FEBRUARY 4, 2021 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• Bespoke Capitol to take Vintage Wine Estates Public in SPAC offering
• Reviews and 5-Star are so useless for recommendations that Netflix punted on its prized $1-million algorithm
• Soda ranks #1 for Super Bowl sipping. Beer remains top AlcBev, wine second
• Drizly shows favorable laws and the free market work
• Why the wine industry needs more male allies to step up
• Big Wine 2021
• 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

• Obituary: Dr Kenneth Jones, scientist and vigneron

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Vivino raises $155 million for wine recommendation and marketplace app
• 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

• Alabamians could have wine, beer, liquor shipped to homes under new bill
• Bills would allow for beer and wine delivery in South Carolina
• Selling Wine, Beer, And Spirits In America*(Sponsored)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Brits snap up Australian wine that didn’t go to China
• OZ: Tasmania hopeful for 2021 wine grape vintage
• How Sherry has been the UK’s unlikely lockdown winner
• Australian wine sales surging in the UK
• What’s new at the 2021 Sommeliers Choice Awards and how that will help wine brands. (Sponsored link)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Shannon Ridge Family of Wines Names Travis Proctor as Winemaker
• See how Phase 2 Cellars streamline systems and provide exceptional customer service. (Sponsored link)

COVID-19

• OZ: New “Heathcote women in wine” collective trailblazing through COVID

DIVERSITY

• Diageo pledges $10 million to Black universities
• We Knew What Was Missing in the Wine World—Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion—So We Set Out to Change It

STARTUPS & NEW BRANDS

• Pix Builds an All-Star Team

HEALTH

• Glass of wine good for the heart? No, says new European study
• Why alcohol use disorder may be even more dangerous than you ever knew
• France’s Macron aims to tackle tobacco and alcohol in 10-year cancer plan

DROUGHT/WATER

• Calif: Dry Conditions Continue Even as Recent Winter Storms Bring Much-Needed Snow

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance’s 2020 Certification Report Shows Continued Growth
• Austrian Winemakers at the Forefront of a Biodynamic Farming Revolution

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• Drake Suit Alleges Liquor Giants Trashed His Champagne Brand
• Wine in grocery stores, beer at Walmart and liquor with takeout orders: Reforms to Connecticut’s liquor laws anger package store owners

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Anheuser-Busch invests $1bn in US facilities

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• Webinar TODAY at 11:30EST/8:30PST: A New Administration and a New Trade Policy? U.S. Trade Policies and their Implications for the Wine Sector
• EU Offers Olive Branch on Wine Tariffs
• Australian wine makers will need to diversify into other markets to ensure industry stays viable in wake of China trade dispute

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Liv-ex 1000 starts the year up 1.8%
• Liv-ex 100 rises 0.59% in January

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• What is Wrong with the Wine Industry?

MARKETING & SALES

• Hey Wine! Wanna Know Why Organic Hard Seltzer is Winning and Organic Wine is Not?
• Hawesko Group with record result

CUSTOMER RELATIONS

• UK’s most important PR companies

MEDIA MATTERS

• Matt Kettmann and Macduff Everton go behind the scenes of regional winemaking with new book, ‘Vines & Vision’

MATTERS OF TASTE

• It’s time for a France re-think
• Why Sassicaia et al are still worth celebrating

WINE PEOPLE

• Corey Beck on one of the most challenging vintages in recent memory

WINE HISTORY

• Medieval containers hint at thriving wine trade in Islamic Sicily

FOOD & RESTAURANTS

• Imagine a world without restaurants: an Italian filmmaker did just that.
• Michelin’s Top Starred Restaurants 2021 Unveiled, Despite Ongoing Crisis In The Industry (possible paywall)

EUROPE & THE UK

• UK Scam alert: Barrett Storage in Canning Town – another cloned bonded warehouse site
• Consultant Stéphane Derenoncourt calls on negociants to get proactive over Bordeaux bashing
• Wales comes out top as “most sophisticated” UK wine nation

DOWN UNDER

• OZ: 2021 Tasmanian vintage and vineyard visitation

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• Alcopop culture leading to a new drinking lifestyle in China
• Three men imprisoned for wine delivery fraud in China