News Briefs for September 5, 2012
September 5, 2012•Italian wine producer Caposaldo has unveiled new packaging to coincide with the release of three new sparkling wines to its portfolio. The additions include Sweet Moscato, Sweet Pink Merlot Moscato and Sweet Red Sparkling, all of which are priced at $15.99 a 750-ml. They join a portfolio that already includes Prosecco, Chianti, Pinot Grigio and Moscato. The new bottle design features a repeating pattern of a double horse head silkscreened on a blue bottle for Sweet Moscato and clear bottles for other two new varietals. Imported by Kobrand Corp. in the U.S., Caposaldo’s volume grew 15% in 2011 to 105,000 nine-liter cases, according to Impact Databank.
•Campari America’s Skyy vodka has tapped chef Marcus Samuelsson to serve as the brand’s first-ever culinary ambassador. Under the partnership—which runs through December 2012—Samuelsson will focus on sharing easy-to-make, high-quality cocktail recipes from his Captivating Cocktails program with consumers, in addition to a variety of small plates designed for food and cocktail pairings. Cocktails featured in the program include the chef’s Basil Gimlet, The Savoy and White Sangria. A James Beard award winner and “Top Chef Masters” champion, Samuelsson is also the owner and chef of New York City’s Red Rooster restaurant in Harlem.
•Sazerac’s Buffalo Trace Distillery is set to release the 2012 Antique Collection in the U.S. later this month. This year’s edition will feature five limited-release whiskies of various ages and recipes—Eagle Rare 17 Year Old, George T. Stagg, Sazerac Rye 18 Year Old, Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye and William Larue Weller. All five will be priced around $70. The Antique Collection has been released annually since 2000, offering a different variety of whiskies each time. Buffalo Trace also released a new small-batch rye whiskey, Colonel E. H. Taylor Straight Rye, late last month. Selling for around $69.99 a 750-ml. bottle, Taylor rye is a 50%-abv mix of malted barley and rye with no corn.
•Following the completion of his contract with MGM Grand Detroit, chef Michael Mina will be shuttering his two restaurants, Saltwater and Bourbon Steak, in the hotel/casino to make way for two new Wolfgang Puck restaurants, Wolfgang Puck Pizzeria & Cucina and Wolfgang Puck Steak. The former eatery will serve classic Italian dishes and signature pizzas along with Italian wines, domestic and international beers and original cocktails. Wolfgang Puck Steak is a new, contemporary steak house concept created for the MGM Grand Detroit that will offer various meat and fish dishes, as well as international wines and artisan cocktails. Both restaurants’ kitchens will be helmed by chef Marc Djozlija, who has been with the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group for more than 10 years. At press time, MGM Grand Detroit hadn’t yet released a timeline for when Mina’s restaurants will officially close and Puck’s restaurants will open.
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