YOU'RE INVITED! Wine Business Group Roundtable This month, join AWG Wine Advisors and Women for WineSense at Emeritus Vineyards to enjoy complimentary wine, snack on hors d'oeuvres, discuss trending industry topics, network, and hear from this meeting's guest speaker, Jeff Clark! WHEN: February 19th 4 - 6pm WHERE: Emeritus Vineyards Sebastopol, CA MEET THE SPEAKER Jeff Clark is a commercial and private banking veteran with extensive lending experience to the wine/beer/spirits industry nationwide, ranging from small, family operations to publicly traded companies.  His company, Bear Republic Capital, provides debt and equity sources from a broad network of providers.  As a speaker, Jeff has presented at various organizations, including CalCPA, the American Craft Spirits Association, and the Craft Beverage Expo. 

76 Restaurants from across the country and Mexico receive inaugural ‘Magnum Award’  SANTA ROSA, Calif. (September 2, 2025) – Seventy-six restaurants spanning from Graton, California, to Greenwich, Connecticut, are being honored with the 2025 Sonoma County Magnum Award for their exceptional support and promotion of Sonoma County wines.  Earlier this year, Sonoma County Winegrowers launched this new initiative to recognize restaurants that demonstrate outstanding support for Sonoma County wines and showcasing Sonoma County as a world-class wine region. Each restaurant will receive a uniquely etched magnum bottle, symbolizing their role as an ambassador for Sonoma County’s farmers, winemakers, and wines. During the year, Sonoma County wineries submitted nominations of restaurants they felt were deserving of recognition. Input was also provided by partners, trade, and sommeliers from throughout the country. Restaurants were selected based on key crit

Wine and Spirits Makers Have Access to 75% of US Market May 12, 2025 – LibDib, the leading digital alcohol distribution platform, in partnership with Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC), proudly announces the expansion of RNDC On Demand to six new markets: Florida, Virginia (wine only), Washington D.C., Maryland, Colorado, Illinois, and South Carolina. This strategic rollout provides wine and spirits producers—from emerging brands to established suppliers—with more choices to access key markets through a flexible, tech-enabled distribution model. “Suppliers deserve options, and RNDC On Demand provides flexibility and control,” said Dean Parker, Director of the On Demand program for LibDib and RNDC. “Together, we’re expanding a modern path to market that empowers suppliers to grow at their own pace, backed by RNDC’s logistics and service excellence.” Powered by LibDib’s proven digita

Sonoma, CA, April 22, 2025 – Free Flow Wines announced the winners of the 12th annual KEGGY Awards, honoring wine on tap leaders for their extraordinary environmental impact and commitment to sustainability. For the first time, the awards are being celebrated in April to align with Earth Month, reinforcing Free Flow’s mission to drive a more sustainable future for the wine industry with reusable steel kegs – a truly zero-waste package. Additionally, Free Flow expanded award categories this year to also recognize winery partners who have saved over 50K and 2MM bottles from the landfill.  “We changed the award schedule to Earth Month to reflect one of our core values: sustainability.” said Rich Bouwer, CEO of Free Flow Wines. “It is an exciting time to be talking about our wine on tap partners. Despite ongoing challenges in the alcohol beverage sector, keg shipments through Free Flow Wines have continued to grow—proving that wine on tap is n

Popular Agency Expands to Cover Texas Wineries WineGlass Marketing, LLC announces today the expansion of its services into Texas with the addition of a presence in Austin. Effective immediately, the popular marketing agency will provide on-the-ground assistance to clients throughout the thriving Texas wine regions, including the Hill Country and beyond. Keith KennySusan DeMatei, President of WineGlass Marketing, expressed her enthusiasm, stating, “We are excited to extend our reach into the Lonestar state. Texas has a dynamic wine scene, and its spirit of innovation and the growing consumer interest in Texas wines make it a perfect match for our agency’s expertise.” She continued, “Having a dedicated presence in Austin allows us to truly understand the unique challenges and opportunities within the Texas wine market.” The agency states that the initial cornerstones of services for the Austin area will be web development and social media. Two of the agency

Wine on tap programs nationwide are recognized for collectively saving more than 38 million bottles from the landfill with the use of reusable steel kegs to support their wine on tap programs.  Sonoma, CA, July 24, 2024 – Free Flow Wines has announced 7 new winners at the 11th annual KEGGY Awards, recognizing the exceptional impacts these partners have made in reducing waste from the landfill and CO2 emissions. The KEGGY Awards were created in 2014 to recognize winery partners for their commitment to sustainability by choosing reusable stainless-steel kegs – a truly zero-waste package. Each Free Flow keg holds the equivalent of 26 bottles of wine and will eliminate approximately 1,560 bottles from the landfill over its lifetime. As of today, Free Flow Wines and their partners have saved more than 38 million bottles, or 58 million pounds of waste, from the landfills and the equivalent of over 69 million pounds of CO2 from the atmosphere. Each reusable steel keg will sav

JUNE 28, 2024 – Winners have been announced in the 17th annual Women’s International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWWSC). The competition, which took place June 10-12 in Santa Rosa, Calif., was founded on the premise that the majority of wine purchased for home consumption is bought by women. The IWWSC judging panels consist entirely of professional women in the wine and spirits industries — winemakers, distillers, marketers, buyers, sommeliers, educators and journalists.  “As always, the International Women’s Wine & Spirits Competition shined a spotlight on hundreds of deserving wines,” says Debra Del Fiorentino, owner of Wine Competitions Management & Production, which organizes and presents IWWSC. “And even though entry is open to all winemakers regardless of gender, I found it gratifying that six of this year’s sweepstakes wines were created by women. And our overall wine winner also was named Best Woman Winemaker

Distribution Deals Questioned: FTC Targets SGWS Using Depression-Era Law

A federal antitrust lawsuit against Southern Glazer’s could be filed this month. By Jeff Siegel   The news that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating Southern Glazer’s, the world’s […]

Zurich, June 3 - Amcor Capsules – the market leader specializing in the design and manufacture of capsules, closures, and eco-responsible foils for still wines, sparkling wines, and spirits – is preparing to launch ESSENTIELLE, a plastic-free foil made of aluminium and paper, in October 2024. With more than 280 years of history, Moët & Chandon, owned by LVMH, manages the largest vineyard in Champagne, with nearly 1,300 hectares of vines. The brand intends to continue its movement towards more sustainable packaging and is working with Amcor Capsules on the development and launch of its plastic-free foil. AN INNOVATIVE AND ECO-RESPONSIBLE CREATION The ESSENTIELLE foil is created using paper made in Europe, a material that has a lower carbon impact than other solutions made of plastic on the market. Indeed, by replacing plastic by paper the carbon footprint of this product is 31%1 lower compared to standard polylaminate foils. In addition, ESS

The 3rd annual Healdsburg Wine and Food Experience was a weekend-long celebration that featured the best of Sonoma County and world-renowned food and wines. This year's festival showcased the region's makers – farmers, growers, winemakers and chefs – alongside globally recognized wines, highlighting the vibrant culinary diversity, deep connection to agriculture, and sustainable farming practices of Sonoma County. HWFE is deeply involved in the Sonoma County community, making substantial donations from this year’s ticket sales and sponsorships to local organizations that make a meaningful difference in the lives of farmers and their families, including the Sonoma County Fundación de la Voz de los Viñedos. These funds will help support the Leadership Academy and workforce development for vineyard employees and their families, fostering future leaders in both the industry and the community. As well as being co-founders of HWFE, Sonoma County Winegro