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Wolf Farms claims Classic Cupping Competition at Big Island coffee festival

Wolf Farms claims Classic Cupping Competition

Swirl, sniff and slurp(ee)? 7-Eleven brings out a value wine

7-Eleven stores take a Big Gulp… of wine

Appeals court to hear Mass. law restricting direct shipments of wine to consumers

Court hears appeal on Mass. wine shipment law

Master distillers become promotional faces behind bourbon brands at events around the globe

Master distillers take star turn in bourbon world

To Brits sweet on low-alcohol lemonade, Mainers shielding minors are sourpusses

Maine puts squeeze on low-alcohol British lemonade

Victorian-style British lemonade runs into trouble in USA because of alcohol content

Alcohol content makes trouble for British lemonade

How low can you go? Big brewers come out with ultra-low-calorie beer; some find it too watery

Big brewers battle it out in calorie-cutting

Washington wine facilities getting larger as growers plant more acres, production increases

Wash. wineries getting bigger as production grows

Vermont brewery settles dispute with energy drink-maker Monster, can keep ‘Vermonster’ name

MORRISVILLE, Vt. — A small Vermont brewery can keep making and selling its Vermonster beer.

Boston Beer Co., Germany’s Weihenstephan to market new, jointly-brewed beer in US, Germany

FREISING, Germany — Boston Beer Co., maker of Samuel Adams, will team up with a venerable German brewery to jointly brew a new craft beer to be marketed in Germany and the U.S. next spring.

SIP: From newspapers to NOW to the NRA, wine clubs take root in unexpected places

SAN FRANCISCO — Quick, what pairs well with feminism, guns and The New York Times?

Get your 1788 cognac here: Paris’ Tour d’Argent wine cellar auctions off some treasures

PARIS — Over the years, the chief sommelier had forgotten they were there. And when the four bottles of 1875 Armagnac Vieux were finally unearthed from the labyrinthine wine cellar this week, they were covered in a black fungus that looked like matted cat fur.

Nominees to state liquor commission would leave teetotalers in control

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah may have made recent strides to streamline its quirky liquor laws, but one booze-related oddity likely isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

PepsiCo’s iPhone app for Amp energy draws online ire for stereotyping women

MILWAUKEE — PepsiCo Inc. is facing criticism for an iPhone application that promises to help men “score” with two dozen stereotypes of women by giving users pickup lines and a scoreboard to keep track of their conquests.

Monster controversy: Energy drink-maker tells Vt. brewer to stop selling ‘Vermonster’ beer

MORRISVILLE, Vt. — The maker of Monster energy drinks is taking aim at a Vermont brewery that sells a beer called Vermonster.

In Arizona desert, family run wineries, vineyards prove to be their own wine charms

ELGIN, Ariz. — Grapes aren’t supposed to grow in the desert. But here in this southern Arizona town, surrounded by endless, rolling green and amber hills, the Callaghan family is de-stemming gigantic bins of grapes that will eventually produce a nice Petit Verdot.

Britain’s once feared Conservatives ditch nasty tag, seek power with new mood of tolerance

LONDON — Who’s nasty now?

Authorities in Iraq’s holy Shiite city of Najaf ban alcohol in city, province

BAGHDAD — Local Iraqi authorities have outlawed alcohol in the province of Najaf, home to the holiest Shiite city, saying it contradicts the principles of Islam.

Federal judge rejects US Airways’ effort to serve liquor on New Mexico flights

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A federal judge has ruled New Mexico officials can keep US Airways from serving alcohol on its New Mexico flights after a passenger caused a drunken-driving crash that killed five people.

Starbucks releases instant coffee nationwide, stocks store helves and other retailers with Via

CHICAGO — The company that added “venti” to American vocabularies will launch a push throughout North America Tuesday to convince even connoisseurs to sample what many see as a down-market drink — instant coffee.

Want a sense of community with that latte? Author wonders if Starbucks is the best place to go

PHILADELPHIA — If Bryant Simon owned a coffee shop, it would not have conversation-killing Wi-Fi. It probably wouldn’t offer to-go cups. But it would have a big, round table strewn with newspapers to stimulate discussion.

Arizonans with concealed weapons permits allowed to bring guns in bars starting Wednesday

PHOENIX — Bartender Randy Shields was serving British brews and Arizona ambers as usual at Shady’s bar in east Phoenix when he saw a customer walk in with a hunting knife strapped to his hip.

Starbucks releases Via instant coffee nationwide, stocks store shelves and other retailers

Caffeine addicts nationwide got first tastes of Starbucks Corp.’s newest offering as the coffee giant blanketed the nation with tens of thousands of free samples of its instant coffee called Via.

AP IMPACT: Drinking water at thousands of schools contains unsafe lead, other toxins

CUTLER, Calif. — Over the last decade, the drinking water at thousands of schools across the country has been found to contain unsafe levels of lead, pesticides and dozens of other toxins.

Athens no longer a discount destination, but bargains still exist

ATHENS, Greece — Athens is no longer a discount destination.