Your daily dose of news and happenings from around the drink-osphere:
– The dangerous vine-loving bacteria that causes “Pierce’s Disease” and once ruined several California vineyards has been found on French soil.
– Craft beer may be rising in popularity, but there are still 11 huge brewing companies in the U.S. that make up 90% of the beer on the market.
– The U.S. Virgin Islands’ environmental agency wants to file violations against two major rum operations, Cruzan Rum and Diageo USVI, because of complaints of black mold.
– Non-alcoholic beer has caught on in cities like Kabul, where alcohol is only attainable on the black market. (But its success in the US still remains to be seen.)
– Steven Soderbergh is all about Singani 63, a grape-based liqueur from Bolivia.
– General Director of the Venezuelan Federation of Liquor Producers Fray Roa was—suspiciously—arrested just after he revealed to journalists why the country is running out of alcohol.
– Finally, Americans with higher incomes drink more often than the rest of the country.
[Photo: Flickr/Siebbi]