OCTOBER 6, 2020 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• Has Napa lost 80% of its Cab to fire & smoke?
• EU Wine, Whiskey Duties Seen Making U.S. Sellers ‘Punching Bag’
• Women & the wine industry: Spilling out what is NOT OK.
• Marketing Dos and Don’ts for the Apocalypse
• Venge makes a last stand and saves his Calistoga winery from Glass Fire
• Millennial COVID comfort jumps on eating out, shopping malls, gyms, & vacations. (Boomers not so much)
• Power shut-offs are in your future. Keep crush moving. Click to reserve your generator NOW! (Sponsored)

OBITUARIES

• Nicola “Dudu” Durandi, beloved Friulian winemaker, dies at 43

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• North Bay wildfires cloud wine grape harvest as total losses could approach $500 million
• Vintage Wine Estates smoke-taint insurance lawsuit scheduled for trial; Could set precedent
• Interview with Marcus Rafanelli, Winemaker, L’Ecole 41, Walla Walla, Washington
  (Sponsored)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Austrian wine exports to UK slump post-Covid
• 2020 Best wines list for on-premise sector is out (Sponsored link)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• The Restaurant at Meadowood pushed chefs for brilliance — some say at a human cost (possible paywall)
• How Has The Role Of The Sommelier Evolved During COVID? (Sponsored link)

WILDFIRES & WEATHER (scroll down for more wildfire coverage)

• Calif. Gov. Newsom signs insurance bill providing quicker payments for wildfire losses
• Fires become routine. How can businesses afford insurance?
• Napa County District Attorney warns of FEMA scams in wake of fires
• As wine regions globally are impacted by wildfires and lingering smoke, scientists and industry labs are looking for ways to lessen the impact on grapes and finished wine

COVID-19

• Farmworker study shows difficulties avoiding COVID-19
• COVID cases reported at Sonoma Market

DIVERSITY

• New Study Reveals Women Have a Long Way to Go to Reach Equality in Wine Industry Job Opportunities

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Weather and Climate Report – October 2020
• Researchers recycling grapevine waste into particle board for sustainable buildings
• Bertrand: Biodynamics changed my life

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• 8th Circuit Sarasota Wine Oral Argument:  Judge Loken takes a scalpel to the state

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• Selling Wine, Beer, And Spirits In America*(Sponsored)

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• AI Rates Constellation Brands ‘Top Buy’ Despite Disappointing Q3 Earnings
• Pernod Ricard recognised for environmental efforts

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Liv-ex 100 rises 1.41% in September
• Liv-ex 1000 rises 0.98% in September
• Fine wine rebound continues in September
• Wine Pros Aim to Effect Change Through Vines 4 Votes

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• The rise of lighter alcohol

MARKETING & SALES

• Does darkness work with Untouched by Light – the first ‘light-free’ wine?

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Instagram To Add Shopping To IGTV, Test Shopping On Reels

MEDIA MATTERS

• Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits Launches ‘Served Up’ Podcast
• Book Review: Wine & the White House

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Grapes of the Rhone Valley: Vaccarèse

WINE PLACES

• Le Clos Saint-Hilaire: a single hectare at the forefront of winegrowing

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Caroline Begley Appointed VP of Marketing for Corby Spirit and Wine

EUROPE & THE UK

• The French wine industry has a year to convince the authorities that it should be allowed to spray by drone
• Bordeaux takes trade briefing online

LATIN AMERICA

• Uco Valley: Winemaking on the Edge

SOUTH AFRICA

• Should South Africa produce terroir-driven wines?

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• Sotheby’s Spirits Auction in London Set for Halloween
• Distillers Push to Define American Single Malt
• Terroir in Whisky? Proven, At Last
• Hard seltzer storm: Big brands take seltzer strategies up a notch