Reposted by VinePair
We heard for years how TTB recognition would boost the fortunes of the fledgling American single malt category. That happened a year and a half ago, so for @vinepair.com I checked in to find out: Did it move the needle?
vinepair.com/articles/dis...
vinepair.com/articles/dis...
Two Years After American Single Malt's Ratification, the Category Is Still Findings Its Way
It’s been nearly two years since the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) ratified a standard of identity for American single malt. The milestone was hailed as a victory by distillers across...
vinepair.com
August 25, 2026 at 4:02 PM
We heard for years how TTB recognition would boost the fortunes of the fledgling American single malt category. That happened a year and a half ago, so for @vinepair.com I checked in to find out: Did it move the needle?
vinepair.com/articles/dis...
vinepair.com/articles/dis...
Reposted by VinePair
NEW: Each year, the trade mag The New Brewer reports the barrelage of US craft-style beer (whether indie, corporate, etc.) For years, it looked like New Belgium was about to surpass Molson Coors, and in 2025, it did. But then @brewbound.com editors noticed some apparent errors in the data.
May 29, 2026 at 6:00 PM
NEW: Each year, the trade mag The New Brewer reports the barrelage of US craft-style beer (whether indie, corporate, etc.) For years, it looked like New Belgium was about to surpass Molson Coors, and in 2025, it did. But then @brewbound.com editors noticed some apparent errors in the data.
Reposted by VinePair
Wrote up a quick analysis on the latest shudders in RNDC's interminable collapse for @vinepair.com (see "VP Pro Take"):
April 27, 2026 at 9:01 PM
Wrote up a quick analysis on the latest shudders in RNDC's interminable collapse for @vinepair.com (see "VP Pro Take"):
Reposted by VinePair
The assignment: Find out if and when the whiskey glut will result in lower shelf prices.
The result: My latest article for @vinepair.com. If you buy or sell whiskey, you're going to want to read this.
vinepair.com/articles/wha...
The result: My latest article for @vinepair.com. If you buy or sell whiskey, you're going to want to read this.
vinepair.com/articles/wha...
The Whiskey Glut Won't Lower Prices, but It Will Mean Older, Better Bottles
Whiskey has an oversupply problem. In both bourbon and Scotch, stocks are way up, consumption is flat to down, and many producers are responding by slowing or pausing production, temporarily closing d...
vinepair.com
April 21, 2026 at 4:25 PM
The assignment: Find out if and when the whiskey glut will result in lower shelf prices.
The result: My latest article for @vinepair.com. If you buy or sell whiskey, you're going to want to read this.
vinepair.com/articles/wha...
The result: My latest article for @vinepair.com. If you buy or sell whiskey, you're going to want to read this.
vinepair.com/articles/wha...
Reposted by VinePair
Filed some quick analysis for @vinepair.com about the latest bev-alc M&A, which has some unlikely crossover between my beer-industry and East End Richmond beats. (Scroll to "VP Pro Take" halfway down):
Firestone Walker and Duvel USA to Acquire Stone Brewing From Sapporo
Firestone Walker and Duvel Moortgat USA have agreed to acquire the Stone Brewing brand from Sapporo USA for an undisclosed amount, Brewbound reports. The transaction is slated to finalize within the s...
vinepair.com
April 21, 2026 at 5:46 PM
Filed some quick analysis for @vinepair.com about the latest bev-alc M&A, which has some unlikely crossover between my beer-industry and East End Richmond beats. (Scroll to "VP Pro Take" halfway down):
Reposted by VinePair
Coming out of social media hibernation to drop a link to my latest for @vinepair.com, which I pitched as "Bourbon's Worst Case Scenario." An unlikely, but not impossible, one.
vinepair.com/articles/int...
vinepair.com/articles/int...
What Will a Global Trade Meltdown Mean For Bourbon’s Protected Status?
No matter where you are in the world, if you ask for bourbon, you’re going to get a whiskey produced in the United States under specific rules. Bourbon is guaranteed to be bourbon, made only in Americ...
vinepair.com
March 9, 2026 at 3:36 PM
Coming out of social media hibernation to drop a link to my latest for @vinepair.com, which I pitched as "Bourbon's Worst Case Scenario." An unlikely, but not impossible, one.
vinepair.com/articles/int...
vinepair.com/articles/int...
