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www.IowaABD.com |
Lynn M. Walding, Administrator |
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e - NEWS |
February 13, 2004 |
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1. Brown-Forman says
Barton's 'Legendary Still' Doesn't Exist
2. Pernod Ricard Raises
Profit Guidance
3. New Test Will Scope
Out Fake Dram
4. Coors Profits Despite
U.S. Beer Sales
6. Lawmakers Study Use of
Video 'Slot' Games
7. Anti-Smoking Ads Well-Known
in Va.
9. Afton Strips Pub Owner of his Idea
ASSOCIATED
PRESS Brown-Forman's
Woodford Reserve bourbon, left, and Barton's Ridgewood Reserve are at the
heart of a trademark suit.
1. Brown-Forman says Barton's 'Legendary Still'
Doesn't Exist
By
David Goetz -The Courier-Journal
February 13, 2004
Louisville distiller attacks ads for
Ridgewood brand
It's
hard to know what to believe about bourbon these days. Last week, Barton
Inc. told us Brown-Forman Corp.'s Woodford Reserve wasn't really made in Woodford
County. Now Brown-Forman says Barton has been guilty of watering down the
truth. Barton has been touting its new Ridgewood Reserve
bourbon as being made in "the legendary Ridgewood Still" at its
plant in Bardstown, Ky. Trouble is, Brown-Forman said, there was no such
still until Barton executives thought it up for the launch last September
of the Ridgewood brand.
Barton had no immediate comment.
The claims and counter-claims have been flowing like
branch water since Brown-Forman accused Barton in federal court of infringing
on its Woodford Reserve trademark in the naming and design of Ridgewood
Reserve. Pre-trial filings have offered a glimpse of the marketing techniques
associated with the popular super-premium brands.
Barton was concerned about "legitimizing"
its new bourbon and tying it to bourbon history, Brown-Forman claims, when
executives came up with the idea of naming one of its Bardstown stills the
Ridgewood Still.
"This approach directly ties Ridgewood Reserve
to whiskey history," Brown-Forman quotes from a December 2002 memo by
Barton vice president of marketing services Jack Kavanagh. "If we decide
to pursue this, we can have a brass plate engraved with `The Ridgewood Still'
and attach it prominently to the front of the still."
In its advertising and promotional materials, Barton
claims the brand was named for "the legendary Ridgewood Still,"
Brown-Forman says, and its public-relations firm called the claim "one of
its key messages."
The Ridgewood Still "certainly cannot be `legendary'
because it did not exist" before the September brand launch, Brown-Forman
said, so the advertising is false.
Brown-Forman raised the argument in answer to a
Barton charge that the elaborate marketing image Brown-Forman created around
its Woodford Reserve Distillery in Woodford County is false advertising because
most Woodford Reserve bourbon is made at the company's Louisville distillery.
Each company has argued the court should throw out
the other's claim of false advertising under the legal doctrine of
"unclean hands," which says you can't win a false advertising claim
if you've done the same thing yourself.
2. Pernod Ricard Raises Profit
Guidance
By Adam Jones in London
February 5, 2004
LONDON -- Pernod Ricard, the French distiller, on
Thursday raised its profit guidance and pronounced itself ready and willing to
take part in further spirits industry consolidation should the right
opportunity arise.
The maker of Chivas Regal whisky and Havana Club rum
said underlying growth in net profit in 2003 - a figure that strips out
currency volatility - would be greater than the 15 per cent it forecast in
September. Pernod releases its full financial results for 2003 next month.
On Thursday it said group sales fell 27 per cent to
€3.534bn ($4.4bn) in 2003 because of disposals. Wine and spirits sales were
€3.419bn, just 0.3 per cent ahead of last year after strong organic growth from
brands such as Jacob's Creek wine was eroded by currency movements.
Even after factoring in this currency pain, Pernod
said profits before exceptionals were still expected to be up by about 5 per
cent in 2003. Shares rose 3.4 per cent to €93 following its upbeat sales
update.
Pernod is seen by some as a potential suitor for
Allied Domecq, the UK-listed distiller.
Richard Burrows, Pernod director-general, declined to
comment on specific consolidation opportunities. However, he said it would be
keen to look at deals at the right price: "We are in very good standing
with our financial backers. I think we could raise substantial funds if an
opportunity arose."
Pernod's family shareholders were "open to us
issuing equity in order for us to make an acquisition".
The authenticator uses ultra-violet technology
3. New Test Will Scope Out Fake Dram
BBC News
February 12, 2004
A fresh drive to cut
the amount
of fake whisky sold
in pubs
and
restaurants has been launched.
