A number of key appointments and distribution agreement have been percolating through the trade this week.
PR agency Clarion has been appointed to handle trade and consumer communications for Conviviality.
Their remit will cover the Bibendum, Matthew Clark, Bargain Booze and Wine Rack businesses.
Meanwhile, Maison Joseph Drouhin, the family-owned wine estate with properties in Burgundy and Oregon, has promoted John A. Caruso to president of Dreyfus, Ashby & Co.
Maison Joseph Drouhin purchased premium importer Dreyfus, Ashby, in 1985, which has a strong presence in the US.
Following his tenure as vice president over the past decade, Caruso takes the top job at the helm of the importer.
In other news filtered through from the continent, Justerini & Brooks has become the UK distributor for Champagne Philipponnat.
Family-owned Scotch specialists Douglas Laing recently announced a new appointment at board level alongside its annual results.
Danny MacLennan, formerly of BrewDog and William Grant & Sons, has joined the board as the new finance director, taking over from Alick Bisset who takes on the role of non-executive director.
The announcement follows the blender and bottler’s latest results which saw profits rise by 17% to £1.6m in 2016.
Sales of Douglas Laing's whiskies grew by 29% in 2016, with more than 60,000 cases shipped globally.
Lastly, a Belgian bartender ran away with the top prize from Bacardi’s latest mixology competition.
Ran Van Ongevalle from from Knokke Heist was named Bacardi Legacy Global Cocktail Competition’s 2017 winner with Clarita – a stirred cocktail with Bacardi Ocho Años rum and Amontillado sherry, combined with crème de cacao, absinthe and saline solution.