English wines may still be struggling for worldwide recognition, but you would think news of their existence would have reached France by now.

Apparently not. 

Vinexpo chief executive Robert Beynat upset members of the trade press pack yesterday in London, during a presentation on global wine and spirit trends.

Introducing a table on global per capita wine consumption, Beynat noted that the UK, in tenth place, was "the only non-producing country in the top ten". Cue much spluttering from the assembled hacks. Indeed, one scribe was forced to point out to the Vinexpo chief that his statement was clearly false.

Beynat acknowledged his error with a grin. 

The 64-year-old exhibition boss lists his hobbies as "watching bullfighting", so he should be accustomed to a bit of rough-and-tumble.

Anheuser-Busch InBev has finally decided to embrace that new-fangled website known as Twitter. 

We've been scratching our heads here for a while over the brewer's lack of activity on the social media site. One official account - ABInBevPR has yet to speak to the world, while another, ABInBevNews, has only attracted 259 followers in its five-month existence. 

Compare this to Heineken's 55,000-odd followers. 

But now, Budweiser has its own official account, which went live yesterday. It all ties in with the brewer's promotional activity around this weekend's Super Bowl.

However, this morning's press release trumpeting the Twitter account gives a clue to A-B InBev's reticence, explaining that Twitter has now introduced an age verification tool.

Although, I appeared to be able to follow the feed without confirming my age.

Perhaps they just knew?

Follow me on Twitter @jamescwilmore

Celebrities and drinks brands. They're not always a happy marriage as Diageo and Pharrell Williams have illustrated this week. 

But actor, and general Hollywood dude, George Clooney must be hoping for better luck with the launch this month of his own Tequila, Casamigos. And to boost interest in the drink, made from 100% Blue Weber agave, old George has come up with his own advert. 

The question we're asking ourselves here at just-drinks is: had Mr Clooney been sampling his own product when he dreamt up the idea? 

Judge for yourselves below... 

Follow me on Twitter @jamescwilmore

The battle over minimum pricing enters yet another chapter today (15 January) when the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) and the Scottish Government lock horns in court.

Eight days have been put aside intially for Edinburgh's Court of Session to hear the arguments for and against the controversial move. The Judicial Review hearing was supposed to start properly in October, but a row broke out after QCs acting for the Scottish Government claimed that the SWA had submitted late evidence. 

Since October, it has emerged that the European Commission has urged the Scottish and UK Governments to abandon their plans for a minimum price as it feels the measure is “disproportionate” and will be an obstacle to trade.

This is clearly good news for the SWA. Even if the Court of Session ruling goes in favour of the administrations, there is still the European leg of its legal challenge, where the trade body is on more confident ground.

Fresh battle lines were drawn over craft beer last week after the Brewers Association took a swipe at the big beer firms. 

The US group accused the majors of trying to “blur the lines” between their mass-produced products and "genuine" craft beers. More "transparency" over the labelling of products was also needed, was the verdict.  

No doubt this outburst was partly inspired by moves this year by Anheuser-Busch InBev to get a bigger foothold in this increasingly attractive sub-sector. The brewer has even set-up its own craft advisory board. 

For added extra, the Brewers Association re-stated its definition of a craft brewer: "Their annual production is 6m barrels of beer or less and no more than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled by an alcoholic beverage industry member who is not themselves a craft brewer.”

The problem the group has - and it must be acutely aware of this - is that only a small percentage of the population really cares about whether the beer they are drinking has been brewed by a so-called "craft" brewer, or a company where profit is perhaps more a priority than palisade hops.  

As beer writer Will Hawkes says in his new book - Craft Beer London - for some, craft beer is a "rather ambiguous term which merely serves to obsure what really matters about beer - whether it tastes good or bad".

Hawkes does suggest, however, this is more the view of mature drinkers who turn their nose up at the young bucks revolutionising the brewing world. 

But this distinction does draw out what the Brewers Association has in its favour. With the mis-trust of big corporations at an all-time high, the glare of social media, and savvy consumers caring more about a product's origins, there is a wide space to push the craft beer message - particularly among the younger generation. 

My message to the Brewers Association would be: don't worry too much, trust the people. 

Follow me on Twitter @jamescwilmore

UK brewers and beer drinkers are refusing to give up on their fight over beer tax. 

A mass rally, organised by consumer group the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), took place at Parliament yesterday (12 December) - with hordes of disgruntled beer fans getting the chance to meet MPs and voice their displeasure over the duty escalator. 

The good folk from the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) even laid on free beer for those attending, I understand. 

A succession of MPs also addressed the massed troops - including Labour's Hazel Blears. Perhaps an odd choice, given she was part of the Government of the time which introduced the offending tax system? 

Campaigners will have derived some hope from Chancellor George Osborne's recent scrapping of a planned fuel duty increase. The problem is, alcohol is much more of a political hot potato. 

Osborne ducked the issue of alcohol duty in his autumn statement last week. 

But, as CAMRA is the largest UK's largest consumer group with around 145,000 members (i.e. a significant number of voters), plus the 1,000-or-so breweries up and down the country, how long can the Goverment continue to ignore these pleas? 

Follow me on Twitter @jamescwilmore

Can the pressure Big Beer is under in the US be proved with hard stats? Apparently so.

The folks at website 24/7 Wall Street have crunched some numbers to come up with a list of brands that have suffered over the past five years. It comes under the rather hyperbolic headline 'Nine Beers Americans No Longer Drink'. But you get the idea. 

Click here for the link. 

Follow me on Twitter @jamescwilmore

Alcohol Concern - a UK-based charity aimed at cutting alcohol harm - is urging drinkers to have a "dry January". But is this a credible strategy? 

"Feel better. Save money. Make a difference," its website says. You can also get friends and family to sponsor you, which seems like a bit of a stretch. 

But what seems particularly odd is that another leading charity, with lots in common with Alcohol Concern, the British Liver Trust said a year ago that a January detox is "medically futile". 

"People think they're virtuous with their health by embarking on a liver detox each January with the belief that they are cleansing their liver of excess following the festive break," said chief executive Andrew Langford. 

"You're better off making a resolution to take a few days off alcohol a week throughout the entire year than remaining abstinent for January only."

Having tried this British tradition a few times, I would have to agree. Indeed a former colleague, who used to do a January detox, always relished the prospect of a "retox" night in early February, no doubt undoing all his good work. 

Alcohol Concern, which also runs Alcohol Awareness Week, ending this Sunday, must believe that people will have a month off and realise the error of their ways. But I'm not sure it works like that. 

The James Bond/Heineken tie-up has caused quite a fizz. Some seem shaken by the corporate takeover, others are unstirred.  

Some have poked fun, like Jay Leno. 

Having seen the film, one thing struck me as odd. Arguably the most memorable scene featuring the Dutch beer brand is one in which Bond is seen as a washed-up drunk in bed, nursing Heineken's iconic green bottle. 

Surely, when you've reportedly paid US$45m to have your product featured, this is not the sort of image you want projected?

I suppose it's not as bad as having a character being seen to drink your product while driving, which is what rival Anheuser-Busch InBev was jumping up and down about last week.

Still, at least they hadn't splashed any cash on the venture.