Winebits 715: Lawsuit, expensive wine, direct shipping

This week’s wine news: Two of the world’s biggest booze companies are in yet another lawsuit. Plus, $128,000 might have bought you a bottle of wine and Nevada restricts direct shipping

• Bring on the attorneys: How do you know when a business isn’t growing enough? When the word’s biggest companies start suing each other. That’s the case with Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s biggest brewer, which has filed a second lawsuit against rival Constellation Brands over Modelo beer. The drinksbusiness website reports that Busch is suing Constellation – which we know here as the home of Mondavi wines – as part of its long-standing dispute over who actually owns the name and rights to the Corona and Modelo beer brands. I won’t even pretend I can explain what’s going on; it’s one of those disputes that will cost each side millions in an attempt to stop the other from taking away tiny percentages of market share. Ain’t consolidation grand?

• Yes, expensive: If you had HK$1,000,000 (about US$128,000), you might have been able to buy a 15-liter bottle of Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2000 at an auction in Hong Kong last week. It’s not enough that the 2000 was anointed the vintage of the century by Robert Parker and the Mouton is supposed to an exceptional wine. To quote: “The commemorative bottle alone is a collector’s item. … the glass was adorned with an ‘Augsburg Ram.’ paying tribute to a chased silver-gilt drinking vessel created around 1590 by Jakob Schenauer, a German master goldsmith.” Which, of course, means no one will ever drink it.

• Nevada says no: Nevada, once one of the most liberal states for direct shipping, has changed its mind. Breweries, distilleries, and retailers can no longer ship directly to consumers in Nevada. The change seems to be part of the growing backlash against more open shipping regulations brought on by the pandemic. The new law is so restrictive that it’s illegal for a retailer in one part of the state to ship to a customer in another (though local delivery is still legal).