The drinks company Diageo has
announced a new and easier method of detecting whisky which is not the genuine
article using a portable authenticator.
Figures suggest that up to 6% of licensees substitute
cheap spirits for genuine Scottish malts or blends.
There is also concern some may be contaminated with
chemicals which can cause serious injury or even death.
At the moment the procedure for testing that the
liquid in the bottle matches the label is complicated and lengthy.
But the Diageo authenticator has been designed to
work "in the field" and cuts the screening process down to less than
a minute.
The portable spectroscopic kit uses ultra-violet technology
to test the authenticity of whiskies.
Allan Burns, joint executive director of Diageo
Scotland, described the authenticator as a "very significant
development".
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Gavin Hewitt |
This
device provides a new weapon to complement the existing work undertaken by
the industry to defeat counterfeiters 
He said: "Counterfeiting is a
worldwide problem for premium brands across many industries.
"Protecting our consumers and ensuring that they
continue to enjoy the taste and quality of genuine Scotch whisky is essential to
the future of the industry.
"When consumers think they are buying reputable
brands but are in fact buying counterfeit copies, damage occurs not just to the
reputation of the industry, but counterfeit product can also pose potentially
significant consumer health risks."
Mr Burns added: "The authenticator means that
detection can now be swift, efficient and highly cost effective, providing a
powerful deterrent to the Scotch whisky counterfeiters."
Gavin Hewitt, chief executive of the Scotch Whisky
Association, also welcomed the development.
Series of trials
He said: "Scotch Whisky has developed a global
reputation as a drink of quality.
"Its international success means that others
seek from time to time to trade illegally on that reputation.
"This device provides a new weapon to complement
the existing work undertaken by the industry to defeat counterfeiters, and will
give consumers even more confidence that the industry is doing all it can to
ensure the quality of Scotch whisky is maintained."
The £100,000 project was developed at Diageo's Brand
Technical Centre in Menstrie, Clackmannanshire.
It has successfully undergone a series of trials in
Colombia, Spain and Venezuela.
Diageo plan to make the technology available to
trading standards authorities and other whisky companies.
The firm trades in 180 countries and its brands
include Smirnoff, Guinness, Johnnie Walker and Baileys.
4. Coors Profits Despite U.S. Beer
Sales
Associated
Press
February 6, 2004
GOLDEN, CO -- Adolph Coors Co. said its
fourth-quarter earnings rose 79 percent as higher prices, improved European
sales and favorable foreign exchange rates helped it more than offset a decline
in U.S. demand for its beer. Its shares climbed nearly 10 percent Thursday.
Coors reported earnings of $36.1 million, or 98 cents
per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 28, up from $20.2 million, or 55 cents per
share, a year ago.
Analysts were looking for earnings of 68 cents a
share, according to a survey by Thomson First Call.
Sales rose to $1.4 billion from $1.33 billion a year
ago.
While beer sales in Europe edged up, sales in the
Americas slipped to 5.1 million barrels from 5.2 million barrels in the fourth
quarter 2002.
"Going forward, our focus will be sustaining the
progress that we made late last year in Europe and restoring volume growth in
key markets in the Americas business," Coors Brewing Co. CEO Leo Kiely
said.
Kiely said Coors had a strong January and expects to
launch its own low-carb beer, Aspen Edge, in March, along with three new
flavors of Zima as it heads into the peak summer season.
Coors is counting on the offerings to generate
excitement for the company amid a flurry of new drinks from competitors.
The company implemented new supply chain systems last
year that hurt fourth-quarter earnings but should lead to improved service and
lower costs, Kiely said.
For the full year, Coors reported net income of
$174.6 million, or $4.77 per share, up from $161.6 million, or $4.42 per share,
for 2002. Sales rose to $5.39 billion from $4.96 billion.
Coors shares rose $5.58, or 10 percent, to close at
$61.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.
By Vanessa Miller - Iowa
City Press-Citizen
February
7, 2004
Bar owners: Code not curbing underage drinking
IOWA CITY, IA -- The number of patrons tipping
pitchers and cramming local dance floors Thursday night was significantly less
than a year ago - and that wasn't just because of the snow storm outside.
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Iowa City bar owners say the new alcohol ordinance
banning people younger than 19 from entering their establishments after 10 p.m.
has significantly hurt business without affecting underage drinking.
"It ain't made a hell of beans of
difference," said Don Stalkfleet, owner of the Sports Column and Joe's
Place downtown. "In fact, it's probably exacerbated under 19 consumption
of alcohol; they are just doing it in a different place."
