2008年1月31日 星期四

中國企業購得波爾多酒莊

中國企業首次購得波爾多酒莊
Latour-Laguens酒莊
Latour-Laguens酒莊“仿佛迪斯尼”。

中國資金進入法國馳名世界的葡萄酒業。中國青島海龍國際貿易有限公司在法國著名葡萄酒產地波爾多購得有約500年歷史的Latour-Laguens酒莊。

據法新社報道,這筆周二公布的交易是上周四簽約的,交易總值沒有公布。

以前鮮為人知的Latour-Laguens酒莊位於波爾多東南部,佔地六十公頃,其中三十公頃是以紅葡萄為主的葡萄園,還有倉庫、酒窖和酒廠。

法新社引述負責這項交易的地產公司負責人的話說,這個建有城堡的酒莊如"迪斯尼樂園一般", 名字可以使人想起"美多克地區上等好酒"。

據地產公司介紹,該酒莊年產葡萄酒十六萬瓶。

行業內分析人士認為,這是中國企業首都購買波爾多酒莊,並會成為企業資質和營銷能力的重要組成部分。

同時,由於當地酒莊售價目前處於低谷,業界也認為中國企業這次"撿了個便宜"。不過現在一般的價格也在一萬八千到兩萬歐元一公頃。

新興市場

分析人士認為,雖然中國購得的這個酒莊同數百萬歐元一公頃的"經典酒莊"相比名氣上還有很大差距,但畢竟使中國企業獲得了一個立足點。

此前曾有新加坡、印度和俄羅斯企業試圖購買當地酒莊均沒有成功,波爾多目前只有日本企業擁有一個酒莊。

據互聯網上得到的信息,總部設在中國青島的龍海國際貿易公司主要從事葡萄酒進出口貿易,並在建設一個"葡萄酒城"進行展示和銷售。

隨著經濟的發展,飲用葡萄酒成為中國新的消費時尚,近年波爾多地區出口中國的數量成倍增長,而且對高檔品牌需求尤為旺盛。

BBC中文部在法國的特約記者翁素雲說,法國酒商不僅看好中國的市場,對中國資金進入法國釀酒業也持比較積極的態度。

2008年1月25日 星期五

「神之雫」

「神之雫」(音同霞,中文譯為神之水滴)是用很專業的角度來描述葡萄酒,因為不是青少年為主的漫畫,而是鎖定對紅酒有興趣的入門者,因此被日本喻為學習葡萄酒的必讀教本,短時 間還帶動日、韓的葡萄酒銷售量,影響力大到足以左右亞洲各國紅酒市場的銷售。
醫學界說,紅酒含有酒石酸,作用有點類似果酸,可改善膚質,....

2008年1月23日 星期三

KAGOME 可果美


KAGOME


2008.01.23
可果美07年4~12月純利潤增加13%,蔬菜飲料暢銷

  可果美1月21日發表的2007年4~12月聯合結算業績顯示,純利潤比上年同期增加13%,達到55億日元。除主力商品蔬菜飲料保持良好銷售勢頭外,乳酸菌飲料的銷售額也有所擴大。雖然蔬菜價格的高漲使原料成本增加,但通過提高宣傳廣告費的使用效率得以吸收。

  銷售額增加10%,達到1588億日元。蔬菜飲料因主力品牌“蔬菜生活100”等銷售良好,實現了兩位數的增收。“植物性乳酸菌Labre”等乳酸菌飲料的銷售額也增加了20%,達到115億日元。

  營業利潤增加13%,達到109億日元。蔬菜及材料等的價格高漲使成本率下降2個百分點,降至52.7%。不過,不僅廣告宣傳的時間差異推動5億日元增收,而且削減成本、提高促銷費使用效率也吸收了成本率下降部分。(1月22日 《日本經濟新聞》晨報)

2008年1月22日 星期二

"Molson".

鄉土啤酒冰霓虹

2007/12/12 13:25

對了,金鼎酒店賣的不是青島啤酒,是來自加拿大的鄉土啤酒MOLSON


----
hc案

Wikipedia article "Molson".



Prosecco v spumante in a can.

