SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• Almeda fire destroys Southern Oregon winery: ‘We don’t have a single bottle of one of our wines left’
• 2020: The Year Testing Availability and Technology Failed Our Wine Industry Economy
• Around the World, the 2020 Wine Harvest May Be Most Troubled Ever
• The TTB’s Category Problem
• Republicans 2X as ready to dine out as Democrats
• Power shut-offs are in your future. Keep crush moving. Click to reserve your generator NOW! (Sponsored)

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• The Lawrence Family, Heitz Cellar owners, acquire Howell Mountain’s Burgess Cellars
• TerrAvion Chapt 11: up to $50 million in liabilities, less than $50K in assets
• Streamlining a Large Custom Crush Operation for Clients and Cellar Staff (Sponsored)

WILDFIRES & WEATHER

• ​California Statewide Fire Summary September 14, 2020
• Creek Fire already 13th largest in California history. Concerns remain for wind forecast
• Amateur Air Pollution Trackers Are Mapping Western Wildfire Smoke
• West Coast Wildfires Demand Our Attention (podcast)
• Calif: Farms assessing damage from devastating wildfires

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Wine grape harvest is officially underway in Paso Robles
• Harvest During COVID’s Second Wave: Spanish Wineries Fight for the 2020 Vintage
• Virus and Trade Woes Set to Cut Australian Farm Exports by 10%
• German wine harvest expected to be above 2019 level
• Surging exports to UK during lockdown driving growth in shipments of Australian wine to Europe
• Sommeliers Choice Awards Announces 2020 Winners (Sponsored link)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Sonoma County Vintners Foundation Donates $1 Million to the Caritas Village Housing Campaign
• 2020 Bartender Spirits Awards Results Are Out (Sponsored link)

COVID-19

• How Big Is the Coronavirus Bite on U.S. Agriculture?

AMAZON

• Walmart is rolling out Walmart Plus, its Amazon Prime rival, today — here’s how the 2 members-only subscription services stack up

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Horticulture researchers find ways to combat climate change in vineyards

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• AB InBev sued for false and misleading advertising

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• Streamlined Sales Tax (SST) for DtC Alcohol Shippers: Your Questions Answered
• Avalara Unveils Comprehensive Beverage Alcohol Compliance Solution for Wineries, Distilleries, Breweries, Importers, and Retailers as Selling Shifts to Ecommerce
• Grow Your Delivery and Curbside Pick Up Business*(Sponsored)

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Constellation Brands acquires Kentucky-based craft spirits producer Copper & Kings
• Taco Bell is now selling its own custom wine

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Wine Auctions Pivot—Quite Profitably—to the Virtual World
• James Halliday’s private collection to go under the hammer

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• French show organisers launch ‘Vinexposium’

MEDIA MATTERS

• Book review: Wine Girl by Victoria James
• Book Excerpt: On the China Wine Trail

WINE PEOPLE

• Le Clos Category Manager Beans Boughton is named UAE’s first Master of Wine

WINE PLACES

• Loire Valley: Pays Nantais & Anjou (video)
• Montenegro – A Center of Vine Diversity in Europe

WINE EDUCATION

• WSET announces bursary fund for Asia Pacific region

WINE HISTORY

• Iron Age wine press yields clues to Phoenician building techniques

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• MD: Great Frogs Winery still closed after tornado rips off tasting room roof; Dodon vineyard expecting lower yield
• Crafty solution at Northampton County winery doing wonders to scare away birds
• Lessons Learned From Vineyard Pruning in the Mid-Atlantic

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Barrel brokers provide variety for producers looking to season their concoctions through aging

EUROPE & THE UK

• How Italy’s Wine Estates Are Transcending Regional Character
• WSTA looks to ‘once in a lifetime’ excise duty review in opening summit address

DOWN UNDER

• A NZ$9.5bn problem
• OZ: Helping future-proof the wine sector

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• Study finds Chinese millennials fueling online drinks sales

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• Canned Cocktails: Not So Easy to Get Approved