Guy Fieri, a celebrity chef known for his rowdy personality, spiky hair and love of roadside diners, is adding an unexpected venture to his mix: winemaking. The star of the Food Network series “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” has bought a five-acre vineyard of pinot noir grapes in the Russian River Valley appellation and submitted an application to open a wine tasting room on Willowside Road. (Press Democrat)
Environmental and public health activists are pushing a bill at the Massachusetts state house that would phase out the state's purchase of bottled water and encourage the use of tap water by state agencies and at state-sponsored events. Activists say the change could save the state millions in taxpayer dollars. (WPRI)
Thousands of Coca-Cola employees in Germany are staging short-term warning strikes this week in a dispute over wages. Workers at two Coca-Cola facilities in Bavaria walked off the job on Monday, the dpa news agency reported, and co-workers at some 50 others were to follow in the coming days in a bid to put pressure on the company ahead of the next wage negotiation round with the union. (Huffington Post)
Brown-Forman Corp. is establishing its own distribution company in France, effective Jan. 1, 2014. Brown-Forman’s arrangement with current distributor Bacardi Martini France will conclude in December 2013. (Business First)
Beam Inc. has agreed to sell a collection of liquor brands to Luxco for about 65 million. The brands include Wolfschmidt vodka, Calvert, Bellows, Dark Eyes vodka, Canada House Canadian, and Tempo Triple Sec. The company said it generated revenues of about $30 million in 2012 through distribution of the brands in North America. (RTT News)
Brewing giant SABMiller plc announced on Monday that its subsidiary in Panama‚ Cervecera Nacional‚ S.A‚ has agreed to sell its milk and juice business to La Cooperativa de Productores de Leche Dos Pinos R.L. (Dos Pinos) for a total cash consideration of US$86.0 million. (IOL Business Report)