After six months of enforcing the law that the City
Council enacted Aug. 1, police officers agree, and some local officials and
business owners are suggesting it's time to up the restricted age to 21.
Capt. Tom Widmer said that so far, stricter
enforcement and new regulations haven't stopped minors from consuming alcohol.
"My own opinion is that it hasn't made a bit of
difference," he said. "I'm sure there are some people who shy away
from the bars, but as far as solving the underage drinking problem goes, it
hasn't made a bit of difference."
According to police records, officers issued 2,219
alcohol-related citations from Aug. 1, 2003 through the end of January, 134 of
which were for underage bar entry. During those months in 2002, officers issued
1,987 alcohol-related violations. In 2001, that number was 1,051.
"We have not seen any decrease," Widmer
said. "... and the number of arrests we have per bar visit is up."
Widmer credited the heightened alcohol enforcement to
the council's dedication to curb underage drinking.
"We work for the council, we look for people who
are under 19 in bars and issue them a ticket," Widmer said. "But
there's still a problem with underage drinking in Iowa City. Even if you
doubled the size of the police force you would still see a problem. There will
continue to be one until our culture changes its view on alcohol."
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Details of the law • Bans those under age 19 after 10
p.m. from bars or restaurants where alcohol accounts for more than half the
sales. • Fines bar patron violators $250.
Owners face escalating fines beginning at $100 and topping out at $500. • Bar
employees under age 19 are allowed on the premises during regular work
hours • Patrons
under age 19 can enter an establish-ment when accompanied by a parent, guardian
or spouse of legal age. • Patrons
under age 19 are allowed in an establishment that restricts entry when
the owner plans a non-alcoholic event and gains approval from the police
chief. |
Stalkfleet said he is concerned by the crackdown in
enforcement, arguing that police checks for underage alcohol salesare conducted
unfairly and pose a serious threat to business.
"There are (bar owners) about to go under in
Iowa City because they don't have the same customer base as they did before. If
they are going to send someone in here that looks 23 with stamps on his hands,
and then take my livelihood and take what feeds my family, it just doesn't seem
right," he said, suggesting that it might be better for the council to
enact a law banning everyone under 21. "If they want to go to a 21-only
law, they should just go 21."
Ames, a community similar in size and demographics to
Iowa City, has done that. According to their police records from Aug. 1, 2003 through
the end of January, officers issued 458 alcohol-related tickets, nearly
one-fifth those issued in Iowa City.
Mayor Ernie Lehman
said city councilors will evaluate the ordinance after a year and review
citation numbers to determine its effect.
"But I don't think you will see it
repealed," he said. "All seven council people said that if the
19-only ordinance didn't work, they would go for a 21-only law. I don't know if
they are still of that persuasion, but five of them are still on the
council."
Jen Larson, a 20-year-old University of Iowa
sophomore, said she thinks restricting bar entry is ineffective because it
results in more house parties.
"People go to the bars half as much as they used
to, but I don't think it's done anything for underage drinking - people just go
to house parties now, and that's not as safe," she said. "People are
going to drink regardless. I live on Iowa Avenue, and I have seen an influx of
house parties."
Lynn Walding, administrator for the state's Alcoholic
Beverages Division, said his department was investigating a high number of Iowa
City bars for alcohol violations before the law's enactment, but that number
has tapered dramatically.
"We've only had two violations sent to us in six
months," he said. Those violations went to the Q Bar, 211 Iowa Ave., on
Sept. 6 and Studio 13, 13 S. Linn St., on Oct. 29. "So it appears the
licensees in Iowa City have gotten the message."
Mike Porter, owner of The Summit Restaurant & Bar
and One-Eyed Jake's, said the drop in violations is not an accurate indicator
of underage alcohol consumption.
"There are less underage people in bars, so
there is less underage drinking in bars," he said. "But has underage
drinking decreased? No. Realistically, it's probably increased."
6. Lawmakers Study Use of Video 'Slot'
Games
By Lynn Okamoto – Des Moines Register
February 12, 2004
DES MOINES, IA -- Iowa lawmakers,
alarmed at the rapid growth of video games that look like slot machines in
convenience stores and gas stations across the state, are taking steps to put
additional restrictions on the devices.
"This, to me, is a bigger problem than the
gambling problem," said Rep. Daniel Rasmussen, an Independence Republican.
"We could have one on every street corner if we don't restrict it."
Video game machines are legal in Iowa, but only if
they offer non-cash prizes of $5 or less, such as credits for food or
merchandise in the bar or store offering the game.
Some have gotten around the law by trading their
winning coupons for cash. Officials estimate that Iowa has as many as 18,000 of
these machines.
