News Briefs for February 5, 2024
February 5, 2024•Pernod Ricard’s Irish Distillers has released the next innovation in its Method and Madness series with an expression finished in virgin Garryana oak barrels. Quercus garryana, or Garry oak, grows in the Pacific Northwest in a narrow band stretching from British Columbia to California. Whiskey consumers will be most familiar with this uncommon species of oak thanks to Westland Distillery in Seattle, who first released Westland Garryana American single malt in 2016 as an expression of Pacific Northwest terroir: their 8th edition was the No. 3 whisky of 2023 in the Whisky Advocate Top 20. Beyond Westland, few other companies have released Garryana oak-finished whiskeys until now. Whisky Advocate has the full story.
•New York-based importer and marketer Dreyfus Ashby & Co. is adding Francis Ford Coppola’s Domaine Lumineux to its portfolio. Formerly named Domaine de Broglie, Lumineux is located on what was formerly Vista Hills Vineyard in the Dundee Hills of Oregon’s Willamette Valley. It has 42 acres of certified sustainable vineyards. Production is currently 6,000 cases, distributed only direct-to-consumer previously. The move marks another link between Coppola and Dreyfus Ashby—owned by Burgundy’s Drouhin family—which already represents Coppola’s Inglenook and its Rubicon label from Napa Valley, along with the Niebaum-Pennino portfolio.
•Livermore Valley, California’s Wente Vineyards is introducing a new permanent addition to its portfolio, Wente Vineyards Mount Diablo Highlands Red Blend. Retailing at $20, the newcomer is a blend of 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Petit Verdot, 16% Merlot, 11% Barbera, 11% Tempranillo, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 9% Malbec from Wente’s family vineyards. It’s named for Mount Diablo, which rises over the Livermore Valley at 3,849 feet, approximately 30 miles east of San Francisco. The new wine is part of Wente’s Coastal Vineyard series and is rolling out nationally.
•Diageo is extending Astral Tequila with a new ready-to-serve Margarita. Made with blanco Tequila, lime juice, and triple sec, it’s available nationwide in 350-ml. ($14) and 750-ml. ($26) sizes, serving four and eight cocktails per glass bottle, respectively, with an average abv of 20% The new entry joins Ketel One Espresso Martini, Ketel One Cosmopolitan, Bulleit Old Fashioned, Bulleit Manhattan, and Tanqueray Negroni in Diageo’s ready-to-serve cocktail collection.
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