AUGUST 20, 2020 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• Mabray beats back defamation lawsuit by Philip James, strengthens fair commentary protections
• Firestorm Danger for California Grape Harvest
• Fires and Pandemic Converge on California in Multiplying Crises
• Most of Calif wine country under assault by wildfire smoke: interactive map
• New Guidelines Recommend One Alcoholic Drink A Day. Is This Stealth Prohibition?
• Data omission in key EPA insecticide (Chlorpyrifos) study shows need for review of industry analysis
• Power shut-offs are in your future. Keep crush moving. Click to reserve your generator NOW! (Sponsored)

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Harvard-controlled LLC in $120+ million deal with anonymous LLC connected with Canadian pension fund.
• Ruby Grapes sues Intercoastal Wine charging criminal pandemic profiteering.
• Gallo PR tries to distance winery and Gallo Cattle Co., but no proof available.
• Streamlining a Large Custom Crush Operation for Clients and Cellar Staff (Sponsored)

OBITUARIES

• Calaveras Wine Country Has Lost One of the Greats: Stephen Collum

WILDFIRES & WEATHER

• With 367 fires burning, Cal Fire tells all Californians: ‘Be ready to go’
• Live updates: North Bay fires grow to a combined 124,100 acres with no containment
• Sonoma County left to fend for itself against Walbridge, Meyers fires
• Wildfires Rage in Multiple California Wine Regions
• Wildfires near California wineries compound issues in an unusually tough harvest season (possible paywall)
• Fires grow, evacuation orders expand in Sonoma County as crews struggle in sweltering heat
• Rosé could be the solution to wildfire smoke damage in California vineyards (possible paywall)
• California fires: Sonoma wineries evacuated mid-harvest
• OZ: Canberra Winery loses crop to smoke makes gin instead

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Monterey County, Calif: Grape harvest season begins on River Road, even as smoke threatens wine
• Italy: Ornellaia begins 2020 harvest
• How To Really Send Your Samples To Prospective Distributors and Importers (Sponsored)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• California farming country buckles under COVID-19. Will pandemic make or break the Valley?
• Results Are Out For The First Edition Of Paris Wine Cup (Sponsored)

COVID & HOSPITALITY

• Coronavirus Pandemic Sparks Creative Community Survival Plan at WISE
• Covid’s Winery Wake Up Call

DIVERSITY

• Meet the Two Sisters Making Wine More Accessible for Black Wine Drinkers

HEALTH

• Binge Drinking Is Bad. So Why is the U.S. Government Targeting Moderate Wine Consumption?
• TTB warns against rise in wine health claims
• How A White Claw Hangover Is Different From A Beer Or Wine Hangover, According To Doctors

TAKING THE HIGH ROADS

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

AMAZON

• Walmart Crushes Sales, Overtakes Amazon In E-Groceries

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Australia’s farmers want more climate action – and they’re starting in their own (huge) backyards
• Is it possible to certify natural wine?
• Sustainable Somm, Brett Zimmerman embarks on a journey to help better define “natural” and celebrate environmental and social responsibility in the wine and spirits industry

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• Direct-to-Consumer Wine Sales Up $222 Million
• Grow Your Delivery and Curbside Pick Up Business*(Sponsored)

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• It’s hard to tell why China is targeting Australian wine. There are two possibilities
• China has wine in its firing line – will Scott Morrison bail out Australian producers?
• Australian farmers call on Coalition to ‘nurture’ trade ties with China

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Sotheby’s opens bidding on ‘exceptional’ online sale
• Investing In Wine Continues To Mature As An Alternative Asset
• Spotlight on… Opus One

MARKETING & SALES

• The Bordeaux wine business, younger wine drinkers, and why the twain isn’t meeting

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• A Wine Media Conference Takes On The Business of Wine

MEDIA MATTERS

• A new book from Montalcino is going to change the way you think of Brunello.

MATTERS OF TASTE

• How Madeira Transformed from an Average Table Wine to a Fortified Powerhouse
• The New Cava Isn’t Called Cava
• Philosophy has Been Wrong About Wine for 2500 Years

WINE PEOPLE

• Second Acts: Leaving Science, Architecture and Academia for Wine
• The inventor of Mateus Rosé
• How Chris Wilson is building the first urban Cambridge winery, Chapter 1
• Top 40 Under 40 Tastemakers of 2020
• South Africa’s Women in Wine
• Veuve Clicquot VP Aygline Pechdo on the Champagne’s Lasting Appeal (podcast)

WINE PLACES

• Inside the French Foreign Legion’s Provence vineyard

WINE EDUCATION

• WSET vs CMS

FOOD & RESTAURANTS

• What the Future of Restaurants Might Look Like

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Canada Market Update: Pandemic Boosts British Columbia Wine Sales

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Size Doesn’t Matter: Putting a Traditional Grape Growing Theory to the Test
• Using Infrared vs Vigor imagery data

EUROPE & THE UK

• UK: Wine online jumps 238% at Waitrose

DOWN UNDER

• Australian Grape and Wine says Victorian wine industry has been through the wringer

LATIN AMERICA

• Changes made to Chile’s vineyards ‘will take 50 years to show results’

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• UK: Carlsberg and Marston’s joint venture delayed due to investigation