News

Texas wineries in the Hill Country AVA, which surrounds Fredericksburg and encompasses Austin and San Antonio, and the High Plains AVA, which lies some 370 miles northeast of the Hill Country, are reporting that they were unscathed by Hurricane Harvey.

Winemakers in the Okanagan Peninsula have suggested that the levels of smoke this year are minor and the risk of smoke taint is minimal. The start of wildfire season before véraison initially meant few grape growers were worried, and shifting weather patterns also gave hope that maturing fruit wouldn’t be significantly impacted. The smoke wasn’t lying in vineyards heavily enough or long enough to make a difference, they say.

In wake of Hurricane Irma, TTB recognizes that taxpayers may not be able to timely file or timely make payment or deposit of excise taxes administered and enforced by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), as required under the Internal Revenue Code. TTB will waive late filing, payment, or deposit penalties on a case-by-case basis. Wherever warranted, waivers will be approved based on the statutory standard of reasonable cause and a lack of willful neglect demonstrated by the taxpayer. The waiver of penalties may also apply to taxpayers such as relief workers, taxpayers whose place of employment is located in an affected area, and taxpayers whose records are maintained in the above areas.

Hamlet Peralta, owner of the Hudson River Cafe, whose $12 million Ponzi scheme embroiled two businessmen accused of bribing New York City law enforcement officers, was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison. Peralta pleaded guilty in May to swindling investors out of more than $12 million under the guise of operating a fictitious wholesale liquor business. He used the money to repay debts to other investors and for personal expenses, prosecutors said.