Following satisfaction of regulatory closing conditions Pernod Ricard announces the completion of the sale to Campari of its Wild Turkey American straight bourbon brand and related businesses, for a total price of US$ 581 million in cash, i.e. € 417 million at the current exchange rate. (Source: Vinexpo)

A Torres wine which was caught up in a poisoning scare is back on the market after being given the all-clear by the authorities.

San Valentin had been removed from the stores of Norwegian wines monopoly Vinmonopolet after potassium cyanide was found in a bottle of the white wine.

A police investigation has concluded that the poison was introduced into the bottle after its purchase. (Source: Harpers.com)

Diageo has signed a deal with Marnier-Lapostolle to distribute the French group's Grand Marnier liqueur across Europe.

Diageo will distribute the liqueur range in 61 markets across Western and Eastern Europe.

Financial details were not disclosed. (Source: Just-Drinks.com)

Cross-border shopping and the economic downturn sent wine sales tumbling by more than 10% in Ireland during the first quarter of 2009, official figures show.

Now trade body the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) is calling on the government to consider reducing excise duties and VAT – and warns that jobs and businesses are at risk all over the country.

Alcohol sales were down 13.2% in the first quarter, with wine sales falling 10.6% and Spirits sales slumped 19.2%. (Source: Decanter.com)

Nielsen stats have indicated some modest growth in the take-home wine market.

Sales were up 5% in value in the 12 months to May 16, and 1% in volume terms.

The growth is small compared to the leaps made in recent years, and much of the value increase can be ascribed to duty rises and the spiralling cost of production and importing.

But the data is more encouraging for the trade than the zero volume growth that Nielsen reported for wine in the take-home trade earlier in the spring.

The average price of a 75cl bottle of wine in the off-trade has risen to €4.9 (Source: Harpers.com)

When his latest film “A l’Origine” (In the Beginning) was competing at the Cannes film festival, Gérard Depardieu decided to shun the red carpet of the Cannes Festival Palace and go instead to a tasting of his wine.

“Good eating, good drinking as well as knowledge of a terroir and a culture, is as important for me as the film industry”, explained Gérard Depardieu to the newspaper Le Parisien. (Source: Vinexpo)

French group Jeanjean’s first quarter sales in 2009 were €36.3 million, down 2.6% compared to figures for the same period in 2008.

This fall is mainly due to a 10% decrease in exports down to €13.1 million, while domestic sales grew by 3% to reach €23.2 million. (Source: VSB)