FEBRUARY 3, 2021 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• Vivino raises $155 million for wine recommendation and marketplace app
• What Uber’s Huge Drizly Deal Means for Wine & Compliance
• We all know COVID drove online wine sales, but 10 years of growth in three months?
• Champagne revenue plummets by €1 billion in 2020
• OZ: Red wine prices tipped to plummet as exports to China trickle to a halt
• 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)

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Uber to Acquire Drizly
• Solving the “Paradox of Choice” is a major reason Netflix’s recommender is worth $1 Bil/yr. And why wine fails at that.
• 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

• Italy’s biggest online wine retailer posts €17m rise in revenue
• “Curated” wine clubs, and why they don’t seem to be the answer
• Selling Wine, Beer, And Spirits In America*(Sponsored)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Grape Growers Alarmed Over Profits
• Australian wine exports slow due to China tariffs
• Despite the crisis, the French continue to drink champagne (in moderation)
• Covid-19 halves 2020 sales in UK on-trade
• What’s new at the 2021 Sommeliers Choice Awards and how that will help wine brands. (Sponsored link)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Big Names, Big Bottles for Napa Auction
• Sonoma State celebrates 25 years with the Wine Institute
• California wine sector launches $10 million campaign to boost exports (possible paywall)
• See how Phase 2 Cellars streamline systems and provide exceptional customer service. (Sponsored link)

COVID-19

• Washington Farm Groups Sue State Over Emergency COVID-19 Regulations
• Wineries Face New Challenges Keeping Workers Safe During Pandemic
• Vaccination rollout starts to reach farms
• How we reacted to the Covid-19 crisis: Copper Rivet’s Stephen Russell
• The new rules on travel into France from within the EU

DIVERSITY

• McBride Sisters Award $300,000 in Grants to Black Women–Owned Businesses
• Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants Announces Winners of Ten Scholarships Awarded to Black American Wine Professionals
• Barefoot Celebrates and Supports Black Female Business Owners with the Return of the #WeStanForHer Campaign

STARTUPS & NEW BRANDS

• Winemaker Charles Smith Announces New Company Name: HOUSE OF SMITH
• Quini Appoints Danny Brager, Victor Giacomin and Dale Stratton To Advisory Board

HEALTH

• UK: Alcohol-specific deaths rise despite people drinking less
• The Plant Based and Zero Alcohol Revolution

WILDFIRES & WEATHER

• How the West’s conflagrations challenge winemakers
• Challenges remain: Wine industry survives pandemic and smoke

TAKING THE HIGH ROADS

• Marijuana legalization advances in Virginia, but lawmakers push start date to 2024

AMAZON

• Jeff Bezos Steps Down as CEO, Heralding New Era for Amazon (possible paywall)

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Bordeaux winemakers cope with climate change with newly approved grape varieties
• Organic wine is not all hype, apparently
• Château Fleur Cardinale begins organic conversion

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• Class action lawsuit filed on behalf of consumers who purchased Weed Slayer herbicide
• Maryland Appellate Court Rules Against Pabst Again in Attempted Successor Supplier Distributor Termination
• Texas legislator files bill to allow alcohol sales on Sundays

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• S.Africa’s Distell says half-year profits could rise even after booze ban

FINANCE, INVESTMENT, M&A

• Sanwa Alterna Brokerage comments on Uber acquiring alcohol delivery app Drizly for $1.1 billion
• Uber-Drizly Booze Delivery Deal Is Smart Move in Local E-Commerce (possible paywall)

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• Britons Are Guzzling the Australian Wine That Didn’t Go to China (possible paywall)

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• 2009 wines rising as Year of the Ox approaches
• Graham Gooch’s wine collection for sale

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Should There Be Calorie Labels On Alcohol? Experts Say Yes (possible paywall)

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• 2021 Canadian Wine & Liquor Law Conference February 25th

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• Running a winery isn’t a romantic dream, it’s an agri-business

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Groundbreaking research [supports] existence of terroir
• When It’s Cold Outside Ice Wines Are The Antidote To Drink Inside (possible paywall)
• The Need for a Philosophy of Wine
• Making Sense Of Life

WINE PEOPLE

• Sunday spotlight: L.M. Archer
• Entrepreneur Francois-Louis Vuitton Finds His Passion In Wine (possible paywall)
• db meets: Aidy Smith of The Three Drinkers

WINE EDUCATION

• Aldi launches supermarket wine school

FOOD & RESTAURANTS

• SND: Tilman Fertitta to Take Restaurant Empire Public

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Fighting spotted lanternfly

EUROPE & THE UK

• UK: Industry uncertain if Budget will bring duty relief
• UK demand for Oz wine up in wake of Covid and Brexit

DOWN UNDER

• NZ: Wage demands of seasonal staff causes trouble at the tanks ahead of wine harvest
• Tonga decides not to participate in NZ seasonal work scheme

SOUTH AFRICA

• South Africa Lifts Wine Sales Ban, but the Damage is Done
• South Africa’s wine industry reels from alcohol bans