China will become 2nd largest consumer and 6th largest producer of wines by 2016
China will import wine at a slower pace as the country's domestic wine production increases - while the world's most populous nation is set to become the world’s second-biggest wine consumer by 2016. Domestic production of wine in China is set to rise... Competition...
Effort building to change US pot laws – industry could be regulated like alcohol beverages – oversight would move from DEA to TTB
An effort is building in Congress to change U.S. marijuana laws, including moves to legalize the industrial production of hemp and establish a hefty federal pot tax. While passage this year could be a longshot, lawmakers from both parties have been quietly working on...
Diet soft drinks might be more dangerous as an alcohol mixer than regular soft drinks
Cutting calories with diet soda may seem like a good idea -- as long as it's not at a bar. A new study released in the journal Alcoholism suggests that cutting alcoholic drinks with diet soda makes them more potent than using their full-calorie counterparts....
World spirits consumption is set to increase 9% over the period 2012-2016, buoyed by 14% growth in Baijiu sales
World spirits consumption is set to increase 9% over the period 2012-2016, buoyed by 14% growth in Baijiu sales, according to IWSR research commissioned by Vinexpo. The market report, which was presented at the Vinexpo Bordeaux 2013 press conference in London today,...
Sunday liquor sales debate on tap again in Minnesota Legislature
Thirsty for change, Minnesota legislators plan to try once more to lift the state's long-standing ban on Sunday liquor sales. The Legislature debates Sunday liquor sales regularly, but every year the blue laws remain firmly in place. This year's effort is being driven...
Fight for happy hour in Massachusetts continues – alcohol regulators say happy hours should remain banned
Repealing the state’s ban on happy hours would be economically and socially detrimental and would not substantially protect restaurants from losing business to casinos, says a report by alcohol regulators. Some lawmakers had floated the idea of rolling back...
Active Duty Military could drink at 18 under proposed law – law would change the definition of ‘a minor’ for the purpose of the state liquor code
A measure introduced in the Texas Legislature would lower the legal drinking age to 18---for members of the active duty U.S. military. State Rep J.M. Lozano (R-Kingsville) would rewrite the state Liquor Code to declare that a person who is 18 or older and 'is a member...
Prohibition slowly ending – last of U.S. dry towns loosening up to alcohol sales
The rural Upstate New York town of Seneca largely lives and dies by income from its landfill. Yet that county landfill is due to close in 2028, so the town — about halfway between Syracuse and Rochester — had to start thinking about other ways to pay for government...
Lawmaker proposals could undercut privatization efforts in Pennsylvania
While state lawmakers consider Gov. Tom Corbett's plan to privatize wine and liquor sales, at least eight members have introduced proposals to change Pennsylvania's alcohol laws. Dozens of measures aim to “modernize” wine and liquor sales and change what liquor...