News Briefs for March 28, 2017

•The Boisset Collection is launching a new sparkling wine brand, Haute Couture French Bubbles. A blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay sourced from terroirs throughout France, the new entry seeks to mix the worlds of wine and high fashion, sporting bottles with a modern, textured design. Boisset’s new Haute Couture French Bubbles brand is rolling out nationwide, retailing at $30 a 750-ml. and $25 a two-pack of 187-ml. bottles.

•Purchasing a ticket for an event like the theater, a baseball game or a music concert is standard procedure. But what about for a restaurant? An increasing number of restaurateurs believe that pre-purchasing a ticket for a meal in lieu of a reservation is the future. But does the system serve diners as well as it serves chefs? The most recent convert is the French Laundry, which switched its reservation system to the software Tock on March 20. Diners can now find three months’ worth of reservation slots for Thomas Keller’s Wine Spectator Grand Award–winning restaurant in Napa Valley. Wine Spectator has the full story.

•Ste. Michelle Wine Estates has named Russell Joy as vice president of its California operations, effective April 7. Joy will oversee operations at Ste. Michelle’s Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in Napa, Patz & Hall in Sonoma and Conn Creek Winery in St. Helena. For the past 11 years, Joy has served as vice president and general manager for Patz & Hall, which Ste. Michelle acquired last spring.

•Napa’s Beaulieu Vineyard, part of the Treasury Wine Estates portfolio, has appointed Trevor Durling as general manager and winemaker. Durling, who becomes Beaulieu’s fifth winemaker since its founding in 1900, replaces Jeffrey Stambor, who has been with the winery for three decades. Stambor will stay on as a brand ambassador for the next few months during the transition. Durling has been chief winemaker for Treasury’s Hewitt and Provenance brands since 2015.

Tagged : Beaulieu Vineyard, Boisset Collection, Chateau Ste. Michelle, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, The French Laundry, Treasury Wine Estates

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