"They have all the appearances of a video slot
machine," said Rep. Scott Raecker, an Urbandale Republican. "I think
we're going to see a much greater limiting of these machines."
House File 2114, sponsored by Rep. Dave Heaton, a
Mount Pleasant Republican, would require a counter on such machines to better
keep track of their usage. The bill is being studied by the gambling
subcommittee of the House State Government Committee.
Raecker, who recently observed six middle-school
students using a video game machine for half an hour, said he thinks there
should be further restrictions.
He will offer an amendment so the machines can't be
used by people under 21, and so they're only located in places that have a
license to serve alcohol. He also wants to prohibit businesses from advertising
that they have "video slots."
Retailers said they were willing to work with lawmakers
to ensure that school-age children aren't using the video game machines.
"We would not endorse that type of behavior in
our stores," said Randy Meyer, senior vice president of Krause Gentle
Corp., which operates Kum & Go convenience stores in Iowa.
"Being able to offer these amusement devices is
an important profit tool for them," said Dawn Carlson, president of the
Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores of Iowa.
Raecker said lawmakers could instead vote to ban
these amusement devices. But Ned Chiodo, a lobbyist for the Iowa Operators of
Music and Amusement, said the industry would prefer regulations. "We want
to see this industry stay alive," he said.
Lawmakers last year voted to require registration of
the video game machines, and to limit businesses to two machines and nonprofit
groups to four. Lawmakers said they expected the machines to be used mainly in
bars, restaurants and places like the American Legion or Isaac Walton League.
Instead, the machines have cropped up statewide in
convenience stores, laundromats and other places. Many have gotten around a
$2,500 state registration fee by purchasing the machines. "We never
expected this to turn into this kind of mess," Rasmussen said.
7. Anti-Smoking
Ads Well-Known in Va.
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By Stephanie Stoughton - The
Associated Press
February 11 2004
Grossness, humor may draw in young
Buttman is part of a series of
anti-smoking ads increasingly popular with youths in Virginia, home to industry
giant Philip Morris USA. A recent survey suggests that most children in the
state are aware of the television and radio initiative, perhaps due to its
in-your-face humor and high gross-out factor.
"You should be almost able to stop any kid on the street, and only one in
four couldn't tell you about the campaign," said Danny Saggese, marketing
coordinator for the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation, which finances the
ads
Last year, the advertising-industry publication Adweek gave its thumbs-up to
the Buttman ads. And a leading anti-smoking group, the Campaign for
Tobacco-Free Kids, cautiously praised the foundation and its Richmond ad firm,
Work Inc. It said the campaign was a step forward, in spite of the state's poor
record of financing tobacco prevention.
"I think the foundation is on the right track," said Danny
McGoldrick, research director for the Washington, D.C., organization.
"What they need is a better-funded program."
Like many state-financed programs, the foundation has fallen victim to
Virginia's state-budget woes. Each year, it receives 10 percent, or about $14
million, of the state's share of a historic settlement with tobacco
manufacturers. That money is expected to cover a number of community, education
and enforcement programs to prevent youth tobacco use.
The annual stipend hasn't changed, but the state reduced the foundation's
current financing $15.5 million by taking the group's "savings." The
foundation had stashed that money away during its fledgling years, when it had
fewer operating costs.
Despite the decline in money, the edgy campaign has reached about
three-quarters of its target audience - kids ages 10 to 17 - since it began in
2002.
Among the kids' favorites is an ad in which a girl tastes a trash-can lid and
car tire, with the message that these disgusting habits are comparable to
smoking. The same theme emerges when a group of kids visits the school's cool
nose-picking spot, a takeoff on the informal smoking areas outside many
schools.
Wearing thick black-framed glasses, the disheveled Buttman appears in several
spots: lighting up at a gas station, flicking ashes into the cup of a
prospective employer and making kids cry.
The 2002 National Youth Tobacco Survey found that 13.3 percent of middle school
students and 28.4 percent of high school students used some form of tobacco
In 2002, about a quarter of Virginia adults smoked, compared with the national
rate of 23 percent, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
Buttman and similar ads have proven to be popular, but they compete with the
tobacco industry's multibillion-dollar marketing machine.
Cigarette companies can no longer target U.S. youths, but they still depict
adult smokers as "cool," an image that conflicts with - and perhaps
overpowers - the message of Virginia's upstart campaign.
Virginia's ads make a point of not chasing after tobacco companies. The
advertisements are successful because they don't preach - the "kiss of
death" for ads targeting teens.
Rebecca Darby, a 17-year-old member of the foundation's board of trustees and a
Goochland High School senior, says she sometimes has to remind the adults in
the group that finger-wagging isn't the best approach for her generation.