Italian Prosecco Makers Fizzing Over Hilton's Copy-In-A-Can

It’s the Grapes of Wrath this week in the countryside just north of Venice. Sparkling white wine-makers are fizzing with disgust over Paris Hilton's latest venture: spumante in a can.


spumante

pl. spumanti [spoo-MAHN-tay; spoo-MAHN-tee] Italian for "sparkling," as in wine. See also asti spumante; frizzante.




Not only put a sparkling white made from Prosecco grapes in a golden can, she has named it "Rich Prosecco" and is selling it in two low alcohol fruit-flavoured varieties. Now local wine-makers in Italy are rallying against it, saying the drink is not just an insult to their high quality product but also a threat to its reputation outside of the country.

Prosecco

[praw-SEHK-koh; proh-SEHK-koh] A white-wine grape that's grown primarily in the eastern part of Italy's veneto region. Prosecco's made into lightly sparkling (frizzante), fully sparkling (spumante), and still wines. Its fine reputation, however, comes from the sparkling versions. The wines are crisp and appley and, though they can be sweet, are more often found dry. The best-known wines made principally from Prosecco come from the doc of Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene and are generally sold with either the name of Conegliano or Valdobbiadene attached. The very best Pro­secco wines are labeled "Superiore di Cartizze" and come from a subzone within Valdobbiadene. Prosecco is also known as Balbi, Glera, Serprina, and Tondo.

2008年1月21日 星期一

麒麟直逼首位朝日:07年啤酒類飲料供貨量

2008.01.21
07年啤酒類飲料供貨量:麒麟直逼首位朝日

  日本啤酒行業1月17日統計的2007年啤酒類飲料(啤酒、發泡酒、第三類啤酒)的供貨量(按照納稅額計算)結果顯示,朝日啤酒的佔有率佔 37.9%,連續7年位居榜首。業績良好的第三類啤酒業務擁有熱銷商品的麒麟啤酒僅以0.1個百分點之差緊隨其後。但是啤酒的市場整體供貨量則跌至自實施 現行統計的1992年以來的最低記錄。由於以年輕人為主逐漸告別啤酒,各公司計劃漲價的08年,市場可能會進一步萎縮。

  去年各商品的日本銷量排名:第一位是連續11年居首的朝日的啤酒“Super Dry”。麒麟的第三類啤酒“Nodogoshi〈生〉”超過了該公司的啤酒“一番榨”,躍居第二位。發泡酒和第三類啤酒比去年多出一種商品,有六種商品進入前10位。

  各企業的佔有率方面,朝日比上年上升0.1個百分點,麒麟佔37.8%(同比上升0.2個百分點),三寶樂啤酒佔12.5%(同比下滑0.4 個百分點),三得利佔11.0%(同比上升0.2個百分點)。佔有率下滑的三寶樂啤酒雖然高級啤酒“YEBISU”業績良好,不過發泡酒等業務陷入苦戰。 (1月18日 《日本經濟新聞》晨報)

2008年1月9日 星期三

A Taste for Brews That Go to Extremes:Beers of The Times

Beers of The Times

A Taste for Brews That Go to Extremes

Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

Published: January 9, 2008

AS a life philosophy, it may not lead to wealth, happiness or old age, but for many American brewers today the motto printed on the bottle of Moylander Double I.P.A., from Moylan’s, a West Coast brewer, is a guiding principle:

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Pairings: Pairings (January 9, 2008)

Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

NOT THE MELLOW TYPE Beers high in hops have grabbed the attention of the world’s brewers.

Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

“If one is good, then two is better!”

Such is the ethos of extreme beers, an all-American genre in which brewers are engaged in a constant game of “Can you top this?” Whether using an inordinate amount of traditional ingredients like malt or hops, or adding flavorings undreamed of by Old World brewers, American brewers have created a signature style that beer enthusiasts seem both to love and hate.

In the last 30 years American brewers have produced exceptional versions of classic Old World styles, whether pale ales or Pilseners, porters or stouts. They’ve even resuscitated nearly extinct styles like India pale ale, now one of the more popular genres in the United States. But nothing has caught their imagination like going over the top.

Forget about I.P.A.’s, strong, hoppy brews developed by the British centuries ago to withstand the ocean voyage to colonial India. Americans are now making double I.P.A.’s, Extreme I.P.A.’s, even Unearthly I.P.A.’s.

