Excited to share big news — The Digest of Wine & Spirits Law is now part of Barnes Beverage Group!🍷🍸 After more than 30 years of serving the industry, we are thrilled to announce that wineandspiritslaw.com has been acquired by Barnes Beverage Group, a leader in alcohol beverage law and compliance. Since 1991, The Digest (often called “the Red Books”) has been the trusted resource for wine, spirits, and beer professionals navigating the complex world of federal and state regulations. What began as a quarterly printed publication by Mary Kramer has grown into the industry’s premier online compliance database — helping thousands of producers, wholesalers, importers, and retailers stay informed and compliant. We are confident that this next chapter under Barnes Beverage Group will strengthen and expand The Digest while preserving everything that has made it indispensable. Our commitment remains the same: delivering clear, practical, and reliable guidance so you can focus on building

Afternoon Brief, July 20th

LA Police Hunt Wine Shop Thieves After Major Heist: A Los Angeles fine wine retailer targeted by thieves, who sawed through the roof of its cellar room and stole precious bottles thought to be worth at least $500,000, has said a police investigation was ongoing and thanked customers for their support...

Afternoon Brief, November 23rd

It’s Official: Coloradans Will Be Able to Buy Wine in Grocery, Convenience Stores Starting in March: Grocery and convenience stores with a license to sell beer can begin selling wine March 1. That’s approximately 1,819 licensees as of June 2021...

Afternoon Brief, November 7th

Leading Wine Professionals Sign Letter Calling for Alternative Packaging: Jancis Robinson MW and Hugh Johnson OBE are among a group of leading UK wine writers who have signed an open letter calling for action to promote a shift to alternative packaging for wine...

Afternoon Brief, March 8th

SipSource Data Sheds Light On Off- and On-Premise Channel Changes: Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America’s (WSWA’s) SipSource released today the latest set of Channel Shifting Index (CSI) data that provides wine and spirits professionals insight to channel-performance data for wine and spirits categories/segments, price tiers, and U.S. regions—important data needed to successfully navigate the current environment...

Welcome to the first installment of LibDib’s multi-part series on E-Premise. E-Premise is a term we LibDibbers use often. It’s really important  as we think about the evolution of this industry. Now, more than ever there are three channels to invest in when developing a brand: On-Prem, Off-Prem and…E-Prem! We took some time to sit down with each of our E-Premise partners to find out more about their company and offerings to Makers. First up is Speakeasy, based in San Diego. For the newbies out there: What is E-Premise? E-Premise is a “direct to consumer” (DTC) way to build a brand online. DTC is in quotes because these programs are within the three-tier system where all orders to consumers are fulfilled via licensed retailers. In the past, wine and spirits brands were separated from the end customer (sometimes by two tiers), but E-Premise strategies have ended that division, compliantly, and allowed for more visibility into the person buying and cons