Reposted by VinePair
BREAKING: The country's biggest beer wholesaler is buying more markets off the country's (for-now) biggest wine/spirits wholesaler.
Expanding Middle-Tier Mega-Deal, RNDC Says Reyes Will Buy Five More Markets
The biggest news in the beverage-alcohol industry’s middle tier is getting bigger: Reyes Beverage Group (RBG) will acquire five additional markets from its rival, Republic National Distributing Compan...
vinepair.com
March 6, 2026 at 4:27 PM
BREAKING: The country's biggest beer wholesaler is buying more markets off the country's (for-now) biggest wine/spirits wholesaler.
Reposted by VinePair
Brewery workers, bar owners, and union organizers in MSP are setting the mark on how to actually care for their community, rather than just invoke as a buzzword. At @vinepair.com, I reported how their work doubles as a playbook for colleagues nationwide whose homes may face MAGA sieges soon enough.
The Twin Cities’ Beer Scene Is Showing the Rest of the Industry How to Fight Back
When I reach Drew Hurst, he’s running late to work. “I’m taking the call from my car right now because there’s an ICE. stop on my road on my way in, which, y’know, I pulled over to film,” the presiden...
vinepair.com
January 30, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Brewery workers, bar owners, and union organizers in MSP are setting the mark on how to actually care for their community, rather than just invoke as a buzzword. At @vinepair.com, I reported how their work doubles as a playbook for colleagues nationwide whose homes may face MAGA sieges soon enough.
Reposted by VinePair
"which wines would sommeliers like to see less of in 2026?" An interesting take on the wine list and at first glance a controversial list. But read the article to get the whole picture and nuance. By @vinepair.com
We Asked 17 Sommeliers: Which #Wine Should Disappear From Lists This Year? (2026) | #VinePair zurl.co/29AqO
We Asked 17 Sommeliers: Which Wine Should Disappear From Lists This Year? (2026)
We asked 17 wine professionals from around the nation for the wines they think should be ditched this year. Here's what they said.
zurl.co
January 13, 2026 at 7:14 AM
"which wines would sommeliers like to see less of in 2026?" An interesting take on the wine list and at first glance a controversial list. But read the article to get the whole picture and nuance. By @vinepair.com
Reposted by VinePair
Filed a quick newser for @vinepair.com with what we know. Note that while trade press has reported the statement from RBG, the memo from RNDC's Sachs is previously unreported. Will be updating this story throughout the day:
In Middle-Tier Mega-Deal, RNDC Says Reyes Will Buy Out Its Ops in Seven Markets (Developing)
Less than one year after Republic National Distributing Company’s catastrophic collapse in California, VinePair has learned that the country’s second-largest wine and spirits wholesaler will sell a po...
vinepair.com
January 13, 2026 at 2:40 PM
Filed a quick newser for @vinepair.com with what we know. Note that while trade press has reported the statement from RBG, the memo from RNDC's Sachs is previously unreported. Will be updating this story throughout the day:
The country’s second-largest wine and spirits wholesaler will sell a portion of its national operation to the country’s largest beer distributor: Reyes Beverage Group. vinepair.com/booze-news/r...
In Middle-Tier Mega-Deal, RNDC Says Reyes Will Buy It in Seven Markets (Developing)
Less than one year after Republic National Distributing Company’s catastrophic collapse in California, VinePair has learned that the country’s second-largest wine and spirits wholesaler will sell a po...
vinepair.com
January 13, 2026 at 3:50 PM
The country’s second-largest wine and spirits wholesaler will sell a portion of its national operation to the country’s largest beer distributor: Reyes Beverage Group. vinepair.com/booze-news/r...
Reposted by VinePair
NEW: I have obtained an internal memo from RNDC's new prez/CEO stating that Reyes Bev Group (US' largest beer distro) has agreed to acquire RNDC in 7 markets. Trade press this morning reported RBG spox saying it was in "active discussions" for such a deal; RNDC memo suggests it's happening. More TK.
