JANUARY 21, 2021 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• North Coast wine business will feel effect of the pandemic for some time, expert says
• Selling more wine in an age of wildfires, pandemics
• 2021 Unified Wine & Grape Symposium Opens Next Week
• Why Can’t I Smell? Doctors and Scientists Are Working to Understand COVID-19’s Impact on Our Senses
• Baby boomers, to retailers’ surprise, have discovered online shopping (possible paywall)
• Ganau launches EPIQ – Corks with threshold of ≤0.5 ng/L TCA — below level of human perception. Process backed by peer-reviewed science.(Sponsored link)

OBITUARIES

• TX’s Lahey Vineyards Mattison “Matt” Lee Adams has died

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Group of North Bay restaurants, wineries and hotels sue state over shutdown limits (NOTE: This link replaces the broken link from yesterday’s top news. The North Bay Business Journal changed the URL after the NewsFetch was sent out.  Our apologies for the inconvenience.
• How A Netflix-Style Recommender Is Vital to Reversing Wine’s Market Marginalization
• Crimson Wine to restate 3+ years of financial results after independent review of “unreliable” accounting errors
• 2020 USA Wine Ratings Winners Announced (Sponsored link)

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

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

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• CGA and The Buyer launch new on-trade wine reports for 2021
• What’s new at the 2021 Sommeliers Choice Awards and how that will help wine brands. (Sponsored link)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Sonoma County restaurant sues Grubhub in class action case over listings on food delivery site
• Sonoma, Napa, Marin, Solano hotel occupancy dismal in December
• California bill would allow wineries to fill customers’ personal containers
• The 2020 wildfires could cost California’s wine industry $3.7 billion — but it doesn’t have to be that way (possible paywall)
• Calif: Bank of America Names Ben Maddox Western Food, Agriculture and Wine Executive
• See how Phase 2 Cellars streamline systems and provide exceptional customer service. (Sponsored link)

COVID-19

• Did shutting down outdoor dining contribute to California’s COVID-19 surge?
• Getting Back My Nose After a COVID KO
• Wine America’s Michael Kaiser and helping small wineries make it through the pandemic (podcast)

DIVERSITY

• Building supportive ecosystems for Black-owned US businesses

WILDFIRES & WEATHER

• Warm days and historic winds: Winter fire season has arrived in the Bay Area (possible paywall)

TAKING THE HIGH ROADS

• UK: CBD-infused gin breaches alcohol marketing regulator’s code

DROUGHT/WATER

• Calif Agricultural Developer Agrees to Pay Clean Water Act Fines, Mitigate Impacts to Sensitive Streams and Wetlands

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• Stimulus Bill: What Changes Will Affect Farmers?
• Illinois passes liquor control act amendments to clarify and expand in-state delivery and shipping rights for retail liquor licensees (stores, bars, etc.)

REAL ESTATE

• ‘European Country Manor’ Hits Market In Temecula Wine Country

FINANCE, INVESTMENT, M&A

• Bordeaux: Château du Tertre sold in Margaux

DISTRIBUTORS

• Rodney Strong Wine Estates Expands and Extends Alignment with Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Naples Winter Wine Festival Holds its Biggest Online Auction Ever
• The best of the rest: Liv-ex 2020 Power 100

DATA & TRENDS

• What’s In Store for Beverage Alcohol Category in 2021?
• Global wine trends to watch in 2021

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Wines of California: breaking new ground with Essential At Home
• Critic Launches World’s Smallest Online Wine Store, With Favorite Bottles Under £15 (possible paywall)

MARKETING & SALES

• For Brands Responding to Political Upheaval, Skip the Snark & Go Formal

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• London Wine Fair 2021 will be 100% digital

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• Western farm groups urge immigration reform

MATTERS OF TASTE

• How Wine Changes Us

WINE PEOPLE

• Creating A Legacy At Piazza Family Wines
• Linzi Gay of Clif Family Winery, Napa Valley (podcast)
• Overcoming adversity naturally: Philippe Langer (podcast)
• Meet another ‘kid from Akron’ making it big in California, and the local landmark that inspired his Napa Valley wine label

WINE PLACES

• Why Bolivia Should Be Your Next Wine Destination

WINE EDUCATION

• Asia Pacific Wine and Spirit Institute Launches World’s First Certified Online “Wines of China” Course

FOOD & RESTAURANTS

• Containing the Drink: On-premise operators turn to self-packaged cocktails to stay afloat
• Restaurants succeed in raising guest sentiment in December, despite downturn in sales and traffic

ACADEMIA

• MSU viticulturist has grape expectations
• Vineyard soil study ready to dig in

EUROPE & THE UK

• UK: Popularity of wine continues to grow, research shows
• Grands Crus wine bottles broken by their thieves

DOWN UNDER

• Help a Mate: Buy Australian Pinot

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• APAC consumers drinking less alcohol
• Taiwan’s Sparkling Wine Evolution

SOUTH AFRICA

• South Africa’s Ban On The Sale Of Wine: Making Sense Of A Non-Sensical Situation (possible paywall)
• Stellenbosch, South Africa’s Outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon Region (possible paywall)