SAN FRANCISCO — Fast-food customers are hearing something new as they order burgers, pizza and all things fried: Would you like wine with that?

No one's selling cases of McMerlot just yet, but a number of so-called "quick-serve" restaurants are adding beer and wine to the menu, partly to boost sales but also with an eye to amping up the ambiance.

 "We simply wanted to create a different kind of dining experience," says Jeff Harvey, CEO and president of Burgerville, a 39-unit chain in the Northwest which recently added wine and beer to one of its restaurants in Vancouver, Wash. Read more...

By Jerry Hirsch - Los Angeles Times  

Happy hour is getting happier, and that's making restaurants sadder.

As the recession drags on, drinkers such as Luis Romero of Anaheim are gravitating to happy hour -- that late-afternoon period when bars and restaurants sell discounted drinks and food to attract customers during what otherwise would be a slow time.   Read more...

By Jerry Hirsch - Los Angeles Times

As the economy turns down, Americans are cutting back on their liquor -- with a major exception: whiskey.

Sales of bourbons such as Jack Daniels and Maker's Mark are bucking a slump in demand for distilled spirits that set in during the final months of last year, according to industry officials.

It's not clear whether in hard economic times drinkers are looking for comfort in Jack Daniels or whether Americans long enamored with vodka, rum and tequila have rediscovered one of the nation's oldest spirits.  Read more...

By Jerry Hirsch - Los Angeles Times

Judges at the California State Fair wine competition scored poorly at giving the same wine an identical rating when they tasted it multiple times in a blind tasting.

That was the conclusion of a four-year study of judging decisions at the California State Fair Wine Competition by retired Humboldt State professor Robert Hodgson. Read more...

As we limp into 2009, watching our mad money dwindle from a mountain to a mound to a modest lump, you'd probably rather not think too much about restocking the dent you put in your wine collection over the holidays.

But there are many signs that this economic downturn could result in a mini-boom for wine lovers. Perhaps more than at any other time in the last five years, this is an opportunity for consumers to not only drink really good wines, but also to drink better for less. This is true in nearly every price category, and in nearly every region; for the truly savvy, this could be one of the more exciting periods in recent years for America's rekindled love affair with the grape. 

 Read more...

SECAUCUS, N.J. – Shareholders of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. on Wednesday approved the $52 billion sale of the nation's largest brewer to Belgium-based InBev SA, a deal that is set to create the world's largest brewer.

The vote was the latest step necessary to form the company to be known as Anheuser-Busch InBev. The deal, reached in July, is expected to close by the end of the year.

August A. Busch IV, Anheuser-Busch's president and chief executive, said the decision to sell was a difficult one.

"In the end, the board determined that the InBev proposal is in the best interest of our shareholders," he said in a statement. "The merger also provides a promising future for our beer brands and for all stakeholders — employees, wholesalers, retailers and our consumers." Read more...

MILAN (Reuters) - Prices of the most expensive wines have plunged in recent weeks, showing that not even the swish sectors of the economy are immune to the global crisis, top experts said on Tuesday.

The so-called great or fine wines, predominantly French Bordeaux, are often considered to be safe investments because their value grows with time as quality improves, while quantity drops as it gets drunk.

"We had extraordinary high prices in September, but afterwards ... we've seen in October the descent from the absolute top," Serena Sutcliffe, head of Sotheby's International Wine Department, told Reuters at a wine event in Milan. Read more...

RAMONA, Calif. (AP) — Don Cohorst has acres of vineyards, a stash of small-batch vintages and a barn he wants to turn into a cozy tasting room for vino-sipping visitors.

He's convinced he can ply those wine lovers with samples of his Syrah and Muscat Canelli and sell them single bottles for as much as $20 — more than twice the price he now gets from several small retailers.

But his plan and those of many other winemakers in California have been scuttled by a growing backlash among residents who don't want tipsy tourists weaving through their quiet communities, possibly putting locals at risk while increasing traffic congestion and noise.  Read more...

Here's the thing about rosés and me: I buy them by the case. With other wines, maybe I'll buy a couple of bottles -- one to drink, one to stick away -- and if I really like them, I'll think about picking up a few more. It's a considered, rational purchase.

But who can be rational about rosé? At any time during the summer I'll have one bottle open in the fridge, ready for me to pour a glass or two for dinner. There'll be another bottle chilling, because who wants to run out of rosé? And there will be several more just waiting to be tapped. Read more...