MARCH 5, 2021 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• The Southern Glazer’s-Constellation deal is one more slap up the head for wine drinkers
• Your drink needs a cancer warning, say prominent health and medical experts
• Scotch Prices Should Fall as Tariffs Ease
• Napa & NorCal wine country now experiencing “severe/extreme” drought
• Men rescued after getting lost at sea drinking beers on an air mattress
• Does wine compliance make you cry? We’re here to help with that but need your input!(Sponsored link)

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• The Pros and Cons of Self-Distribution for Independent Winemakers
• A close look at the Vintage Wine Estate acquisition path that’s led to its upcoming public offering
• The Duckhorn Portfolio files for an estimated $300 million IPO
• How genes wreck wine recommendations
• Sommeliers Choice Awards launches Shelf talkers and Tasting notes for entrants – (Sponsored link)

DIVERSITY

• Bursting the bubble – meet the female winemakers who popped the patriarchy
• Meet the woman bringing a Caribbean twist to French Champagne
• Israel: Meet the women breaking barriers and harvesting the land
• How Sommelier André Hueston Mack Became a Renaissance Wine Man
• The Best Women-Owned Wine and Spirit Brands to Buy in Dallas
• Meet The Sip, A Champagne Subscription Service That’s Making Wine More Inclusive
• Liquid Icons launches Golden Vines Awards for win diversity support
• Women used to dominate the beer industry – until the witch accusations started pouring in
• Why are men usually handed the wine list?

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• Becoming a Master Sommelier in the midst of a global pandemic (Sponsored link)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• OZ: Grape season ripe for an increased vintage
• Grow Your Wine Brand In USA with 2021 Sommeliers Choice Awards (Sponsored link)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Sonoma County eases permitting for low-impact vineyard replanting (possible paywall)
• Sonoma Valley’s wine trade group’s leader to depart after 17 years (possible paywall)
• See how Phase 2 Cellars streamline systems and provide exceptional customer service.

COVID-19

• How changes in tasting rooms due to the Covid-19 crisis are affecting customer satisfaction and purchasing habits
• Wine Future: How Covid has turned our business world upside down
• Loire Valley wines limit Covid-induced damage to sales
• Calif: Farmworker vaccinations “exploding out of the gate” in Monterey County
• Sonoma County on the cusp of allowing broader business activity
• COVID Impact on Oregon Wine Pt 1 (podcast)

STARTUPS & NEW BRANDS

• Decoy Wines Introduces Premium Varietal Wine Seltzers
• Sonoma company introduces first non-alcoholic wine infused seltzer (possible paywall)

HEALTH

• Alcohol Withdrawal Cases Grow During Pandemic

WILDFIRES & WEATHER

• Calistoga wineries begin to rebuild from wildfires with future guests in mind (possible paywall)
• Weather and Climate Report – March 2021

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• Davis Wright Tremaine Expands Food and Beverage Practice with Key Alcohol Industry Hire in Washington, DC
• California Farm Bureau Supports Reintroduction of Agricultural Immigration Bill
• WV: House advances bill liberalizing beer, wine and liquor laws, over objections it will fuel alcoholism

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• U.S. suspends whisky tariff; does this mean there’s hope for wine?
• KDA urges tariff removal for US whiskey
• OZ/China row opens export opportunities for India

BREXIT

• Ongoing Brexit Turmoil is Rattling the UK Wine Trade

DISTRIBUTORS

• Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits Appoints Christina Reed to Vice President & General Manager of Alaska

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Harry Crowther on Grain to Grape’s new profitable modern wine training

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• The Rules and Etiquette of #Wine and #SocialMedia
• TikTok Rolls Out Q&A Feature for Everyone

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• Federal judge orders new Washington survey of farmworker pay (possible paywall)

MEDIA MATTERS

• With wine information, you get what you pay for
• New book explores the world of Sussex, UK wine-making

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Brewers and Winemakers Debate the Best Ways to Make Non-Alcoholic Beer and Wine
• The True Chameleon: An Introduction to Muscat
• Alcohol’s changing character

WINE PEOPLE

• 60 vintages strong: Still in the thick of it for Tim Knappstein
• EOD Drinks With Francis Ford Coppola (podcast)

FOOD & RESTAURANTS

• Nearly 30% of restaurant operators say business won’t return to normal for at least a year

EUROPE & THE UK

• Discord in Valdepeñas: Several winegrowers’ associations will leave the DO
• Scandal over pesticides in Bordeaux
• Six new grape varieties approved in Bordeaux
• What they’re drinking in Norway

DOWN UNDER

• The end of free wine tastings: How COVID changed WA cellar doors

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• Man lives on nothing but beer for Lent to raise money for hospitality sector