APRIL 14, 2021 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• The hidden cost of wine retail’s ecommerce miracle
• U.S. Authorities Deport Wine Counterfeiter Rudy Kurniawan
• How Wine Country’s insular nature played a role in Dominic Foppoli’s alleged misconduct (possible paywall)
• Airbus Tariffs, Traffic, and Time – Avoidable Collision Courses for Importers of Wine and Distilled Spirits in Four Months
• Record COVID High: 57% of Americans Comfortable Dining Out
• Legacy Family Vineyard, Howell Mtn AVA – Ultra-Premium Organic Cab & Zin, Winery Potential, 2 residences. 33 acres + water. – (Sponsored link)
• 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)

• Wine’s best known right-wing extremist among FBI’s record number of domestic terror arrests
• 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
• Final Call To Enter In The 2021 Sommeliers Choice Awards. Submission closes on April 20, 2021 – (Sponsored link)

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• Top sommeliers on why they take part in Sommeliers Choice Awards (Sponsored link)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Americans are drinking lots of champagne and cognac
• Champagne sales pop as people take to celebrating again
• Ciatti California Report April 2021 (PDF)
• Winemakers and lovers rejoice at an excellent South Australian vintage
• Why Your French Wine Just Suddenly Got More Precious (possible paywall)
• Which will be the best restaurant wine in the USA? (Sponsored link)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• California Wine Growers on a Tightrope? Annual Survey Results In
• Windsor Town Council confronted Foppoli in 2017 over letter complaining of ’predatory’ behavior (possible paywall)
• Sonoma County’s Gary Farrell Winery appoints Korea market ambassador
• See how Phase 2 Cellars streamline systems and provide exceptional customer service.

DIVERSITY

• Barefoot Awards $50,000 in Grants to Black Female Entrepreneurs through its #WeStanForHer Campaign
• AAAV Paths to Success: Covid in the Wine Industry – Past, Present and Future
• McBride Sisters Wine Has The Coolest Origin Story

HEALTH

• The Long, Winding Path of Wine as Medicine

WILDFIRES & WEATHER

• California to insurers: How much is fire risk ‘hardening’ commercial coverage market for wineries, vineyards, farms?
• Grape growers tackle fire recovery, drought

TAKING THE HIGH ROADS

• Illinois Gets More Tax Revenue From Marijuana Than Alcohol, State Says

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Burgundy Embraces New Varieties to Combat Climate Change
• Is Booze the Next Frontier for Regenerative Agriculture?
• This Penticton company is crushing wine-making’s sustainability goals

REAL ESTATE

• Sonoma nature lover’s retreat with vineyard asks $8.9M

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Naked announces new chair

FINANCE, INVESTMENT, M&A

• Wine Investing Leader Cult Wines Touches Down In North America (possible paywall)

DISTRIBUTORS

• Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits Appoints Soren Sorensen to Senior Vice President and General Manager, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Investors developing a thirst for Spanish fine wine

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Why Is Natural Wine So Divisive? (podcast)
• Pandemic Perils, Pounds and the Resurgence of the Alt Beverage
• The White and Pink Side of Piedmont Wine
• The Future of Viticulture?
• The art of wine tasting
• Vintionary

WINE PEOPLE

• Talking Grapes With Samra Morris
• I’ll Drink to That: Winemaker George Skouras (podcast)

WINE PLACES

• Piedmont Wine Region, Home To Italian Royalty And More (possible paywall)
• How native grapes are putting Marche back on the map

FOOD & RESTAURANTS

• What Is Hospitality? The Current Answer Doesn’t Work.

EUROPE & THE UK

• France lifts caps on farm compensation after frost threatens harvest
• Rioja unveils strategic five-year plan
• Latimer appoints ex-somm Caroline Brangé to head up sales
• The Biou d’Arbois winegrowers’ festival revises its application for world heritage status

DOWN UNDER

• OZ: New legislation to impact vineyard ATVs: No longer rolling the dice

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• E-commerce for wine is a mainstream channel for Chinese wine drinkers and is becoming a meaningful channel in other key markets

LATIN AMERICA

• Three reasons to be positive about the Argentinean wine market
• Specialist architects putting Argentine wine on another map

AROUND THE GLOBE

• Georgia and its wine on my mind