News Briefs for March 3, 2023

•Chicago-based Monaco has expanded its line of vodka-based canned cocktails with a new strawberry lemonade flavored offering. The 9% abv cocktail is the third lemonade-flavored release from Monaco, joining original and peach lemonade flavors. Monaco Hard Lemonades are available across the U.S. for around $2.50 to $3 per 12-ounce can. Last year, Monaco’s overall portfolio was up nearly 34% to over 2.5 million cases in the U.S., according to Impact Databank.

•Napa Valley’s Rombauer Vineyards is entering the Pinot Noir segment, debuting at 2021 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir ($65). To source grapes for the new offering, Rombauer partnered with renowned Pinot Noir maker Adam Lee, and sourced from locations owned by the Franscioni and Pisoni families. For Rombauer, known for Chardonnay, this marks the first portfolio expansion since the producer added Sauvignon Blanc in 2014. Rombauer farms nearly 900 acres of vineyards across Carneros, Atlas Peak, Stags Leap, St. Helena, Calistoga, Sonoma Valley, and the Sierra Foothills.

•Denver, Colorado-based Laws Whiskey House is launching its 2023 Bottled In Bond Four Grain Bourbon. A tradition since 2016, this year’s release is aged eight years and was made with a mashbill of 60% corn, 20% heirloom wheat, 10% heirloom rye, and 10% heirloom malted barley. Divided between two batches, a total of 37 barrels were aged for the release. It’s bottled at 50% abv and is available this month in key markets nationwide for $80 a 750-ml. Laws Whiskey House was founded in 2011.

•Napa Valley-based Cakebread Cellars acquired the Ahmann vineyard property from Jackson Family Wines for an undisclosed sum. Located in the Carneros AVA, the 209-acre vineyard doubles Cakebread’s holdings there, joining five others. Cakebread plans to implement organic and regenerative farming techniques as it plants 174 acres of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, with the other 35 acres continuing with their current plantings of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

•Hampton Water has named Michael Misiorski as CEO. A veteran of Sagamore Spirit, Edrington, Stoli Group USA, Bacardi, and Absolut, Misiorski will now look to spearhead growth for Hampton Water, the rosé brand founded by Jesse Bongiovi and his father, Jon Bon Jovi, and made in partnership with Gerard Bertrand.

•Beam Suntory is launching a pilot program to explore regenerative agricultural practices at its Casa Sauza agave fields in Jalisco, Mexico. In partnership with environmental company Red BioTerra, the program will try to increase carbon capture in the fields by introducing additional plants, which absorb carbon during the day, between rows of agave, which absorbs carbon at night to avoid water loss. If successful, this method is expected to neutralize 50% of Casa Sauza’s emissions by 2026, and 100% by 2030. The program is in line with Beam Suntory’s Proof Positive sustainability agenda and goal of achieving net-zero emission in direct operations by 2030.

Tagged : Beam Suntory, Cakebread, Casa Sauza, Hampton Water, Laws Whiskey House, Monaco, Rombauer

GET YOUR FIRST LOOK AT 2021 DATA AND 2022 PROJECTIONS FOR THE WINE AND SPIRITS INDUSTRIES. ORDER YOUR 2022 IMPACT DATABANK REPORTS. CLICK HERE.