APRIL 20, 2021 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• What Wholesalers’ Inventory Depletions Reveal About Industry Recovery
• Calif ABC Launches Responsible Beverage Service Portal for On-Sale Managers and Servers
• Thomas Rivers Brown Acquires Full Ownership of Sonoma Coast’s Aston Estate
• How wine marketers can win as consumers’ new online habits likely won’t go away with the pandemic
• Winery DTC Shipments Up 16% in Value
• The New Wine Wars
• Americans overwhelmingly support legal cannabis for recreational or medical use
• The Quick Books of wine DTC has launched! – (Sponsored link)

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Why a “Netflix of wine” is impossible with current recommendation methods
• 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)
• Update: Wine prices 2021 (Premium Paywall)

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• Maine wine distributors urge legislators not to revise direct-to-consumer rules for out-of-state sellers
• Mississippi legalizing home delivery of alcohol as of July 1
• Price of food may influence decision to buy alcohol, new UK research suggests
• Influences on the Changing Profile of Wines in the Marketplace
• Top sommeliers on why they take part in Sommeliers Choice Awards (Sponsored link)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• ‘Significantly smaller’ NZ 2021 vintage creating supply tension
• Which will be the best restaurant wine in the USA? (Sponsored link)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Wine Country Mayor Will “Step Back,” but Not Resign, Amid Sexual Assault Allegations
• How a tiny urban vineyard in San Francisco is trying to transform California wine (possible paywall)
• Napa Valley’s V. Sattui, Castello di Amorosa promotes Shelby Green to assistant winemaker
• Pine Ridge Vineyard in Napa Valley selects new winemaker
• Napa’s Grounded Wine picks Sheldon Alexander as national sales leader
• California Wine Country hotels reopen but struggle to rehire workers
• See how Phase 2 Cellars streamline systems and provide exceptional customer service.

COVID-19

• Senses dulled by COVID-19, French wine tasters fear for livelihood
• Australian Winemaker and Scientist Claims Red Wine Prevents Covid

HEALTH

• Surprising Side Effects Alcohol Has On Your Liver

WILDFIRES & WEATHER

• Half-dozen wildfires ignite in Mendocino County, where Turnout fire grows to 200 acres (possible paywall)
• The humble shrub that’s predicting a terrible fire season

TAKING THE HIGH ROADS

• The Cannabis Industry Would Like You To Stop Using These Pot Slang Words

DROUGHT/WATER

• Is California suffering a decades-long megadrought? (possible paywall)

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• How Climate Change Could Transform Bay Area Winemaking

REAL ESTATE

• English Pinot Noir-focused vineyard put up for sale
• Legacy Family Vineyard, Howell Mtn AVA – Ultra-Premium Cab & Zin, Winery Potential, 2 residences. 33 acres + water. – (Sponsored link)

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• LVMH’s Bernard Arnault knocks off Elon Musk on world billionaire ranking

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Are Plant-Based Bottles the (More Sustainable) Future for the Drinks Industry?

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• An Expanded WSWA Brand Battle Tournament Returns Virtually for 2021

MEDIA MATTERS

• The Brave and Attractive Move in the Wine Writing World
• Firstleaf aggregates wine statistics in new guide
• When (And Why) A Wine Writer Covers Alcohol Free Beverages (possible paywall)

MATTERS OF TASTE

• California Wines Made With New Hybrid Grapes Hold Promise, If Anyone Will Drink Them
• Beaujolais revisited: “understanding of the terroir is driving better quality wines”
• Why volcanic Lanzarote wines have a bright future
• The Tangled Tale of Zinfandel

WINE PEOPLE

• Italian wine world mourns loss of Barolo pioneer Pio Boffa.

WINE PLACES

• Trediberri: good fortune, introspection, and decisive strategy

WINE HISTORY

• 20 years of Observer Food Monthly: how the wine trade was all shook up

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Federal Budget Allocates $101M for Canadian Winery Support

ACADEMIA

• Cellars to Sellers

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• An economic analysis of prevantative practices for managing trunk disease in table grape vineyards

EUROPE & THE UK

• Krug builds a showcase in Ambonnay
• UK: Rathfinny going against the grain with vintage approach

DOWN UNDER

• OZ: Manor Estate winery explains why it chose to target the US market

SOUTH AFRICA

• Have South African wines reached collectable status?

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• Hard-Hit American Craft Distillers Prepare for Future Growth
• An Ancient Indigenous Drink is Revived, Illuminating Australian History
• New Belgium’s New Fat Tire Beer Tastes Like the Climate Ravaged Future of Our Worst Nightmares