News Briefs for April 2, 2024
April 1, 2024•Livermore, California’s Wente Family Estates has named Christine Wente as chairman of the board, with current chairman Carolyn Wente becoming chairman emeritus.Christine steps into her new role with 24 years of experience with Wente, including 13 years on the board. She has worked in sales and marketing roles, as well as leading the Wente family’s hospitality business. Retiring chair Carolyn worked for the company for 45 years, including tenures as president and CEO. Christine’s promotion marks the fifth generation of the Wente family leading the company’s board.
•California’s Bonterra, part of Viña Concha y Toro, has launched a new Sauvignon Blanc, made from organically farmed, estate grown grapes in Mendocino. The wine is the first Sauvignon Blanc from the Bonterra Estate Collection and comes in at 13.5% with a suggested retail price of $22 a bottle. With this new Sauvignon Blanc, Bonterra is continuing its commitment to organic farming, with its estate vineyards receiving the regenerative organic certification from Regenerative Organic Alliance. Last year, Bonterra was at 469,000 cases in the U.S., according to Impact Databank, with the Estate Collection at 12,000 cases.
•Kavalan Distillery has debuted Triple Sherry Cask, composed of Kavalan single malt whiskies aged in oloroso, Pedro Ximénez, and moscatel casks. The Taiwanese distillery, which will be 20 years old next year, is known to invest in top-quality sherry casks. This is the first new release since Kavalan brought its cask strength single cask releases back to the U.S. at the end of 2023. Bottled at 43% and priced at $100, Kavalan Triple Sherry Cask is fully matured in the individual casks before being brought together in marrying vats to allow the whiskies to integrate. Whisky Advocate has more.
•Ian Urquhart, 76, former managing director of Gordon & MacPhail, passed away on March 15, 2024. The eldest child of George Urquhart, he revived Benromach Distillery in 1998, changing the destiny of the company from independent bottlers to Scotch whisky distillers. He began working for the family business in 1967 and served as their managing director for 15 years until 2007, a remarkable lifetime spent in the Scotch whisky trade that witnessed Gordon & MacPhail pioneer the growth of single malt whiskies through their independent bottlings in the 1960s to the release of the world’s first 80 year old single malt Scotch in 2021.
Subscribe to Shanken News Daily’s Email Newsletter, delivered to your inbox each morning.