January 13, 2026 at 2:26 PM
NEW: I have obtained an internal memo from RNDC's new prez/CEO stating that Reyes Bev Group (US' largest beer distro) has agreed to acquire RNDC in 7 markets. Trade press this morning reported RBG spox saying it was in "active discussions" for such a deal; RNDC memo suggests it's happening. More TK.
Reposted by VinePair
Cutwater's triple-digit sales growth in 2025 wasn't strictly due to the TikTok trend of housing/getting housed by a 4pk of the stuff and filming the results. But that didn't hurt! At @vinepair.com I laid out the needle A-B has been threading to cash in on heavy users without marketing heavy use.
Anheuser-Busch Is Selling Cutwater Like Crazy — and Keeping Quiet About the Viral #Challenge
The song is called “Cut Wader,” by Lex OnGoo and LadyBouncee, and it opens like this: She want some Cutwater All these b*tches see us bounce, me and my homegirl on the roof. We drinkin’ Cuts but that’...
vinepair.com
January 9, 2026 at 3:28 PM
Cutwater's triple-digit sales growth in 2025 wasn't strictly due to the TikTok trend of housing/getting housed by a 4pk of the stuff and filming the results. But that didn't hurt! At @vinepair.com I laid out the needle A-B has been threading to cash in on heavy users without marketing heavy use.
@dinfontay.com recounts what are, in his opinion, the most important storylines and turning points for the beer industry in 2025.
The 7 Stories That Defined the Beer Industry in 2025
Here we are again, reader. The last column of 2025. I hope you had a lovely holiday, full of good cheer and other things of that nature. But now it’s back to business: one final recap on the biggest s...
vinepair.com
December 26, 2025 at 6:06 PM
@dinfontay.com recounts what are, in his opinion, the most important storylines and turning points for the beer industry in 2025.
Reposted by VinePair
My father, Nick Infante, adored the American beer business. A week ago, he passed away. My column today at @vinepair.com is a tribute to his lifelong passion for the trade, and a challenge to its leaders to hold close all that makes it unique.
The Beer Industry Is Special. My Dad Taught Me That
I love beer, and I love covering the beer industry, and those are two different things. I am constantly explaining to people — angry readers, new sources, confused strangers — that while I personally ...
vinepair.com
December 12, 2025 at 2:47 PM
My father, Nick Infante, adored the American beer business. A week ago, he passed away. My column today at @vinepair.com is a tribute to his lifelong passion for the trade, and a challenge to its leaders to hold close all that makes it unique.
🍻 Even in a challenging year, brewers pushed forward to open impressive new breweries in 2025. Here are 26 of the best, according to the pros.
The 26 Best New Breweries of 2025, According to Beer Pros
As a writer, finding negative narratives in craft beer is a breeze. Sales are declining. Closures are climbing. Let’s blame all those IPAs! Or Gen Z! Or THC! Instead of focusing on deflating news, tho...
vinepair.com
December 8, 2025 at 1:31 PM
🍻 Even in a challenging year, brewers pushed forward to open impressive new breweries in 2025. Here are 26 of the best, according to the pros.
In a country dominated by artificially carbonated keg beer, cask ale can be challenging to serve well. These breweries are pulling it off. vinepair.com/articles/bre...
British-Style Cask Ale Is a Challenge, but These Breweries Are Making It Work in the U.S.
At Gigantic Brewing Company in Portland, Ore., brewer and co-owner Van Havig has a response ready for whenever customers ask what cask ale is. “You look them right in the eye, and you say, ‘It’s the w...
vinepair.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:10 PM
In a country dominated by artificially carbonated keg beer, cask ale can be challenging to serve well. These breweries are pulling it off. vinepair.com/articles/bre...
Czech brewers are making low-alcohol beers that are complex, rich, and fun to drink, offering a blueprint for other brewers to do the same.
