In the wine country north of Santa Barbara, the global economic crisis has drained wine sales, sapped tourist spending and siphoned away hotel profits.

But five years after the Santa Ynez Valley was featured in an Oscar-winning film, the region is still feeling the upside of "Sideways."

The offbeat comedy about the wine-soaked adventures of two hapless buddies drew crowds of connoisseurs to the region's wineries, vineyards and restaurants. And to the delight of merchants and wine makers, the continued popularity of the 2004 film has helped soften the blow of the worst recession in a generation. Read more...

Here's some sobering news: Beer prices are going up.

 The nation's two largest beer sellers said Tuesday that they planned to raise prices, although they provided few specifics.

"We feel like we will take a moderate price increase on our portfolio," said Peter Marino, spokesman for Chicago-based MillerCoors, maker of Miller Lite, Coors Light and Blue Moon. He blamed higher costs for the price hike.

Like other food manufacturers, brewers have been hit by commodity price increases in recent years, but have not been as aggressive about raising prices, analysts said. Traditionally they raise prices in the fall. Read more...

(CNN) -- When it comes to taking spirited vacations, wandering a vineyard falls flat in the face of handcrafted brew. With more than 1,500 breweries across the United States, beer is not just a drink -- it's a destination.

"What's happened is that the old world has influenced the new world; the U.S. is now a travel destination for beer, [even] for people from outside of the country," said Julia Herz, craft beer program director at the Brewers Association.

Read more...

When people discover that I'm a liver doctor and a wine writer, they invariably ask, "How much can I drink without developing liver disease?" They never ask, "How much should I drink to stay healthy?" 

People know that alcohol - and wine - can cause liver disease. But since the headline-making "60 Minutes" segment in 1991 popularizing the seductively simple French Paradox (the French eat a high-fat diet but have less heart disease because they drink red wine), people have embraced the concept that drinking wine, especially red wine, prevents heart disease. Despite the absence of an ironclad linkage, it's what everyone wants to believe: Alcohol, a forbidden fruit, is actually good for you. Read more...

How about a bottle of the '02 Chateau Plastique?

The ubiquitous 750-milliliter glass wine bottle is starting to get competition from a plastic upstart, both on retail shelves and at a few restaurants.

The bottles carry a "use by" date -- plastic doesn't provide quite the same seal as glass -- and as such aren't likely to find their way into the cellars of serious wine enthusiasts.

For those who aren't as picky, however, the wine is likely to cost less. And oenophiles say that for wine that hasn't, err, expired, the taste will be the same. Read more...

Of all the nonsense metrics I like to use to measure brand strength, the most fun is my Facebook status update. By that shaky yardstick, I'd hit a deep wellspring of brand loyalty when I posted that I'd spent the day at Fast Company HQ drinking beer with Jim Koch, the beloved founder of the Boston Beer Company, maker of Boston's finest brew, Samuel Adams.

The flood of Sam Adams drinking stories, jealous outbursts and requests for beer was immediate and enthusiastic. Conclusion: This is a product with unusual consumer engagement profile and a tenacious brand appeal. (The response had nothing to do with the beer-soaked company I keep.) Read more...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Boutique beers are the new cocktail as more money-conscious Americans choose cheaper high quality draft beers made by small local breweries over wine and spirits amid the country's recession, experts say.

A new generation of craft brewers, defined by some as those who produce less than 2 million barrels a year, is attracting new drinkers who would rather pay $6 to $8 for premium draft than a cocktail or glass of wine that costs twice as much. Read more...

Need Napa Cabernet grapes for harvest 2009? No problem. Russian River Pinot Noir can be had by the truckload. California is facing its worst oversupply of fine-wine grapes in decades. Veteran grower Andy Beckstoffer says it may be the worst market since the mid-1970s, when California wine was in its infancy and a considerably smaller industry. While that's bad news for growers, consumers are in for a potential bonanza in the next year or two.

With harvest just weeks away, contracts typically would have been signed months ago, but growers in Napa, Sonoma and beyond have been left hanging, along with their grapes.   Read more...

A man walks into a bar and orders a Manhattan. Not just any Manhattan but one made with rye. Not just any rye. He specifies a brand.

So who do we have here? A fuddy-duddy who doesn't realize we're living in the age of the mojito? Old granddad clinging to the bourbon-and-branch days?

No. He's the hippest sipper at the bar, so in-the-know it hurts. He's the man with the rye.

Rye, for those of you lapsed trendoids still clutching your Cosmos, is a hot commodity in cocktail culture. Once an iconic American spirit, rye fell out of favor after Prohibition as tastes shifted and brands disappeared. Read more...
 

July 30 (Bloomberg) -- William Grant & Sons Distillers Ltd., the maker of Glenfiddich whisky, today released a 50-year aged version of the liquor that will sell for 10,000 pounds ($16,000), making it the second-most expensive in the world.

Glenfiddich 50 Year Old, equally priced to the family- owned company’s most expensive whisky ever, will be released in 500 individually numbered, hand-blown glass bottles adorned with Scottish silver and packaged in leather-bound cases, the Dufftown, Scotland-based distiller said today.  Read more...