APRIL 7, 2021 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• Champagne exports to the US crash by a fifth as Covid-19 takes its toll
• Bollinger Champagne Owners Buy Oregon’s Ponzi Vineyards
• Women empowerment and peer support in the wine industry: community and resilience
• Champagne’s Untouchable Bling Factor
• E. & J. Gallo Buys Spirits Company Agave Loco LLC, the owner of RumChata
• Tasting Room Safety: Half of adults oppose businesses requiring COVID Vax Passports for entry
• Shocking news: Wine tastes better when it costs more money, even when it doesn’t(Sponsored link, premium paywall)

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Mess on the High Seas: That Imported Wine You Want Might Be Stuck on a Boat
• Ratings & reviews are useless for wine and movie recommendations, so Netflix killed them and embraced Big Data
• Duckhorn eyes potential for more winery acquisitions following IPO
• Sommeliers Choice Awards launches Shelf talkers and Tasting notes for entrants – (Sponsored link)

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• Here’s how FedEx, Otter Products solved the packing puzzle of cooled, secure wine shipping
• Becoming a Master Sommelier in the midst of a global pandemic (Sponsored link)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Northern Michigan Winemakers Expecting High-Quality 2020 Vintage
• Grow Your Wine Brand In USA with 2021 Sommeliers Choice Awards (Sponsored link)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Napa County appoints new agricultural commissioner (possible paywall)
• See how Phase 2 Cellars streamline systems and provide exceptional customer service.

COVID-19

• Calif: Wine Country Officially Reopens for Indoor Wine Tastings
• Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino counties gets go-ahead for further reopening in orange tier
• Wine Bar Owner Is Santa Barbara County’s First COVID-19 Defier to Be Criminally Charged
• California aims to fully reopen June 15. What this means for Sonoma County (possible paywall)

DIVERSITY

• Florencia Gomez on MW scholarship from E&J Gallo

WILDFIRES & WEATHER

• Napa County officials plan to spend $42.5 million over five years to reduce the risk of wildfires.
• PG&E Faces Criminal Charges Over 2019 Wine Country Fire

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Ruinart dedicates historic vineyard to biodiversity project
• How Anthony von Mandl Is Leading British Columbia’s Organic Wine Movement

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Constellation Contributes $1.75 Million to Help Restaurant Industry

FINANCE, INVESTMENT, M&A

• Vin Social Launches Crowdfunding Campaign

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Bordeaux en primeur 2020: What to expect

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• How One Woman Is Winning the Canned Wine Market

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Mediadoping: how some social media influencers aren’t playing fair

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Wine and Music Pairing: A Next-Level Aesthetic Experience
• The Wisdom Of Age

WINE PEOPLE

• Kate Radburnd being her own boss
• Alysha Stehly: Winemaker advocates for agriculture in urban county
• Charles Woodson on The Taste with Dough Shafer (podcast)

WINE HISTORY

• How the Irish Changed the Wine World

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Standard digital camera and AI to monitor soil moisture for affordable smart irrigation
• Wine grape ripeness assessment using Hyperspectral imaging
• Stop and smell the roses: novel yeast that impart “floral” aromas in wine

EUROPE & THE UK

• The Prosecco ColFondo “10 Commandments.” A new Prosecco ColFondo farmers union takes shape.
• Coteaux Champenois, Champagne’s new wave
• Expanded indie-focused campaign follows rise in Georgia imports

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• What Brewers and Distillers Shipping DtC Need to Know About Taxes
• American Producers are Making the Best Mead ‘the World Has Ever Known’
• 2020 Craft Brewery Count Up Despite Pandemic, but Production Falls for First Time in Modern Era