SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• Smoke and Mirrors: Fixing a Fiery Vintage
• $14 Billion More For Farmers Hit By COVID-19, grapes included
• Recalling Justice Ginsburg as a Champion of the Wine Industry
• Wine meme update: Let’s not forget about premiumization
• The pandemic is accelerating retailer AR/VR and other emerging tech adoption
• Power shut-offs are in your future. Keep crush moving. Click to reserve your generator NOW! (Sponsored)

OBITUARIES

• Sicilian wine pioneer Diego Planeta dies

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Wine up 17.9% in off-premise channels vs same week 2019. Table wine dollars grew by 14.0%, outpaced by sparkling which was up 33.3%
• TerrAvion Chapt 11: up to $50 million in liabilities, less than $50K in assets
• How two winemakers organized four brands from grape to bottle at two facilities. (Sponsored)

WILDFIRES & WEATHER

• Wildfires’ toxic air leaves damage long after smoke clears (possible paywall)
• Wildfire on the Rise Since 1984 in Northern California’s Coastal Ranges

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Harvest Finally Brings Good News for Champagne
• Uncertainty Reigns in Spain’s Strange Vintage
• “Beautiful Weather” For Finger Lakes Grape Harvest: However, the Covid-19 pandemic and a cut-back in purchases affect grape prices
• Sommeliers Choice Awards Announces 2020 Winners (Sponsored link)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Sonoma, Napa wine groups give $2M to affordable housing project, diversity scholarships
• Caritas Village housing project in Santa Rosa secures $1 million from county vintners
• Sonoma Valley wineries embrace changes they once resisted to survive during pandemic
• Napa County balks at amplified music request by St. Helena winery
• Santa Barbara Vintners Remodel Proposed Funding Formula
• Bogle Vineyards Bolsters National Sales Department with Three New Hires; Promotion as Part of Expansion
• 2020 Bartender Spirits Awards Results Are Out (Sponsored link)

COVID-19

• CAWG Statement on USDA Adding Winegrapes to Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2
• Restrictions on gatherings continue to sting Napa Valley’s events industry
• Five strategies for success during COVID-19
• Tasting room trends that may last after the pandemic

DIVERSITY

• California’s Next Generation Lead Women Winemakers and the Promise that Accompanies their Success
• National Black Farmers’ Association boycotts John Deere

HEALTH

• A warning about risk assessments
• Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder amid COVID-19 in Canada: Fewer services, potential boost in rates
• Kefir and wine by-product: Combination of paraprobiotic and prebiotic may work as potential anti-obesity functional ingredient

TAKING THE HIGH ROADS

• California, North Bay cannabis tax collections surge

AMAZON

• Amazon Fresh Opens, Whole Foods Cuts Prices And The US Grocery Sales Boom Slows Down

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• The ROC certification could become the gold standard for wineries, and the earth (possible paywall)

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

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

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Talking Trade on Liv-ex – New releases from Liv-ex Power 100 brands

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Are fast food wine pairings becoming the newest food trend?

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Sustainability of wine packaging alternatives: What is the consumers’ perception?

MEDIA MATTERS

• How TV Shows Use Drinks to Develop Characters

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Don’t Call Them Pét-Nat
• To Live Decadently

WINE PEOPLE

• Legendary Vineyard Manager Ulises Valdez Sr.’s Children Carry on His Legacy
• Tom Rinaldi on The Taste with Doug Shafer (podcast)
• Talking Miraflores Winery With Ashlee Cuneo
• Michelle Smith on looking for her next buying role

WINE EDUCATION

• MA: Commonwealth Wine School Splashes into Harvard Square

WINE HISTORY

• Gallo-Roman wine press uncovered in Touraine

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Canada’s Napa Valley Seeks Elusive Audience: Canadian Wine Drinkers (possible paywall)
• BC Extends Patio Service Area Expansions Until October 2021

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• pH, TA, and acid adjustments

EUROPE & THE UK

• 22 premier cru sites in Pouilly-Fuissé approved
• Rhone Valley Wine Legend Michel Chapoutier Using Bioresonance Therapy For His Vines
• Bordeaux enters a new era (PDF)
• Vines in Rhineland Pfalz vandalised

DOWN UNDER

• Aussie grapes could be on the shelves year-round thanks to 20-year-old dwarf grape gene
• PCF says seasonal workers from the Pacific must be given urgent entry to New Zealand

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• Wine imports are drying up in China

AROUND THE GLOBE

• Abu Dhabi, UAE’s Conservative Capital, Ends Alcohol Licenses

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• It’s now possible to detect counterfeit whisky without opening the bottle
• Brewdog loses latest trademark battle over Elvis Juice beer