Winebits 811: UPS strike, Sting, direct to consumer

This week’s wine news: There won’t be a UPS strike, plus Sting will launch new drinks brand and Texas will be safe from illegal booze shipments

• No strike: No one was more surprised than the Wine Curmudgeon when UPS agreed to a new contract with its union, averting a potentially devastating strike. If nothing else, I lost a freelance story when they settled – a full week ahead of the deadline. The employees got almost everything they asked for, including air conditioning and no more forced overtime. The wine business, as several people told me, was watching the negotiations. A strike that lasted longer than Labor Day would have started to hurt, given the approach of the holidays and the return of sample and shipping season as the weather cooled.

• Sting: I would have used this item more prominently on the old blog, since it’s just the sort of click bait that Google likes. But it’s still newsworthy: The pop singer and Police frontman is preparing to launch a new alcohol brand named after his hit “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” reports thedrinksbusiness website. Sting already owns a well-respected Italian vineyard; the new brand will includes wine, brandy, cider, cocktails, and spirits.

• Safe in Texas: Our friends at the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers Association have made it safer for alcohol wholesalers and retailers in Texas keep their monopoly, forging an alliance with several other trade groups to stop teenagers from buying $50 whiskey over the Internet. Seriously. How about this release, touting the alliance because it’s about “preserving public health and safety.” It will also keep huge out-of-state companies from poaching Texas business, though it doesn’t mention that the largest wholesaler in Texas has its corporate office in Miami.