Nowadays, the beer shelves are so crammed with brews labeled Maximus, Monstrous and Imperial that you feel as if you’ve stumbled into a file of e-mail spam.

In this world, bigger is always better, and why not? Hummers rule the road and 16 percent alcohol pinot noirs rule the wine ratings. Why not a beer like Stone Ruination I.P.A., so-called, the brewery proudly asserts, because of the ruinous effect of “this massive hop monster” on your palate. Are you man or woman enough for this beer?

Many beer lovers are aghast at the creative liberties American brewers are taking with traditional styles, feeling that the bigger-is-better principle is reducing American brewing to the equivalent of a frat party.

But to the brewers themselves, it is a matter of creative pride, not to mention patriotism.

“We’re the same country that put men on the moon, and we’re taking the same approach to beer,” said Brendan Moylan, the founder of Moylan Brewing Company in Novato, Calif. “We passed the rest of the world by ages ago, and they’re just waking up to it.”

He’s right. From Asia to Italy, brewers are trying to emulate these beers. Not content with the Moylander Double I.P.A., Mr. Moylan now makes what he calls a triple I.P.A., Hopsickle Imperial, which he said was “the hoppiest beer on earth.”

To judge for ourselves whether these transgressive beers were simply stretching boundaries in creative ways or were the doomed siblings of cars with tail fins, the tasting panel sampled 25 examples, all from American brewers. Florence Fabricant and I were joined for the tasting by Garrett Oliver, brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery, and Phil Markowski, the brewmaster at the Southampton Publick House, a restaurant and brewery in Southampton, N.Y.

Each of us, I think it is fair to say, came to the tasting with a dose of skepticism. The philosophy of more is better, we agreed, is generally ridiculous. Nonetheless, for many people in the beer world, the question of extreme beers is a touchy subject.

“The hoppiest beer?” Garrett asked. “It’s a fairly idiotic pursuit, like a chef saying, ‘This is the saltiest dish.’ Anyone can toss hops in a pot, but can you make it beautiful?”

Phil likened the appeal of these beers to the macho allure of hot sauces, which almost dare enthusiasts to try the hottest ones.

Meanwhile, Garrett finds it offensive that brewers use terms like double I.P.A. “It’s claptrap intended to cloud the illustrious history of the style,” he said. “It’s like calling a wine double Beaujolais — it’s an insult.”

Gee, we hadn’t even gotten to the beers yet.

Actually, I’m less bothered than Garrett by double I.P.A.’s. Europe already has a tradition of augmentative beer terminology, like bock and doppelbock in Germany, and Belgian Trappist ales, which may be double and triple.

Of course, those styles are well understood. Here in the United States, double, imperial and the rest can mean whatever the brewer wants them to mean. Certainly, too, the Old World has its tradition of huge beers. Imperial porters and stouts, barley wines and Trappist ales can easily contain more than 10 percent alcohol, roughly twice the ordinary amount.

We did not include American versions of these genres in our tasting, on the theory that they were not new stylistically. Nor did we include beers that used unusual ingredients or flavorings, like maple syrup, kumquats or whatever. Instead, we focused on beers that took existing styles and exaggerated them. For the most part, this means beers that are hoppy in the extreme.

Brewers have always used the resiny cone of the hop plant to add bitterness and aromas to beer. Hops and alcohol also act as a preservative, and you could make the case that India pale ale, with its higher-than-normal alcohol and hops content, was an extreme beer of the 18th century. So it makes sense that most of the extreme beers today are characterized by their ultrahoppiness. Of the 25 beers we tasted, at least 20 of them would fall into the category of exaggerated I.P.A.’s regardless of what they call themselves.

To carry their extraordinary bitterness and aromatic zest, these beers need a sturdy foundation, so they tend to have outsize malty qualities as well as high alcohol. They are not therefore session beers, brews that you can drink in multiple pints over the course of an evening. Still, the best versions, in which all the elements are well balanced, are highly appealing. Florence, in particular, was surprised at how many she found likable, and even elegant.

Our favorite was the robust 90 Minute Imperial I.P.A. from Dogfish Head, a beer that balances its exaggerated caramel and chocolate sweetness with a bracing bitterness derived from hops. If you sneer at the 90 Minute, Dogfish also occasionally issues its 120 Minute I.P.A., which, at 20 percent alcohol, may well be, as the brewery contends, “the biggest I.P.A. ever brewed.”

