AUGUST 28, 2020 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• Off-premise AlcBev sales growth continues to outpace all consumer goods by a large margin – Nielsen
• Vineyard Workers Face Unhealthy Choices
• COVID and over planting mean too many Northwest wine grapes hanging out
• Crop insurance gets new tools for wine smoke taint
• Napa locals go ‘cowboy,’ bulldozing firebreaks to save wineries as resources wane (possible paywall)
• These Small Wine Brands Found Opportunity In 2020, Despite Setbacks
• Power shut-offs are in your future. Keep crush moving. Click to reserve your generator NOW! (Sponsored)

OBITUARIES

• Calaveras County: Wine industry mourns the loss of Stephen Collum

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Crop Insurance Fears for Smoke-hit Vineyards
• Harvard-controlled LLC in $120+ million deal with anonymous LLC connected with Canadian pension fund.
• Ruby Grapes sues Intercoastal Wine charging criminal pandemic profiteering.
• Streamlining a Large Custom Crush Operation for Clients and Cellar Staff (Sponsored)

WILDFIRES & WEATHER

• Andrea Anderson Offers Free Beer & Wine Services To Wineries Who Lose a Site Due to the 2020 California wildfires
• The 2020 wildfires and California wine: what we know so far (possible paywall)
• The 2020 wildfires and Bay Area’s food and wine supply: what you need to know (possible paywall)
• Fires in California wine country: Latest as 2020 harvest gets underway

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Storm Damage In Valpolicella: Yet Another Blow For Italy’s Wine Industry
• Sonoma County’s Grape Crop Catches Small Break With Early Harvest
• 5 Data-Related Topics, Plus Resources, for the California Wildfires
• How To Really Send Your Samples To Prospective Distributors and Importers (Sponsored)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• California farmworkers receive donation of N-95 masks
• Sojourn Cellars Announces Alliance with Harrow Cellars
• How Metallica secretly filmed a concert at a Sonoma winery
• Results Are Out For The First Edition Of Paris Wine Cup (Sponsored)

COVID REDUX: RE-OPENING

• Napa Valley Vintners gives another $250,000 for farmworker coronavirus mobile testing

DIVERSITY

• ‘Uncorked’ Creators Reveal How Authentic Storytelling Breaks Down Stereotypes — and Barriers
• How a new Charleston biz represents minorities in the global wine industry

TAKING THE HIGH ROADS

• High cannabis numbers show added market potential
• How To Build Your Online Presence To Drive Your Delivery & Curbside Sales? (Sponsored)

DROUGHT/WATER

• Third driest year on record for Lake Mendocino, Army Corps declares

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• Global Travel Retail sees sales collapse in pandemic
• Wine and Spirits Brands Shift Focus to Online Sales – Ecommerce Has Entered Unprecedented Territory
• Grow Your Delivery and Curbside Pick Up Business*(Sponsored)

BREXIT

• Barnier ‘flabbergasted’ at UK attempt to reopen Brexit specialty food debate

DISTRIBUTORS

• RNDC Expands Partnership with Vistaar

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Worst-performing Bordeaux labels in 2020 – so far
• Multi-faceted art of wine storage

DATA & TRENDS

• The Buyer’s new guide to latest digital trends & insights

MARKETING & SALES

• Stephen Amell’s Winery Strikes a Deal to Promote Carl’s Jr.’s Angus Steakhouse Thickburger

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Maker Wine Co-Founders Sarah Hoffman and Kendra Kawala Are Betting Big on Canned Wine (podcast)
• O-I Glass reports improving business trends

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• TikTok Bid: Walmart Reportedly Teams Up With Microsoft

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Cork Taint
• Delight in the details
• Respecting science and community

WINE PLACES

• What You Should Know about the Oakville AVA in Napa Valley

WINE EDUCATION

• There are 16 new Masters of Wine
• WSET Asia Pacific launches student bursary fund to increase access to WSET courses

FOOD & RESTAURANTS

• Chef Dan Barber’s Blue Hill Restaurants Change Up Concepts

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Texas wineries, distilleries say they won’t survive coronavirus pandemic without help

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Variable-rate Mechanical Shoot Thinning in Concord Demonstrates the Practical Application of Precision Viticulture (PDF)
• The Core Grape Genome and Cheap DNA Sequencing:  A New Roadmap for Grape Breeders

EUROPE & THE UK

• Europe’s drinks trade bodies launch local tourism campaigns
• Barkingside Premier Storage/TMT Investments: more cloning (Part 2)

DOWN UNDER

• Australian Vintage sees earnings and profits grow
• OZ: The peculiar wine tasting that could change the face of Margaret River
• OZ: Seeing the value in imagery
• OZ: John Riddoch immortalised to celebrate International Cabernet Day

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• Frightening Consequences For Drink Drivers In Japan

LATIN AMERICA

• Labbé: Chilean wine needs stricter regulations
• Albariño finds suitable new home in South America

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• Japanese sake: the new pick-me-up? Yeast strain makes fatigue-fighting ornithine
• Carlsberg: ‘We believe alcohol-free brews will see further acceleration following COVID-19’