APRIL 16, 2021 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• Controversy as Gallo Seeks East Coast Foothold
• One Year Later: How U.S. Winemakers Averted Disaster
• French wine sector facing €2b losses in wake of spring frosts
• Winemakers Bet Big on Low-Calorie, Low-ABV Bottles
• U.S. labor market inches back from COVID-19 shock; real unemployment rate may be double official data.
• The Quick Books of wine DTC has launched! – (Sponsored link)

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• 2,000+ Calif wineries must comply with new state water discharge regs
• 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
• Final Call To Enter In The 2021 Sommeliers Choice Awards. Submission closes on April 20, 2021 – (Sponsored link)

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• CompleteDTC Launches to Help Small Wineries Succeed
• Top sommeliers on why they take part in Sommeliers Choice Awards (Sponsored link)

SPRING FROSTS

• Varying reports and striking images from last week’s spring freeze in Italy.
• Beautiful scenes from this spring’s dangerous frost in Tuscany
• Frosts and freezing: a look at the science

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• From the Pandemic to Prosecco: Why Champagne Sales Are Plummeting
• Which will be the best restaurant wine in the USA? (Sponsored link)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Confusion lingers over Windsor governance, as council grapples with accused mayor’s defiance (possible paywall)
• Nancy Light to Retire from Wine Institute
• Erica Moyer retires from Turrentine Brokerage (PDF)
• See how Phase 2 Cellars streamline systems and provide exceptional customer service.

COVID-19

• Coronavirus-themed wine from Vienna censored

DIVERSITY

• Scenes From a Grocery Store: How ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Turned Wine into a Refreshing Metaphor

WILDFIRES & WEATHER

• Napa County approves $42 million for wildfire prevention
• Napa County weighs using artificial intelligence-based fire detection system (possible paywall)
• Could wildfires ruin our wine?
• Tainted love: Beers give smoky grapes a bright side

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• What? Bury Charcoal in the Vineyard? (podcast)

RECYCLED WASTEWATER

• Santa Rosa cuts back recycled water allocations to agriculture by two-thirds as drought looms

REAL ESTATE

• Legacy Family Vineyard, Howell Mtn AVA – Ultra-Premium Cab & Zin, Winery Potential, 2 residences. 33 acres + water. – (Sponsored link)

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Online retailer Naked reports rocketing US sales as consumers switch to online purchasing
• Brown-Forman appoints new CFO

FINANCE, INVESTMENT, M&A

• Industry Veteran Launches 1927 Capital Management, a Family Office in Partnership With Multi-generation California Winemaking Family

AGRIFOODTECH

• They say this robot will prune as well as a winegrower

MARKETING & SALES

• Wines’ Retail Pricing (possible paywall)

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• Washington bill called discriminatory against foreign farmworkers (possible paywall)

MEDIA MATTERS

• These photographs celebrate winemaking all around the world

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Yeast Is Vital For Wine, But Does It Matter Where It Comes From? (possible paywall)
• The science behind why wine goes bad
• More Than Manischewitz: The Story Behind Mayacamas Kosher Wine

WINE PEOPLE

• Jean-Luc Thunevin: taking Château Valandraud to first growth status
• EOD Drinks With Julia Prestia, Co-Owner of Venturini Baldini (podcast)

WINE PLACES

• What To Know When You Next Travel To This Great Italian Wine Region (possible paywall)

WINE EDUCATION

• Women of the Vine & Spirits to offer WSET courses from June

FOOD & RESTAURANTS

• Restaurant sales almost fully recovered in March

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Napa Valley winemaking legend Warren Winiarski invests in Colorado wine and grape industry through a grant to CMU/WCCC Viticulture and Enology program
• Northern Virginia vineyards on the alert for invasive species spotted lanternfly

EUROPE & THE UK

• Dutch shop fined for omitting ‘settlement’ from label of Israeli wine

DOWN UNDER

• Growing South Australian wine exports through recovery and expansion program
• OZ: NSW Wine Industry receives $1.2m in Government funding
• OZ: Wine lovers trend toward digital reliance

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• A New Museum Exhibit Celebrates the Relationship Between Glass and Wine