Our No. 2 beer, the Weyerbacher Double Simcoe I.P.A., seemed to embody the term “killer,” the extreme beer fan’s favorite compliment. Killer hops, killer fruit, overwhelming yet bearable, even enjoyable, because it is so well balanced.

The No. 3 beer, the I.P.A. Maximus from Lagunitas, was something of a lightweight in this crowd with a mere 7.5 percent alcohol, yet it was lively and energetic with a lush citrus perfume.

By contrast, the Gordon from Oskar Blues — the only beer in our tasting to come in a can — was practically mellow and subdued. Was that a good thing? We thought so, because the flavors were nonetheless distinct and complex.

You would not call the Victory Hop Wallop mellow, but it was fresh and delicious. And you would never call Mad River’s Steelhead Double I.P.A. or Flying Dog’s Double Dog Double Pale Ale subdued. Their signature hop aromas practically punch you in the face.

Our tasting included just a small sampling of the wide variety of extreme beers out there. Frankly, while most American craft brewers do make a version of an extreme beer, they also produce traditional styles as well.

“The extreme beers definitely get more attention,” Mr. Moylan of Moylan Brewery conceded, “but here in the brew pub, most people are drinking the mellower stuff.”

Perhaps that’s a good thing, because the brewing world is now facing an international hops shortage. No, it’s not because of the daunting amount of hops used in many extreme beers. It’s more a result of the normal cycle of supply and demand.

Overproduction of hops in the early 1990s resulted in excess supply and depressed prices, said Ralph Olson, a hops dealer based in Yakima, Wash. As a result, world hop acreage has fallen from about 234,000 in 1994 to 113,000 in 2006. It may take several years, Mr. Olson suggested, for hops production to be able to meet current demands.

Meanwhile, expect beer prices to go up. But there’s nothing wrong with that. If $10 a six-pack is good, $12 is better, right?

Tasting Report: Careful, These Are Beers That Can Bite

Dogfish Head

$3.50, 12 oz.

** 1/2

90 Minute Imperial I.P.A., Milton, Del., 9 percent alcohol

Big and robust with chocolate, caramel and balsam flavors and a

bracingly bitter aftertaste.

Weyerbacher Double Simcoe I.P.A.

$3, 12 oz.

** 1/2

Easton, Pa., 9 percent alcohol

Big and almost overwhelmingly intense yet balanced, with aromas and flavors of sweet fruit and piney hops.

Lagunitas I.P.A. Maximus

$5, 22 oz.

** 1/2

Petaluma, Calif., 7.5 percent alcohol

Lively and energetic with hoppy pine and grapefruit aromas balanced by sweet, grainy malt.

Oskar Blues Gordon

$4.25, 12 oz.

** 1/2 Lyons, Colo., 8.7 percent alcohol

Hoppy aromas of pine resin, yet mellow and balanced with lingering flavors of licorice and tamarind.

Victory Hop Wallop

$2.50, 12 oz.

** 1/2

Downingtown, Pa., 8.5 percent alcohol

Extremely bitter hop flavors, yet balanced with floral and ginger

aromas.

Mad River Brewing Steelhead

$1.75, 12 oz.

** 1/2

Double I.P.A., Blue Lake, Calif., 8.6 percent alcohol

Aromas of caramel and butterscotch with briny flavors and plenty

of hoppy bitterness.

Flying Dog

$3, 12 oz.

**

Double Dog Double Pale Ale, Frederick, Md.

10.5 percent alcohol

Like a fruitcake with hops; fruity with caramel and vanilla flavors and lots of bitter citrus.

Moylan’s Moylander Double I.P.A.

$5.25, 22 oz.

**

Novato, Calif., 8.5 percent alcohol

Hoppy aromas of grapefruit, flowers and pine; full-bodied and slightly sweet yet balanced.

Southern Tier Unearthly

$7, 22 oz.

**

Imperial I.P.A., Lakewood, N.Y., 11 percent alcohol

Silky and very sweet with a Grand Marnier-like orange flavor.

Great Divide Hercules Double I.P.A.

$8, 22 oz.

