AUGUST 14, 2020 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• Harvard-controlled LLC in $120+ million deal with anonymous LLC connected with Canadian pension fund.
• Treasury Looks To Refocus U.S. Business As Covid-19, Private Labels Cut Into Full-Year Sales (possible paywall)
• Online Wine Sales Soared During The Pandemic. Is That About To End?
• After COVID hoarding surge, FMCG consumer market basket size decreasing in all channels except eCommerce
• Constellation Brands Makes Minority Investment in Kerr Cellars by Cristie Kerr
• Wine country goes back to basics — and online — as pandemic upends business
• Streamlining a Large Custom Crush Operation for Clients and Cellar Staff (Sponsored)

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Coronavirus resurgence clouds outlook for US wine business recovery
• Ruby Grapes sues Intercoastal Wine charging criminal pandemic profiteering.
• Gallo PR tries to distance winery and Gallo Cattle Co., but no proof available.
• At least 244 California wineries and vineyards received between $145 & $328 million from Paycheck Protection Program

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Bulk Wine Market Activity Up Amid Demand for Well-Positioned Off-Premise Brands
• Lodi vines whisper what’s happening with the 2020 vintage
• Finger Lakes Wines and Grapes: Season making growers happy
• China wine imports down by a third
• Cognac Makes a Covid Comeback
• How To Really Send Your Samples To Prospective Distributors and Importers (Sponsored)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Napa Valley Vintners Invests Additional $250,000 in COVID-19 Testing
• Sommer named general manager and commercial director at Trois Noix Wine
• Augie’s owners denied permit for new winery
• Results Are Out For The First Edition Of Paris Wine Cup (Sponsored)

DIVERSITY

• Champagne Laurent-Perrier USA and Black Wine Professionals are partnering to provide five scholarships to the Wine Scholar Guild’s Champagne Master-Level certification

HEALTH

• Statement of Wine Retailers Opposing Proposed Anti-Alcohol Federal Dietary Guidelines
• Wine Institute Urges Preserving Long-Standing Guidance on Alcohol Consumption in U.S. Dietary Guidelines

TAKING THE HIGH ROADS

• How To Build Your Online Presence To Drive Your Delivery & Curbside Sales? (Sponsored)

AMAZON

• Walmart, Instacart partner to rival Amazon, Whole Foods on same-day grocery delivery

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• A Guide to Italy’s Organic Wine Boom

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• Grow Your Delivery and Curbside Pick Up Business*(Sponsored)

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Treasury Wine Estates profits hit by COVID and consumer habits
• Accolade Wines invests £7m in UK site as part of rebrand

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• Sort of good news: Trump Administration doesn’t raise 25 percent wine tariffs
• Tariffs on Booze Aren’t Going Away. Here’s What That Means for You.
• Spain says U.S. should waive tariffs on EU goods as wine, olives hit

DISTRIBUTORS

• Epic Wines & Spirits Expands into the Pacific Northwest with the Acquisition of Vehrs Distributing, Inc.

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Fine wine market broadens to further heights
• Auction of Washington Wines Virtual Pt 3 (podcast)

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• With Braille on Its Label, This Ohio Brewery’s New Beer Supports the Visually Impaired

MATTERS OF TASTE

• How to start exploring the exciting new world of Czech wine
• Wine terms: Smooth

WINE PEOPLE

• Valentina Passalacqua – an inconvenient truth?
• Science whiz-turned-winemaker launches award-winning custom crush facility in East Texas
• Mesa sisters sharing their love of wine
• This Sommelier Had His First Sip Of Wine At 28
• From Sommelier To Brommelier: Jon Cercone Takes Wine Mainstream

WINE PLACES

• What You Should Know about Washington State Wine Regions

WINE EDUCATION

• Is wine education moving online for good?

FOOD & RESTAURANTS

• The odds that a restaurant will default fell to 10% in July from 35% in April, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence
• This Hong Kong Restaurant Group Wrote the Playbook For Survival

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Covid-19 and the Canadian wine market
• New standards sought for Arkansas wine quality

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Viticulture combats a ‘new normal’

EUROPE & THE UK

• InkPass: how the new on-trade exclusive track & trace system works

DOWN UNDER

• OZ: Wine exports enjoy online sales surge, but wineries ill prepared for digital demand

SOUTH AFRICA

• Covid-19: WFP anticipates retrenchment of permanent workers in farming industry

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• Loire Wine Crossword

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• What does the Illinois Beer Industry Fair Dealing Act say about a distributor assigning my distribution agreement (“selling my brand rights”) to another wholesaler and what recourse does a craft brewer have in that situation?
• Jose Cuervo enters hard seltzer category