This week in spirits & wine on just-drinks

This week in spirits & wine on just-drinks

Here's a round-up of this week's top stories in the spirits & wine categories. We also have similar round-ups for beer & cider and soft drinks & water.

Looking through the mist, Chris Losh can see China's wine production efforts becoming of greater importance to the wine world than the country's potential to consume the stuff.

Bob Kunze-Concewitz has seen a lot in his time with Gruppo Campari. Having joined the company from Procter & Gamble in 2005, when he came on board as CMO, he'll celebrate a decade as group CEO in May next year. In that time, he's seen Campari's fortunes rise, fall and rise again as drinks trends have come and gone. He's also been at the helm during an active period of M&A, not only for Campari specifically, but also within the spirits category generally. Late last month, just-drinks editor Olly Wehring met up with him on a visit to London.

In part two of our interview with Gruppo Campari's CEO, we talk to Bob Kunze-Concewitz about the company's approach to its portfolio and to the craft segment, as well as its M&A strategy and non-core asset plans.

While each of the BRIC markets continue to throw up their own set of hurdles to sustained, long-term growth, the major spirits companies are becoming ever-more-thankful to the US for its safe bet positioning.

It is only just gone Q1 for Brown-Forman but already analysts are predicting a more subdued full-year for the Jack Daniel's maker.

This year's Champagne harvest will be one of the smallest in the past 20 years, although quality is set to be high, the Syndicat Général des Vignerons de Champagne (SGVC) has forecast.

Bacardi's Martini brand has launched an ice cube-shaped device in the on-premise that can gauge when a consumer's glass is empty.

Eight global drinks companies have united to form an alcohol information group in the UK, in an attempt to ensure the debate around alcohol consumption remains balanced.

Diageo's latest Johnnie Walker House in China is to share space with the company's baijiu brand, Shuijingfang.

Pernod Ricard's CFO has welcomed a return to growth for baijiu in China but said he is happy the company had not yet bought into the category.

Bacardi has lined up JD.com as its online retail partner in China.

The Sazerac Co has acquired UK-based spirits bottler The Last Drop Distillers.

Pernod Ricard's CFO has forecast another difficult year for global Travel Retail as the channel continues to face pressure from all sides.