**

Denver, Colo., 9.1 percent alcohol

Powerful, spicy grapefruit flavors and a lingering alcohol burn.

2008年1月8日 星期二

2008年1月5日 星期六

旅人雞酒(Sol)

......在怔忡時,雞腿解凍了,我打開電爐,電爐熱度不足以爆炒薑片和雞塊,麻油缺乏香味(如果有民生西路的信成黑麻油…),壯碩的雞腿卻有異味,最後,我索性倒入半瓶酒精濃度70%的伏特加,讓它熬煮。

我記得,當我喝下第一口湯時,窗外街道、房舍的燈光皆已亮起,只有我的房間是暗的。我一口口喝下濃濃的麻油雞酒,看著湯碗薄薄一層油彩,感覺酒意和思緒逆向升降、時又迴旋翻轉,終於把我推入有淡淡苦味的醺然。


旅人雞酒



Epiphany v 葡萄酒

"Epiphany"

當葡萄酒如神靈乍現

Epiphany——主顯節原本是東方教會慶祝耶穌誕生的節日,原意是:神若顯現定教人以肉眼看得見。

關於主顯節最早的文字記載,可以回溯到第三世紀的諾斯底派人在1月6日慶祝「耶穌受洗節」,並主張耶穌受洗之際才真正誕生為天主子。

人們將「耶穌誕生」與「耶穌受洗」連接起來,衍繹到後來又加入耶穌所行的「變水為酒」的神蹟。由第四世紀開始,羅馬天主教會便固定在12月25日慶祝耶穌聖誕,並在1月6日慶祝主顯節以紀念耶穌將自己顯現給世人的三大事跡:賢士來朝、耶穌受洗、變水為酒。......
了 解了主顯節的意義之後,聽人如此說道:「當你找到對的葡萄酒時就宛如主向你顯示了祂自己……」才不會訝異得張嘴無言,卻想:將Epiphany譬比葡萄 酒,豈不太大膽!?......基督教是西方文化非常重大的一支,葡萄酒亦然。東方人藉著葡萄酒來認識主耶穌基督的生命在人體內綻放的滋味,而早就信服者 藉此愈顯主榮,同時彰顯我們的人性。聖誕夜我們遵循奧地利的習俗不肉不酒守齋靜候至耶穌之子誕生的午夜,才開瓶互祝平安順遂,在地為好人。

對不信教的人,將Epiphany翻成靈光乍現或較適合,而無所謂信與不信的怎樣翻譯大體都能心領神會,至於嚴禁喝酒的地方這個字或許還是個禁忌哩。 .....

2008年1月4日 星期五

Tapping into Japanese craft beers

MICROBREWS

Tapping into Japanese craft beers

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The small brewery movement is young in Japan, and its distinctive bottlings are worth seeking out.
By Charles Perry, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
January 2, 2008
THINK of a Japanese beer: Kirin, Sapporo, Asahi. All mass-produced lagers.

But isn't there something strange about that? The Japanese are renowned for their devotion to craftsmanship and unique handmade products. Think of fresh tofu skin (yuba), or kimoto daiginjosakes, or the quest for the perfect ramen in 1986's "Tampopo."

So where are the Japanese craft beers?

A few have been showing up, including some excellent examples, but they've had a late start. It's not the brewers' fault. For many years, Japanese law made craft breweries illegal -- you had to make more than half a million gallons a year to be licensed.

The beers are worth seeking out for their unique flavors such as a red rice ale with a berry-like perfume or a stout tasting of molasses and soy. Most are good food beers. Hitachino's Red Rice Ale would be an excellent match for ramen with pork and bamboo shoots.

"Japanese craft beers are carefully made," says Mario Vasquez, beer buyer at Wally's Wines in L.A. "They come from a craft sake tradition. The Hitachino ales show traditional Japanese brewing style, especially the white ale -- it has a clean, refreshing herbal flavor."

At the moment, only two brands are available in the Los Angeles area. We can expect that this is just the beginning, because there's a lot of craft brewing activity in Japan. The law against small breweries was finally liberalized in 1994.

During the next few years, hundreds of brew pubs and craft breweries opened (craft beers are called ji-biru, or local beers, to distinguish them from the giant "national" brands). Like craft breweries in this country, they're still dwarfed by the big players, but they have enthusiasm on their side.

