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24 WINES&VINES October 2018 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS Killian as part of its winemaking team. Killian will join an executive team that includes Ari Walker, chief executive officer, and Brett Zimmer- man, Master Sommelier and the company's chief wine officer. Killian is the former master winemaker at Chateau Souverain. In addition to managing Souverain for the last 26 years, Killian worked with other notable brands such as Beringer Vineyards, Chateau St. Jean, Etude, Lambert Bridge Winery and others. In his new role, Killian will help bring new varieties and labels to market for the company. EAST Finger Lakes named top wine region The Finger Lakes Wine Alliance announced the Finger Lakes wine region was named the "Best Wine Region" by voters in the USA Today 10 Best Readers' Choice 2018 Contest. Regions were se- lected by a panel of wine industry experts with the Finger Lakes top- ping a list of 20 regions including the Willamette Valley in Oregon, Santa Barbara County in Califor- nia and the Walla Walla Valley in Washington state. ASEV metes out $100,000 in scholarships This year, at the American Society for Enology and Viticulture's 69th annual conference, 37 students throughout North America re- ceived a total of $107,500 to help support their academic pursuits and provide an introduction into the grape and wine industry. Two students received the Presidents' Award for Scholarship in Enology and Viticulture, the top scholar- ship award: the enology award winner was Jennifer Kelly of Brock University in Canada, and the vi- ticulture award winner was Andrej Svyantek of North Dakota State University, Fargo. Study concludes wine in can is no fad Robert Williams Jr., assistant professor of marketing in Susque- hanna University's Sigmund Weis School of Business in Selinsgrove, Pa., analyzed the wine-in-a-can market in his marketing classes at the university for the past two years. Research on the drivers and motivations of consumers of wine-in-a-can concluded that "wine-in-a-can is not a fad, rather it represents a significant new wine category that is finding a perma- nent, positive place in the overall wine market." The study utilized a mixed methods approach: second- ary data collection and analysis and primary data collected with two surveys, and actual respon- dents totaling nearly 1,000. CannTrust and Breakthru partner in cannabis market Ontario, Canada-based medical cannabis producer CannTrust and Breakthru Beverage Group executed a letter of intent for an exclusive partnership to represent CannTrust's specialty products to Canadian consumers for recreational use. Breakthru will invest in the establishment of a cannabis-focused sales brokerage company and develop a route-to- market platform for CannTrust in Canada, effective when the adult- use recreational market opens on Oct. 17. In addition, Breakthru is aligning as a strategic partner with CannTrust through a company in- vestment, as it sees the organiza- tion as a long-term market share leader, according to a statement released by Breakthru. VENDOR Resource Label acquires Paragon Resource Label Group announced its acquisition of Paragon Label. Jennifer Kelly and Andrej Svyantek