**Distribution reshuffle:** RNDC's Chapter 11 and asset sales are moving territory to beer-led wholesalers (Reyes, Quality Brands, Columbia, Morales, Manhattan Beer). Reyes' 11-market, $5B+ deal makes RBG Spirits and Wine the No. 3 wine and spirits house.
- **Southern Glazer's:** dropping "Wine & Spirits" from its name in early 2027, buying beer assets (AB's NYC operation, Clare Rose, Eagle Rock), and facing a $12.5M DOJ non-prosecution agreement, an FTC Robinson-Patman consent decree, and a California price-discrimination probe.
- **Other deals:** Martignetti acquiring Girardi; Breakthru exiting the RNDC Kentucky and Indiana deal; Keg 1 River City and Morales stepping in; Sierra Nevada, Constellation, and Mark Anthony leaving Coors Distributing in Denver, with CDC suing under Colorado franchise law.
- **WSWA forum:** Brager says all categories are declining but stabilizing, on-premise is beating off-premise, and premiumization is largely absent. Michael Hertz succeeds Cutter Smith as chairman.
- **Control states:** the Mississippi warehouse failure ruling (*Uno Mas v. Ruan*); NABCA August spirits volume down 3.0%, wine down 6.4%, cocktails up 12.4%.
- **Supreme Court:** *Wilson v. Miller* cert decision on Ohio's wine shipping law, with both sides seeking review.
- **Beer:** Constellation beat ($3.74 EPS, $2.63B sales) but depletions fell 0.6% against shipments up 5.5%. The SpikedAde acquisition ($75M plus up to $278M). BPI at 39, craft at 23, at-risk inventory at 54. Beer Institute shipments down 3.5%. Imports and craft playbook from Bump Williams.
- **Spirits and brands:** craft volume down 8.0% with 2,131 distillers; Irish Mist sold to Old Canal Quay; Tigner joins El Tequileño; Casamigos and Don Julio class action dismissed; Guinness Open Gate closing; TKC Distilling fires Wes Henderson; BuzzBallz and Pop-Tarts RTD pullback.
- **Wine:** private-label glut, 2.2M-ton crush, the shortage-versus-glut debate, Napa distress (Signorello, Gundlach Bundschu, 86 licenses at risk), East Coast freeze losses, global consumption at the lowest since 1957, Treasury Wine's restructuring, NielsenIQ category and brand data, and the Josh Cellars trademark trial.
- **Regulation and legal:** hemp THC ban delay, the Canadian-origin alcohol border question, Poland and Germany excise proposals, the Red Boot Distillery TTB case, the Mitra-9 kratom case, the Massachusetts DPH pushback, and Smith-Madrone and Summit Lake in Napa.
- **Consumer:** K-shaped split, NIQ volumes down 2.5% with prepared cocktails up 4.8%, PepsiCo guidance cut, Amazon Prime Big Deal Days spend, Tesco and GLP-1 commentary, and the Lancet cancer study versus longevity messaging.
- **Operators and tech:** menu shifts away from Burgundy, bulk buying, AI in winery software and fault detection, and Uber's $2.3B ezCater deal.
- **Big takeaway:** a consolidating middle tier under enforcement pressure, a value-seeking consumer, and growth concentrated in RTDs and convenience formats.