Probably because most Japanese craft breweries are still quite small, their products aren't yet well distributed in the U.S. It might not be an accident that Hitachino and Echigo, the two brands available in our area, are produced by well-known sake breweries with established distribution channels. The sake connection may also explain why both make at least one rice beer.

An eclectic new wave

THE big Japanese brewers have always focused on lager, but the new wave, just like American craft brewers, shows more eclectic interests. The independent brewers make ales, stouts and wheat beers and experiment with wild ideas such as Echigo's tomato-flavored beer (not available here).

In particular, America's West Coast school has been influencing Japanese brewers. The brew master at Yo-Ho Brewing Co., a pioneer craft brewery established in 1996 in Karuizawa, worked at Escondido's Stone Brewing Co. from 1998 to 2001. It's not surprising to hear that, among its beers (unfortunately not available here yet), Yo-Ho makes a highly hopped India pale ale -- something new in Japan, where beer tastes incline to elegance and subtlety.

Yo-Ho brew master Toshi Ishii also seems to have picked up some of the West Coast contrarian spirit. Chris Cochran, Stone's marketing coordinator, has tasted a barley wine and a seasonal porter which, flying in the face of craft brewing's bottle tradition, Yo-Ho releases in cans. "They were wonderful," he says. "They were the best canned beers I've ever had."

In short, there's a lot of ferment, as it were. At least one of the giant brewers, Asahi, has responded by brewing a few more adventuresome beers, which it sells at a company-owned brew pub in Tokyo.

Echigo was the first craft brand to come to market in 1995. Its cosmopolitan founder, Seiichiro Uehara, had studied art history and acting in Italy and is married to a German woman. His brewery is in Niigata Prefecture, the No. 2 rice-producing area in Japan.

Niigata grows Japan's most popular rice variety, Koshihikari, and Uehara makes a beer from it.

This is an interesting choice, in light of the fact that his family owns the well-known Uehara sake company. Koshihikari is a table rice, not one of the traditional sake rice varieties. In Echigo's hands, it makes a fairly standard lager with a surprisingly intense, grassy nose.

Echigo also makes an intense stout with food-friendly notes of soy and mushrooms, something worth trying with grilled foods such as yakitori.

Three beers by the craft brewer Hitachino are fairly easily found in L.A.; another -- Hitachino's New Year Celebration Ale -- can be tasted only at Lucky Baldwins British Pub & Cafe in Pasadena. Hitachino, an outgrowth of the Kiuchi sake brewery in Ibaraki Prefecture, an urbanized area near Tokyo, started brewing its Hitachino Nest line of ales in 1996 with what it calls "a hint of our traditional sake brewing method."

There is an obvious Japanese twist to its Red Rice Ale (Kiuchi makes a sake from red rice, which has something of the same fruit-like flavor) and its Japanese Classic Ale, aged in cedar barrels in the traditional sake manner.

Hitachino's White Ale is a subtle take on the Belgian wit idea, emphasizing the fluffy yeast aroma over the wheat beer flavors. It's particularly good with sushi, but it's also delightful for drinking on its own. Hitachino beers are more widely distributed than Echigo and can be recognized by the trademark owl on their labels.

Local red rice beer

THESE beers seem better known in the eastern U.S. than they are out here -- you can see Hitachino delivery trucks plying the streets of New York City.

This seems odd, given that Los Angeles has had a sizable Japanese population for about a century. In fact, these beers don't yet seem to have made much headway in L.A.'s izakayas, though most of those homey Japanese-style pubs serve beer as well as sake.

You're most likely to find Japanese craft beers at beer-savvy spots such as Sushi Roku (Pasadena, West Hollywood and Santa Monica), Yuta (Studio City), Father's Office (Santa Monica) and Lucky Baldwins (Pasadena).

Inspired by the Japanese craft brewing style, the Sushi Roku chain has arranged for Golden State Brewery in Encino to brew a house brand of red rice beer.

Fortunately, you can also find Echigo and Hitachino at liquor stores with a beer specialty, such as Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa, Wally's Wines & Spirits in Los Angeles, Cap N' Cork in Silver Lake, Vendome Liquors in Studio City and Beverages & More stores.

charles.perry@latimes.com