Kids, she said, "just like to
know the information so they can decide for themselves."
By Corie Brown – Los Angeles Times
February 11, 2004
Tired of Merlot and Cabernet?
This red has become affordable.
LOS ANGELES,
CA -- Suddenly we’re flooded with Pinot Noit, so much so that a decent
bottle can be found for $3.
That’s the low end of a previously unheard-of price category of
$15-and-under Pinot Noirs.
Pinor is actually a Burgundy wine
known for its classic bright red fruit taste. In the past two years, more than 100 new California Pinot
Noir labels have been launched, representing wine at every price point,
including some at $75 and more.
It’s a phenomenal increase in new brands or extensions of old names to
include new pinot Noir labels. It
signifies a major departure from the abundant Cabernet, Merlot and Chardonnay
wines that have been readily available.
Yet, amid the current frenzy,
prices frequently have little or no relationship to quality, which has been
worse than spotty.
“It’s extremely expensive but not
yet delivering on the promise,” says wine critic Steve Tanzer. “It’s a cynical attempt to make early
drinking wine that is an enjoyable soft red wine, which is not what I consider
Pinot Noir.”
“There was too much planting of
Pinot Noir without knowing what to do with it,” says Glen Knight, a buyer at
the Wine House in Los Angeles.
“There have been a lot of garage wines where people are grabbing whatever
wine they can get and sticking a label on it.”
Everyone is in search of the new
great one right now.
“Everyone is sick and tired of the
same flavors. California Cabernet,
Merlot and Chardonnay have all been formulized to a specific taste.”
Stilll, the new wines have been a
dramatic improvement over an earlier Pinot Noir wave in the 1970s that died
quickly when consumers rejected the weedy, thin wines, say wine industry
insiders.
“We’ve spent a long time in the
U.S. trying to make good Pinot Noir and only recently made advances,” says Vic
Motto, wine industry consultant, noting that the new regions are still sorting
themselves out. Santa Barbara
County’s Santa Rita Hills is one of the most promising.
“Pinot Noir is about the
excitement of discovery. Now that
it has a sophisticated, consistent style, it’s safer (to try the California
wines),” Motto says.
Pinot Noir is a terroir wine,
meaning that the best examples express the particular mineral and climatic
attributes of a property more than other varieties might. To create the illusion of exclusivity
in the midst of a glut, ambitious vintners are subdividing their labels into
dozens of vineyard-specific secondary labels. Some growers – notably Gary Pisoni of the Santa Lucia Highlands
in Monterey County – have become as marketable as the vintners they supply,
adding their names to the dozens of wine labels that include their grapes.
Never mind that many of the latest
Pinots are of disappointing quality and are overpriced: Wine drinkers are buying them, doubling
sales of the varietal over the last decade.
The good news for Pinot Noir
drinkers: Supply quadrupled during
the same period. Prices are going
nowhere but down for all but the most sought-after wines.
9. Afton Strips
Pub Owner of his Idea
By Colleen Krantz – Des Moines
Register
February 12, 2004
DES MOINES, IA -- The stage was
the clincher.
Once a rumor began to circulate in Afton that a stage
was being built at Bert's Pub and Grub, city leaders immediately moved to block
what they suspected would be a strip club on the town square.
It took the City Council one meeting to discuss and
unanimously approve an ordinance that stops Bert's from adding exotic dancers.
No one asked owner Jeff Zeits if that was his
intention.
"We heard that they put in a stage and were
talking about go-go girls," said Ann Tunnicliff, a council member in the
town of 920. "Nothing has been confirmed, but we are just hoping to get
ahead of the game."
The ordinance came as news to Zeits, who acknowledged
Wednesday that he did plan to bring in exotic dancers "as an occasional
thing."
"I thought it would bring a little life to this town," he said.
Mayor Gary Clear said the rumor was enough to prompt
quick action, lest the town square start to resemble Times Square. "I
don't think it's something any town would want to be known for," he said.
A recent Des Moines Register article on the growth of
adult-oriented businesses in rural Iowa was discussed at Tuesday's meeting
where the ordinance was approved.
Afton's ordinance bans adult entertainment within
1,000 feet of City Hall or any park, school, church or residence. Bert's is a
few doors from City Hall and across the square from a park.
Afton is "not like a city the size of Des Moines
where they can put it someplace and 90 percent of the people don't know it
exists," said Darius "Di" Boone, owner of Rusk Food and Fuel in
Afton.
Zeits
said he had told many of his customers about the plan. "Evidently, the
word got out and they put the kibosh on it," he said.