In a move designed to expand its presence in the beer market Guala will acquire crown closures manufacturer Astir Vitogiannis. Guala Closures has confirmed it has signed an agreement to buy Astir Vitogiannis (which has production units in Greece and South Africa) as part of a bid to strengthen its position in the beer sector. According to Guala, the agreed enterprise value for the acquisition is approximately €136 million. A leading manufacturer of crown closures often found atop glass beer bottles, Astor Vitogiannis makes more than 12 billion closures per year and generated a turnover of €75 ..read more

The banker-turned-bartender who founded Stilldistilling Spirits, the producer of Maka Zai Rum, reveals what’s so special about Indian-made drinks, and talks us through her favourite feta-infused cocktail. Before launching Stilldistilling Spirits you were a banker for 16 years. Why did you change career? “In 2019, I decided to pursue a bartending course to immerse myself in the art of mixology. While gin was gaining popularity at the time, I was curious about the artisanal rum market, given the undercurrents taking place globally, and India’s abundance of sugarcane, which acts as the foundation ..read more

According to newly filed company accounts, Bacardi, which currently owns a 79% stake in Teeling Whiskey, may have the option to buy the remaining shares in the business. But will it bite? In 2017 Dublin-based Teeling Whiskey sold a 40% share in its business to spirits giant Bacardi, which has since grown its interest in the Irish company to total a 79% stake. The latest batch of Teeling shares were snapped up by Bacardi in November 2022 for €44.8 million. According to The Irish Times, some cryptic wording in the latest accounts for Teelco Investments Ltd suggest that at the start of 2023 cert ..read more

Aldi is boosting its occasional 'wine of the week' promotion to become a weekly event as competition hots up between the retailers.  Until now, this particular promotional mechanic was reserved for seasonal calendar dates such as Christmas, Easter and bank holidays - with notable success, such as the Specially Selected Cairanne, which sold out in just four days after it was  reduced a whopping 65% at Christmas, from £8.99 to £3.49, despite a two-bottle purchase limit. The team is now rolling out the offer out as a new weekly promotion, with a 23% saving on its first line, a Specially ..read more

Pernod Ricard brand Sainte Marguerite en Provence has announced plans to acquire the Aux Terres de Ravel estate. The move will see the rosé specialist and cru classé Côtes de Provence château, owned by the Fayard family and Pernod Ricard, buy the estate and 280 hectares of vineyards under the proposal. It will also see the sale of 20 hectares to young winegrowers as part of Société d’Aménagement Foncier et d’Etablissement Rural (SAFER) support programme. The château, which produces brand including the Symphonie, Fantastique and Marguerite en Provence vintages, will now cover more than 500 hec ..read more

A cocktail brand has claimed to have worked out the exact best date to start alfresco drinking in the UK. NIO Cocktails, a ready-to-drink cocktail brand, made the move to discover when drinkers across the country were most likely to be able to enjoy boozing outside after the cold winter months have come to a close. The brand compiled weather information including maximum temperature, total rainfall and the maximum wind speed in London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff for every day last year from the beginning of January until the end of December. An average was then calculated for each calenda ..read more

Matteo Fantacchiotti, the new chief executive of Davide Campari-Milano, has lost no time in setting out his objectives for the Italian group. Barely a week after taking over from Bob Kunze-Concewitz, Fantacchiotti, has trained his sights on growing the business in Asia and in China especially. Given the slowdown in growth in the Chinese market for imported alcohol affecting the major groups over the past six months, that may raise a few eyebrows, especially as baijiu takes 95% of the expanding deman, but Fantacchiotti knows the region well, having previously headed Asia for Campari. And his s ..read more

Pernod Ricard brand Sainte Marguerite en Provence has announced plans to acquire the Aux Terres de Ravel estate. The move will see the rosé specialist and cru classé Côtes de Provence château, owned by the Fayard family and Pernod Ricard, buy the estate and 280 hectares of vineyards under the proposal. It will also see the sale of 20 hectares to young winegrowers as part of Société d’Aménagement Foncier et d’Etablissement Rural (SAFER) support programme. The château, which produces brand including the Symphonie, Fantastique and Marguerite en Provence vintages, will now cover more than 500 hec ..read more

Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) urges wineries to sign up to VolunteerNapa and dedicate 24 hours of time to help plug a gap in volunteers in the US wine region.  Winemakers' group Napa Valley Vintners said it had "identified the need for more volunteerism" in Napa, and has rallied wineries to contribute more to their local community. "The last four years has seen a decline in volunteerism due to disasters and the COVID pandemic," said Ines DeLuna, director of the Centre for Volunteer & Nonprofit Leadership (CVNL), which has a branch in Napa Valley. "As many non-profits have reopened their ..read more

The Riojan winery has collected five Master medals in the Global Masters, entering the top ranking of wineries with the most awards in the history of the competition. Founded in 1989 and located in the centre of Samaniego, Álava, Remírez de Ganuza makes contemporary Rioja wines. The winery has 80 hectares of its own vineyards spread over 240 plots in different locations in the foothills of Sierra Cantabria. The wines are characterised by their complexity, elegance, balance and ageing capacity. Specialising in Reservas and Gran Reservas, the collection includes revered old vintages that gain a ..read more