DECEMBER 16, 2019 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• Spirits widen market share dominance over wine
• Wine sales growth hurt by shipping & storage damage?
• Wine industry’s DtC future rests on getting a grip on these top online purchase drivers
• No end in sight for US hard seltzer domination
• From Napa Valley to Australia, advancing the science behind smoke taint in wine grapes
• Two drinks a day no longer safe: Aussie health
• Boutique winemakers: Save time and effort this harvest season with this new production app! Click now to learn more! (Sponsored)

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• UPDATE: Agenda set for Calif Ag Dept to hold Dec. 17 workshop on Suisun Valley Vintners and Growers changes to grape pricing districts
• 7 proven ways to boost wine restaurant sales (Sponsored)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Will the slowdown in the Chinese wine market catch up with Australia and Chile?
• Ciatti California Report – December 2019 (PDF)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Two local wineries open temporary pop-up tasting rooms in Silicon Valley
• Ankita Okate has been appointed as global growth and communications head at Beverage Trade Network
• Fresno County farming company sues Sun-Maid Growers for not buying its golden raisins
• This insider look at distributor Friday meetings can spotlight your wine (Sponsored)

HEALTH

• Sherry and port offer the quickest route to Christmas hangover – and will give you a bigger headache than vodka, scientist warns

TAKING THE HIGH ROADS

• Cannabis tourism on the rise in Sonoma County
• Talking growing hemp with grape-grower Kirsty Harkness

DROUGHT/WATER

• Futures for Delta Smelt

REAL ESTATE

• Premium Alexander Valley Ranch & Vineyard sold

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Constellation seeks new buyer for Paul Masson brandy

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• U.S. and China ink “phase one” trade deal
• How US-China trade deal achieved a little but left out a lot

DISTRIBUTORS

• State of the Industry
• Get Actionable Insights For Your Import and Distribution Business Here. (Sponsored)

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Penfolds Grange vertical breaks auction record

DATA & TRENDS

• Future Forward
• The Wine Issues and Items of 2019

MARKETING & SALES

• Memo to the Italian Wine Trade: Tell Me “YOUR” Story!
• Your Brand Needs A Gender Shakeup

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• The glass matters, science says so!
• Winery experiments with labels

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• First Hurdle Cleared for Farm Workforce Modernization Act

MATTERS OF TASTE

• The dirt on wine
• Prosecco is dead, long live Prosecco: the re-sophistication of Italy’s sparkling wine
• Are Most People Drinking Heat Damaged Wines?

WINE PEOPLE

• Lucio Canestrari of Fattoria Coroncino, A Verdicchio Pioneer
• The Man Who Carved A Successful Path For Austrian Wines
• db Meets: Jimmy Smith, wine educator and The Drinks Business Man of the Year 2019
• Spotlight on 2020: David Gleave, Liberty Wines

WINE HISTORY

• Minoan disposable cup shows ancients were not green either

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Development of a new strategy for studying the aroma potential of winemaking grapes through the accelerated hydrolysis of phenolic and aromatic fractions (PAFs)

EUROPE & THE UK

• Beyond grower Champagne: where have all the growers gone?
• What happened when top buyers put Prosecco DOCG through its paces
• Crémant circumvents the crisis in Bordeaux
• UK: On-trade optimism flies in face of uncertainties
• Krug appoints new Champagne cellarmaster

DOWN UNDER

• New data shows importance of tourism to Australian wine industry
• OZ: More cash for drought-hit farmers

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• Japan Is About to Become the Newest ‘It’ Region for Wine

SOUTH AFRICA

• International education overtakes wine as South Africa’s No.1 export

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• How Blanton’s Won the Whiskey Wars
• Spirit-Infused Wine Banks On Complexity, Originality