DECEMBER 17, 2020 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• Wine Fraud Rudy’s Fate is Sealed
• Alcoholic beverages way down the list of shoppers’ anticipated holiday gifts
• Amorim touts TCA breakthrough, but offers no data or proof. (Even a preprint paper would boost credibility.)
• Retail sales fell 1.1% in November, biggest drop in 7 months
• What the Future of Restaurants Might Look Like
• California sued over new coronavirus workplace rules (possible paywall)
• How “new school” technology lets L’Ecole No. 41 produce amazing “old school” wines.(Sponsored link)

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Ohio State Attorney General Has Commanding Lead In Direct Shipping Litigation Tournament 4-2-1
• Winc’s actual customer retention rate — here’s how the math works
• 2020 USA Wine Ratings Winners Announced (Sponsored link)

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• Holiday Shopping Data Shows DTC Gains for WineDirect Clients
• Beam CEO: e-commerce is ‘long-term opportunity’
• Selling Wine, Beer, And Spirits In America*(Sponsored)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• UK’s bulk wine imports outstrip those of bottled for first time ever
• What’s new at the 2021 Sommeliers Choice Awards and how that will help wine brands. (Sponsored link)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• California Aims To Change The Rules On Restaurant Regulation (possible paywall)
• Chappellet Appoints Leslie Sullivan Marketing Director
• Why The Chronicle is not naming a Winemaker of the Year in 2020 (possible paywall)
• Three Generations of Bacigalupi Women
• Empty isn’t necessarily the end for a beer bottle: Sonoma County’s Conscious Container launches pilot effort to collect, clean, reuse

COVID-19

• Wine Country is officially closed for wine tastings under Bay Area’s new regional stay-at-home order (possible paywall)

DIVERSITY

• ‘Be the Change’ Changes the Game for All at Wine Industry’s First Virtual Job Fair to Promote True Inclusivity and Diversity
• Wine Meets Sisterhood

WILDFIRES & WEATHER

• Wildfire smoke changes dramatically as it ages, and that matters for downwind air quality

DROUGHT/WATER

• Error Correction Means California’s Future Wetter Winters May Never Come
• Droughts Aren’t Just About Water Anymore
• Investors can now trade on and profit from California water — how might that work out? (possible paywall)

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Electric weeding performs as well as glyphosate beneath the vines
• Oregon to phase out most uses of chlorpyrifos by end of 2023 (possible paywall)
• ProWein Report: Covid-19 will impact investment in sustainability
• How to Talk to Your CFO About Sustainability

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• TTB tax rates go back up for wineries if Congress doesn’t vote to extend by Dec 31st
• Court Denies Molson Coors Motion to Dismiss Future Proof Federal Infringement Claim

REAL ESTATE

• David Boies Asks $23 Million for 1,100-Acre California Ranch

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Here’s Why Constellation Brands (STZ) is Poised for Growth in 2021

FINANCE, INVESTMENT, M&A

• Moët Hennessy Invests in Cult Vermont Whiskey Brand WhistlePig
• NZ: Brad Butterworth buys winery
• South Africa: Distell offloads Plaisir de Merle estate

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• A complete Penfolds Grange set has sold for a record $431,000
• New ‘fingerprint’ method may help detect wine fraud, says study

DATA & TRENDS

• Wine in the U.S. in 2020 — The Top Takeaways

MARKETING & SALES

• 5 retail marketing trends that will outlive the pandemic
• What the book trade can teach wine

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Sustainable wine packaging needs to be ‘more Tesla than Tide’
• Glassware Virtuoso Kurt Zalto Has Quietly Released His Masterpiece Wine Glass (possible paywall)

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• WBWE: Online business here to stay
• Enoforum, Europe’s Largest Scientific Technical Wine Congress, Coming to America

PAYMENTS

• OZ: Victorian wineries moving towards digital currency

MEDIA MATTERS

• Arthur George’s ‘The Mythology of Wine’

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Are Appellations Still Useful?
• A Solar System Or A Galaxy?

WINE EDUCATION

• Bibendum supports customers with new digital training courses

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Wisconsin Vintners Association home winemakers club celebrates 50 years, making it one of America’s oldest

ACADEMIA

• Walla Walla Community College to receive $15 million gift from MacKenzie Scott

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• China’s drinkers develop taste for home-grown wines

SOUTH AFRICA

• Leopard snatches bottle of wine from couple’s safari picnic

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• Whiskey fraud ring uncovered in Spain