How Czech Brewers Make Low-Alcohol Lagers With Big Flavor
Beer fans who make it to Prague before the weather turns will find exactly what they’ve been told to expect: a beautiful Old World city where classic Pilsner-style beers are everywhere, with hundreds ...
vinepair.com
September 3, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Czech brewers are making low-alcohol beers that are complex, rich, and fun to drink, offering a blueprint for other brewers to do the same.
Reposted by VinePair
VOS Selections, the lead plaintiff on this suit, is a ~4-decade family-owned wine/spirits importer out of NY. As the owner told @vinepair.com after the initial win in the Court of International Trade in late May: "When they asked me to be lead plaintiff, I thought ‘Somebody needs to step up.’"
August 29, 2025 at 9:43 PM
VOS Selections, the lead plaintiff on this suit, is a ~4-decade family-owned wine/spirits importer out of NY. As the owner told @vinepair.com after the initial win in the Court of International Trade in late May: "When they asked me to be lead plaintiff, I thought ‘Somebody needs to step up.’"
Chardonnay remains the most celebrated white variety in the world, but what cult whites do collectors seek out outside of the grape?
The Prized White Wines Collectors Covet Most — That Aren’t Chardonnay
All too often, when the world’s white cult wines are lined up, Burgundy, and its star grape Chardonnay, steal the show. Even beyond the Côte de Beaune — from Sonoma to South Africa to Australia — Char...
vinepair.com
September 2, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Chardonnay remains the most celebrated white variety in the world, but what cult whites do collectors seek out outside of the grape?
From classic Provence expressions to thought-provoking bottles from the Finger Lakes, here are the best rosés under $25.
The 10 Best Rosés Under $25
About two decades ago, rosé took the United States by storm. Spurred on by chic beach goers spending their summers “out east,” the pink wines captured the American imagination and have yet to truly lo...
vinepair.com
August 18, 2025 at 2:52 PM
From classic Provence expressions to thought-provoking bottles from the Finger Lakes, here are the best rosés under $25.
Reposted by VinePair
Bapple's comeback boomed, but ABI has once again stopped shipping the brand—leaving competitors an angle on the national thirst for apple-flavored beers. At @vinepair.com I evaluated the macrobrewer's scarcity strategy in context of another LTO gambit: McDonald's infamously successful hog arbitrage.
Busch Light Apple Is the McRib of Beer
You don’t have to be an expert gambler to understand why it’s verboten to interrupt a craps player’s hot hand at the casino, nor a historian of America’s pastime to grasp why a baseball team won’t say...
vinepair.com
August 15, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Bapple's comeback boomed, but ABI has once again stopped shipping the brand—leaving competitors an angle on the national thirst for apple-flavored beers. At @vinepair.com I evaluated the macrobrewer's scarcity strategy in context of another LTO gambit: McDonald's infamously successful hog arbitrage.
Busch Light Apple's return to shelves this year has been nothing short of triumphant, begging the question: Why isn't it around year-round?
Busch Light Apple Is the McRib of Beer
You don’t have to be an expert gambler to understand why it’s verboten to interrupt a craps player’s hot hand at the casino, nor a historian of America’s pastime to grasp why a baseball team won’t say...
vinepair.com
August 15, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Busch Light Apple's return to shelves this year has been nothing short of triumphant, begging the question: Why isn't it around year-round?
Prosecco is famous for its fizz, yet, much to the confusion of everyone, the confounding era of bubble-free Prosecco is here.
Is Still Prosecco a Clever Bid or a Branding Blunder?
There comes a time in the lifespan of wildly successful products when it seems the world is not enough. Think: Crystal Pepsi, Facebook’s pivot to Meta, and non-alcoholic hard seltzer. Prosecco, that c...
vinepair.com
August 12, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Prosecco is famous for its fizz, yet, much to the confusion of everyone, the confounding era of bubble-free Prosecco is here.
Reposted by VinePair
And your Hop-ocalypse Now from the latest @vinepair.com Hop Take 🤯: vinepair.com/articles/hop...
August 12, 2025 at 2:43 PM
And your Hop-ocalypse Now from the latest @vinepair.com Hop Take 🤯: vinepair.com/articles/hop...