News Briefs for June 10, 2024

•Languedoc winemaker Gérard Bertrand is debuting a new line of organic, unfiltered wines called Trouble XP. Launching at Whole Foods on the 4th of July, Trouble XP includes white (Chardonnay, Grenache Blanc, Viognier), rosé (Syrah, Grenache Noir), and red (Grenache Noir, Syrah) blends retailing at $25 a bottle. The vegan wines skip the post-fermentation filtering process and have suspended particles and a cloudy appearance. Gérard Bertrand’s namesake brand has U.S. volume of around 550,000 cases annually.

•Knob Creek 10 Year Old Rye, Crown Royal Single Malt, Highland Park Cask Strength No. 5, and newcomers from Green River and Rebel are among the offerings featured in Whisky Advocate’s latest weekly roundup. The website has all the details.

•TK Mulligan, a new RTD brand founded by industry veteran Mark Giordano, has launched across Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia. It includes two vodka-based RTDs, The Transfusion and The Crush, both line-priced ($13 a four-pack of 375-ml. cans) and containing natural fruit juices and cane sugar. At 5% abv, each can contains 8 grams of sugar, 8 carbs, and 139 calories. The brand has also secured an exclusive placement at the US Open of Golf this month at Pinehurst in North Carolina. More markets will follow, with Opici Family Distributing to handle the brand in New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, DC and Delaware early this summer. Giordano is president of Opici Wines & Spirits, but TK Mulligan is his own brand.

•Breakthru Beverage Group is adding Origami Sake to its portfolio in Colorado, Florida, Missouri and Nevada. Origami is based in Hot Springs, Arkansas in the Ouachita Mountains, and made using locally sourced rice and water. The brand carries two varieties, Thousand Cranes and White Lotus. Origami Sake president Matt Bell said the move furthers the company’s goals of expanding production and building a national footprint.

•Chile’s Viña Santa Rita has named Javier Bitar Hirmas as CEO effective August 1, replacing Andrés Lavados. Bitar Hirmas was previously CEO of fellow Chilean wine group VSPT. Andrés Lavados Germain has been CEO of Viña Santa Rita for the past 10 years. With annual production of 9 million cases, the company’s cellars are located in Alto Jahuel, in the Maipo Valley.

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