'Women drink-driving on the rise'

Road safety campaigners have urged the government to lower the drink-drive limit after a survey published yesterday revealed that up to 42 per cent of female motorists drive after having a drink. The number of women convicted each year has risen by 46 per cent between 1996 and 2006 to 7,750. - The Guardian​

Similar in shape and delicacy to a wine glass, thirds (glasses a third the size of a pint) are being offered at this year's Great British Beer Festival to help "feminise" beer. After months of research, the Campaign for Real Ale, which has a 25 per cent female membership, discovered that women were much more likely to drink beer out of an elegant-branded third glass rather than the traditional pint glass - The Times​

Oddbins, the loss-making wine retailer, has been sold to a consortium of investors. Simon Baile, who runs small wine retailer Ex Cellar, bought the company's 158 stores in the UK and Ireland for an undisclosed sum from Castel Freres, one of France's biggest wine companies - The Scotsman​

New Oddbins owner, Simon Baile is keeping the wine retailer in the family. His father, Nick, ran Oddbins in the mid-1970s. A biography of Simon Baile on Ex Cellar's website says: "He has been in the trade since birth, and bleeds wine, not blood." - The Daily Telegraph​

Beer sales in pubs fell 10.6 per cent between April and June compared to the same quarter a year ago, according to the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) - a drop of about 1.6 million pints per day. But cask ale sales dropped only about 1.3 per cent, with some brewers, such as Fuller's, reporting a slight increase in demand. - BBC​

In what has been labelled a "triumph of pomposity", an advertisement for beer has been withdrawn from Australian billboards at a cost of nearly £5,000 after complaints by monarchists upset at its apparent pro-republican sentiment. "Forget the monarchy, support the publicans" declared the cheeky billboard for Coopers beer, one of Australia's favourite brews - The Times​

The Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney has launched its first water menu - with 20 types of water from around the world with descriptions that wouldn't be out of place on a wine menu. Aimed at its increasing amounts of health-conscious customers, it offers "bold" or "velvety" varieties which can cost as much as some vintages. - Reuters ​