President Trump's proclamation imposing a 50% tariff on wine and spirits from Canada beginning Aug. 19 "underscores a troubling reality: the beverage alcohol and hospitality sectors continue to be caught in the middle of trade conflicts it did not create," said the Toasts Not Tariffs Coalition in a statement. "For more than a year now, American win

RNDC Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Act Protection

Republic National Distributing Co. said it filed for Bankruptcy Act protection under Chapter 11 "to explore potential sale transactions in court and implement an orderly wind down of our remaining operations." The filing includes its Alaskan joint venture. It said National Distributing Company, Inc. is not part of the chapter 11 filing. Nor are its joint ventures in New York, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky. Martignetti Cos. previously agreed to acquire RNDC's operations in Ohio

Wildfires within 9 Miles of Bordeaux; No Wineries or Vineyards Damaged Yet

As of late Monday night, according to official updates from the Bordeaux Wine Council (CIVB), no major wineries or vineyards have been physically breached or destroyed by the flames. That's because the fires are primarily burning through the coastal pine forests of the Landes de Casccogne, not the vineyards themselves. The dense concentration of clay, limestone, and gravel vineyard soils—cleared of heavily combustible brush—acts as a natural firebreak. Bordeaux is the capital city of the Giron

Vineyard Losses Reported in Spain from Wildfires

Meanwhile, Natasja Mallory, who runs GregoryVine's office in Madrid, reported vineyard losses in Sierra de Gredos, the home of old-vine Garnacha. Among the vineyards known to be damaged is San Gregorio, a historic parcel owned by Bodega El Reventón, the winery founded by Adrianna Catena, Alejandro Vigil and Gearóid Lane. Lane said the estate had suffered major damage in the vineyard, whose fruit is used for one of its two single-parcel wines. He said the team was assessing the extent of the har

Summer Demand Fades, Cooling Total Bev/Al Sales

Another week, another down report on total bev/al sales from NIQ. Reporting on the four weeks ended July 18, NIQ said total alcohol sales fell 3% from a year earlier to $9.1 billion. Case volume totaled 181.9 million, down 4.8% from a year earlier. On a weekly basis, NIQ said, "dollar sales continued to soften," falling 3.1% to $2.1 billion from the week ended July 11. "With Independence Day celebrations and the FIFA World Cup now in the rearview mirror, alcohol demand moderated through mid-Ju

What We're Reading --

Napa Winemakers' Call of the Wild Once a successful Napa vineyard, Clark-Claudon Vineyards is being gifted back to Mother Nature. (Wine-Searcher/W. Blake Gray)

Thanks for reading. I'll be back tomorrow. – Joel