Reuters — Salvatore Ferragamo SpA, the Italian luxury goods maker, on Wednesday sued former Montreal Alouettes and Los Angeles Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo, saying he infringed its trademarks by operating his namesake winery in southern California. Consumers are likely to be confused into thinking the Ferragamo Winery and Ferragamo SpA are related, the Italian company […] Read more

Italy’s Ferragamo suing ex-Als QB over same-name winery

Nova Scotia pledges food donation tax credit in budget
A tax credit for Nova Scotia farmers who donate produce to local food banks is among the policy plans laid out in the province’s latest budget. Finance Minister Randy Delorey’s budget on Tuesday showed an overall $17.1 million net surplus position on $10.15 billion in total expenses and $10.26 billion in total revenues (minus $110.3 […] Read more

World wine trade buoyed by rebound in China demand
Paris | Reuters –– Wine exporters toasted an upturn in Chinese wine consumption in 2015 after a two-year decline, as a growing taste there for reds helped global wine trade expand, the International Vine and Wine organization (OIV) said Monday. Chinese imports jumped 44 per cent to 5.5 million hectolitres, while overall consumption in the […] Read more

Wine, foreign content now covered in organic pact with EU
The deal that clears Canadian-certified organic food for sale as organic in the European Union is now expanded to cover Canadian-processed products with some imported ingredients — and to include organic wine. Canada’s Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan on Thursday confirmed the expansion of scope for the EU-Canada Organic Equivalence […] Read more

Constellation considering Canadian wine IPO
Reuters — Constellation Brands said on Wednesday it was considering taking a part of its Canadian wine business public and reported better-than-expected quarterly net sales, helped by strong demand for its premium Corona and Modelo beers. Shares of the New York-based wine, beer and spirits company, which forecast full-year profit largely above estimates, rose as […] Read more

French co-op InVivo plans U.S. wine deal, more food shops
Paris | Reuters –– French agricultural group InVivo is looking to acquire a wine distributor in the U.S. and could open up to 200 food shops in its home market as part of plans to double in size within a decade, InVivo’s CEO said on Tuesday. InVivo entered the wine sector this year through the […] Read more

Bayer expects to compensate grape growers over crop damage
Zurich | Reuters — Bayer expects to pay wine growers compensation starting early next year after vineyards in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and Switzerland reported 2015 crop damage possibly linked to one of the company’s fungicides. European grape growers reported deformed leaves and lower yields after using Bayer CropScience’s Moon Privilege, also known as […] Read more

Treasury Wine to buy Diageo U.K., U.S. wine assets
Sydney | Reuters –– Australia’s Treasury Wine Estates, the world’s biggest standalone wine maker, said Wednesday it had agreed to buy most of Diageo Plc’s U.S. and British wine operations for US$552 million (C$716 million). Treasury also announced a fully underwritten rights issue to raise around A$486 million (C$460 million) to fund the acquisition. The […] Read more

Bayer issues fungicide warning for wine grape growers
Zurich | Reuters — Germany’s Bayer has advised wine grape growers not to use its Moon Privilege fungicide until its Bayer CropScience arm has investigated whether there’s a connection between the product’s use and reported crop damage. Growers have reported deformed leaves and lower yields from their crops this year. Referring to “atypical symptoms” in […] Read more

Canada preparing shorter list of tariff targets in COOL fight
Winnipeg | Reuters — Canada is whittling down its list of U.S. products that it may hit with steep tariffs in retaliation against contentious meat-labeling laws, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said on Tuesday. The Canadian government is likely to target beef, pork, California wines, mattresses, cherries and office furniture, possibly along with other goods, from […] Read more