FEBRUARY 23, 2021 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• How genes wreck wine recommendations
• AlcBev Wholesalers defeat direct consumer access by out-spending producers on state level politicians
• John Fox, who ran the world’s largest wine Ponzi scheme from his Berkeley store, gets out of prison
• DP&F Law Launches Alcohol Beverage Compliance Group
• Clubhouse, The New Hustle, & Why Less is More
• Napa Valley Vintners new auction nets $933,000 (possible paywall)
• Does wine compliance make you cry? We’re here to help with that but need your input!(Sponsored link)

OBITUARIES

• Vale Roger Le Moy

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• DTC, Off-Premise Start 2021 with Double-Digit Growth
• SPACial Report: Pat Roney on the Vintage Wine Estates Merger (Podcast)
• Calif 2020 grape harvest CRUSHED by smoke, warm weather
• Reviews and 5-Star are so useless for recommendations that Netflix tossed its prized $1-million algorithm. They’re even worse for wine
• Sommeliers Choice Awards launches Shelf talkers and Tasting notes for entrants – (Sponsored link)

DIVERSITY

• How Creating A Culture Of Inclusivity Fulfills Diversity’s Promise
• The natural wine world is white as hell. These BIPOC sommeliers are changing that

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• Don’t Let Your Shipping Fees Ruin Your Marketing ROI
• The Data: Wine DtC Shipments and Off-Premise Retail (January 2020 Special Report)
• Becoming a Master Sommelier in the midst of a global pandemic (Sponsored link)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• UK being ‘flooded’ with fake YellowTail wines
• Austria Wine reflects on ‘challenging yet rewarding’ 2020 vintage
• Grow Your Wine Brand In USA with 2021 Sommeliers Choice Awards (Sponsored link)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• The Good News from California’s 2020 Vintage No One Is Talking About
• Why these California North Coast vintners are green-lighting projects despite economic uncertainty
• Rare Shafer wine collection tops Napa ‘library’ auction
• Sonoma’s Sebastiani Vineyards appoints new winemaker
• See how Phase 2 Cellars streamline systems and provide exceptional customer service.

COVID-19

• President Joe Biden opens up PPP loan period just for businesses with fewer than 20 employees
• BC: Covid Regulatory Rabbit Holes – What is an Event?
• Supercentenarians Surviving COVID Pandemic Celebrate Long Lives with Wine
• How Restaurants Survive the Long Pandemic Winter
• UK: What will the end of lockdown mean for the on-trade?

HEALTH

• Grapes may act as an edible sunscreen

TAKING THE HIGH ROADS

• Terroir? Starting a Dialogue Between the Cannabis and Wine Industries
• CBD waters take flavor cues from spas and trending spirits

AMAZON

• Amazon deliver hub a ‘freight terminal,’ say Sonoma zoning officials

DROUGHT/WATER

• Drought-stricken West holds out for more than just dry snow

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• France’s Costly Green Wine Revolution
• A Lodi-based sheep company begins work on sustainable vineyard farming
• Bolstering Australia’s sustainable viticultural practices
• Biomethane for first 100% sustainable wine
• Free Money? Free Money! An interview with Brooke Pippi on the EQIP Program and what it can do for your farm

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• New Report Released—Politics Under the Influence

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Constellation Brands Announces New and Expanded Responsibilities for Executives Jim Sabia and Mallika Monteiro

AGRIFOODTECH

• Grape disease detection from the final frontier
• Hokkaido University’s sustainable robots offer respite for wine and pumpkin farmers in Japan
• How science and technology are helping a Japanese winery create a quality product for a global reputation
• Scientists are growing grapes in space to save Earth’s wine supply

WEBINARS/ONLINE MEETINGS

• Pioneering Online Wine Sales

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Why consumers never needed experts to tell them what they like (like Elvis and Zinfandel)
• French Critics Rate Organic and Biodynamic Wines 6-12 Points Higher in Scores Compared to Conventional or Sustainable Wines, Wine Economists Find

MARKETING & SALES

• Colangelo & Partners appoints three junior partners

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• The show must go on: the evolution of the trade show
• Trade shows set to go ahead in 2021
• Loire Valley trade fair, Levée de la Loire and Greniers Saint-Jean postponed until 2022

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• How TikTok Is Changing the Game for Drinks Influencing (podcast)

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• New Immigration Bill Would Give Undocumented Farmworkers Path to Citizenship

MEDIA MATTERS

• Book Review: The Wines of Georgia

MATTERS OF TASTE

• The $36,000 Bottle Of Wine Few Have Heard Of

WINE PEOPLE

• Penfolds’ Peter Gago Talks Blending California and Australia
• Kevin Luther of Voluptuary and Lucid Wines (podcast)
• Rutger de Vink the Founder of RDV and his winemaker Josh Grainer (podcast)
• Part-Time Job Leads to a Life Promoting Texas Wine — Reddy’s Eric Sigmund On Drinking Local

WINE HISTORY

• Medieval containers hint at thriving wine trade in Islamic Sicily

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Researchers train dogs to sniff out pests and pathogens

EUROPE & THE UK

• Provence rosé exports to UK soar
• UK: Sharpham to double output as part of expansion plans
• Ribera campaign looks to bring 60 wineries to the UK

DOWN UNDER

• Andreas Clark stepping down from Wine Australia

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• Hong Kong merchant hopeful for future of wine industry

SOUTH AFRICA

• Geoffrey Dean on South Africa’s Babylonstoren story

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• CANarchy wins challenge to Texas ABC statute over limits on brewery production sizes for direct from taproom “beer-to-go” sales based on a statutory construction resulting from poor legislative drafting.
• Yes, It’s OK to Heat Premium Sake
• Advancing understanding of hop genome to aid brewers, medical researchers