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INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT From South Beach Wine & Food Festival rench wine producers Georges and Franck Duboeuf with Paula Deen at Paula’s Down Home Gospel Brunch February 27th during the South Beach Wine & Food festival. Les F Vins Georges Duboeuf was the exclusive wine spon- sor for the brunch for 600 people at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel. Fetzer Sale B In Memoriam rown-Forman has agreed to sell Fetzer Vineyards to Chilean wine producer Viña Concha y Toro S.A. for $238 million. Included in this sale of Fetzer Vineyards are the Fetzer winery, bottling facility and vineyards, as well as the Fetzer brand and other Hopland, CA–based wines, including Bonterra, Little Black Dress, Jekel, Five Rivers, Bel Arbor, Coldwater Creek and Sanctuary. The sale does not include the super-premium Sonoma- Cutrer brand or the company’s long-term agency relationship with Korbel California Champagnes. he Austrian Wine Marketing Board and the Austrian Trade Commission are presenting the second annual Austria Uncorked tasting series. Wine and spirits trade and press are invited to join more than 100 Austrian winemak- Austria Uncorked T Hank Rubin, father of the Berkeley Food Revolution and well-known writer about food and wine, passed away in San Francisco on February 24. He was 94 years old. After his retirement from the Berkeley restaurant business in the mid- 1970s, Rubin focused his energies on writing about food and wine. He penned “The Wine Master,” a weekly column in the San Francisco Chronicle, for 15 years and served as Wine Editor of Bon Appétit, where he was the founder of the Bon Appétit Tasting Panel, a group which was later headed by Anthony Dias Blue and became the precursor to THE TASTING PANEL magazine. Hank Rubin was a man beloved by all who knew him for integrity, his generosity of spirit and his lifelong commitment to service in the community, to his profession and to his family. He is survived by his wife Lillian, daughter Marci, grandson Blake and his wife Margaret and great- grandson Edward. Chicago Shows ers, importers and representatives in Los Angeles on May 2 at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills from 12–4 p.m. and in NYC on May 4 at the Tribeca Rooftop from 12–4 p.m. To register for the trade portion please email Austria@Crierpr.com. Allen Balik Searches for Next Wine Brand Superstar P ioneered by sister company TGIC Importers, wine consultant Allen Balik has been recruited to pair exclusive premium domestic brands with newly formed California distribution company TITAN Wine & Spirits. Balik will research and evaluate potential candidates for TITAN and TGIC by size, varietals, existing presence in the market, strength of label, geographic diversity, number of years in business and quality-to-price value ratio. 10 / the tasting panel / april 201 1 The 2011 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel- Motel Show begins Saturday, May 21, 2011 through Tuesday, May 24, 2011 at McCormick Place in Chicago. Saturday–Monday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, visit show.restaurant.org. Allen Balik. The International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event (IWSB), beginning Sunday, May 22, 2011 through Monday, May 23, 2011, is held at the NRA Show at McCormick Place as well. IWSB is the only forum focusing exclusively on restaurant and hospitality beverage alcohol sales. Hours will be Sunday and Monday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Complete information at www. winespiritsbeer.org. PHOTO: CHRISTIE’S PHOTOGRAPHY