Fantesca Estate & Winery, Napa Valley, Calif., announced that DLynn Proctor, former winemaking ambassador for Penfolds, will join Fantesca as director, effective immediately.

Branford, Conn.-based Stony Creek Brewery announced the introduction of its Crankenstein India pale ale (IPA) series, a rotating selection of hybrid IPAs that merge West Coast- and New England-style influences. This concept is set to be released Jan. 15. Each version is numbered and makes its appearance every other month, the company says. The 16-ounce cans will be sold in limited amounts of four-packs throughout all markets where Stony Creek Beer is available.

Like consumers during Christmas and New Year's Eve, the readers of Beverage Industry feel the love for whiskey as 73 percent of voters named Stillhouse Spiced Cherry Whiskey their favorite new beverage in Readers’ Choice: New Product of the Month poll for November.

In honor of the darkest day of the year — Dec. 21 — Dunkin' Donuts, Canton, Mass., and Wormtown Brewery, Worcester, Mass., announced a partnership to launch DDark Roasted Brew, the first beer to be brewed with Dunkin' Donuts Dark Roast coffee beans. This decadent, stout-style beer features full-roasted coffee flavor reminiscent of freshly ground beans with a creamy mouthfeel, the companies say. 

Starbucks Puerto Rico, a business unit of Starbucks Coffee Co., Seattle, is celebrating the opening of its 25th location on the island, a new café at the Metropolitan University (UMET) campus in Cupey, which is part of the Ana G. Méndez University System (SUAGM). 

New York-based Winemaker Lot18 has teamed up with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, a Burbank, Calif.-based Warner Bros. Entertainment company, to produce a limited-edition collection of wine inspired by New Line Cinema's “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy. Each bottle includes a specially designed label, the company says. 

Vintage Wine Estates (VWE), Santa Rosa, Calif., announced an agreement to acquire three wine brands from Jayson Woodbridge: Layer Cake, Cherry Pie and If You See Kay. The deal is scheduled to close Jan. 2, 2018, the company says.

Samuel Adams, a brand of Boston-based The Boston Beer Co., has been named the “official beer of the Boston Red Sox.”  Samuel Adams and the Red Sox have entered into a multi-year partnership, which will bring together two beloved Boston icons, the companies say. The deal will start to take effect in January 2018.