MARCH 26, 2020 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• Nielsen: AlcBevs soar during crisis, but lag growth rates for consumer goods
• US-based retailer grows sales, lowers costs, reduces risk with automation
• Winc’s registered investment offering closes Friday
• How to get crisis federal loans for small business
• How Businesses Can Take Care of Their Ecommerce Customers
• Internet speeds holding up well under pandemic load increases
• COVID-19 bill includes billions for ag
• Did the Mafia take over one of Italy’s best cheap wine producers?
• 6 Vital things you can do NOW to protect your wine & hospitality business from COVID-19 (Sponsored)

OBITUARIES

• Chef Floyd Cardoz Dies After Contracting Coronavirus

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Facing staggering losses, Napa’s hospitality and service sectors discover insurers won’t pay
• Crush report ‘could have been worse,’ insiders say
• Wine giant Trichero enters hard seltzer game
• Joint FTC and DOJ Letter Raises Concerns about California Assembly Bill 1541, which would Impose New Restrictions on Beer Manufacturers Who Wish to Terminate Distribution Agreement with Wholesalers
• Calif: Table grape growers expect average-size crop
• Boutique winemakers: Save time and effort this harvest season with this new production app! Click now to learn more! (Sponsored)

COVID-19 LEGAL & REGULATORY RELIEF

• Stay Home Orders Unlikely To Trigger Civil Authority Coverage

COVID-19 SURVIVAL TIPS

• Bargain wine treasures as restaurants sell collect collections for cash flow
• Fun or awkward? Calif wineries offer virtual wine tastings during crisis.
• GoFundMe Creates Small Business Relief Initiative for Companies Affected by Coronavirus
• Lemons into Lemonade: Inspiration from Wineries and Licensees Coping with Covid-19

COVID-19 DELAYS/CANCELLATIONS

• TTB laboratory service delays due to the COVID-19 emergency
• International Cool Climate Wine Symposium postponed to 2021
• Joint 2020 ASEV Conference Scheduled for June Canceled
• Chinese trade fair WBWE postponed until the much-hoped-for improvement in July
• Wines from Spain annual tasting to be held late September

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• “Someone is going to get shot” – Calif tourist towns demand outsiders stay home.
• Dueling To Kalon lawsuits — Constellation & The Vineyard House — scheduled for trial in federal court
• Survive COVID-19 by growing your bulk & private label business. IBWSS San Francisco still on for July 28-29, 2020. Get Your Visitor Pass now. (Sponsored)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Chilean Wine’s Lockdown Harvest
• South African industry in turmoil as national shutdown threatens a halt to 2020 harvest and exports
• China’s appetite for Australian wine cools as outbreak saps demand

HEALTH

• Loss of Sense of Smell Could Be Symptom of Coronavirus Infection

TAKING THE HIGH ROADS

• Santa Barbara County: Reining in Cannabis Tax Scofflaws
• Depletion: Why and How To Build Your Brand Around It (Sponsored)

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• France officially recognises natural wine
• Is Lab-Made Wine an Answer to the Industry’s Climate Change Problems?

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• Glyphosate Interim Registration Faces First Court Challenge

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• ‘A Month Bigger Than Christmas’: Online Wine Sales Are Soaring Amid Coronavirus Lockdown
• Strategies to help you grow your Sales: Grow Your Beverage Business with Sid Patel *(Sponsored)

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Californian stars take centre-stage at Christie’s sale
• A dash towards digital: the new normal?
• OH: Resident possibly scammed out of $300,000 investing in wine

DATA & TRENDS

• GIGO, Dealing with Dirty Data

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• CMS Advanced Deductive Tasting (video)

MARKETING & SALES

• Lessons Learned During The Summer Of White Claw
• Creating A Successful Brand Launch In The US *(Sponsored)

COVID-19 DONATIONS

• Cuvaison Supports Restaurant Workers Community Foundation
• E. & J. Gallo’s Barefoot Wine Donates $100,000 to Help Children of Restaurant Employees

IT: INFORMATION [AND] TECHNOLOGY

• Beware of ‘ZoomBombing:’ screensharing filth to video calls

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• Decision making in uncertain times
• How Companies Treat Employees During Coronavirus Will Determine Their Fate After – Don’t Make Whole Foods Mistake
• WA: COVID-19 aid requested for farmworker housing

MEDIA MATTERS

• The Academic Wino Shortlisted for a 2019 Born Digital Wine Award
• Prentice Penny puts a fresh spin on wine films in ‘Uncorked’
• Netflix movie ‘Uncorked’ pits fine wine against Memphis barbecue

MATTERS OF TASTE

• 10 Seminal Moments in Wine

WINE PEOPLE

• A tribute to Barbaresco grower-producer Renato Vacca
• Interview with Matteo Ascheri, President of The Barolo, Barbaresco, Alba, Langhe, and Dogliani Wine Consortium
• Ponzi Vineyards Celebrates 50 Years, Insight From The Sisters At The Helm
• Intoxicating Conversation With W. Blake Gray: Laura Catena, ER doctor and winery managing director (video)

WINE PLACES

• Exploring the Diverse, Terroir-Driven Wines of the American Southwest
• OZ: Brokenwood Winery charts its own destiny

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• In a City Shut Down Over Coronavirus, New Yorkers Hit the Bottle
• New York Wineries Feeling the Pinch of Coronavirus Crisis

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Sprayers on standby as new grape season develops

EUROPE & THE UK

• Italy: Mezzacorona ‘strongly rejects’ charges after Feudo Arancio assets seized
• UK: Oddbins has now closed all of its stores
• ‘Bitter blow’ for UK industry as alcohol duty collection goes ahead

DOWN UNDER

• NZ: Wine industry faces worker accommodation woes during lockdown
• NZ: Wine industry’s ‘privileged position’ concerns wider wine capital community

EXTENDED CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19 COVERAGE

• How The Hospitality Industry Copes With SARS-CoV-2
• Accolades Wine employee says wine ‘is luxury item – not something to risk lives for’
• U.K Government Declares Alcohol Shops ‘Essential Businesses’
• WSWA national overview of the COVID-19 impact (pdf)
• The coronavirus and booze: What you missed this week
• Social Drinking in a World of Social Distancing (podcast)
• ABL Statement Regarding Deregulation of the American Alcohol Industry in Response to the COVID-19 Crisis