MAY 10, 2021 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• North Bay vintners raise concerns about new wine brokering/consulting firm run by failed entrepreneur and convicted felon
• Gallo lays off most Clos du Bois winery workers (possible paywall)
• Chillable reds and low-alcohol pours: Winemakers try to bottle success with younger consumers (possible paywall)
• So, why has China gone off the boil?
• Boomers catching up with other age groups as 60% of Americans feel comfortable dining at restaurants
• The Quick Books of wine DTC has launched! – (Sponsored link)

OBITUARIES

• Vale David ODea

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Will the Bully State prevail over the Constitution?
• The Path To Netflix-Quality Wine Recommendations Leads Through The Doors of Perception
• Wine’s best known right-wing extremist among FBI’s record number of domestic terror arrests
• America’s Top Wine Buyers to Judge USA Wine Ratings 2021 – (Sponsored link)
• TV wine ad review: This Premier Estates commercial was so tasteless it was banned– Premium Paywall

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• Boom in wine DTC sales prompts expansions at Napa Valley firms
• Bob Paulinski MW: Why I Want to Be a Judge in USA Wine Ratings –  (Sponsored link)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Schumer: Get New York on grape production reports
• Austria sees strong sales for US and UK following marketing boost
• Marlborough predicts Sauvignon Blanc shortage
• Bordeaux Wine Vintage 2020 Completes A Winning Hat Trick (possible paywall)
• How USA Wine Ratings Judges Wines in the Same Way Consumer Do – (Sponsored link)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Two Growers Sue Anderson’s Conn Valley for Allegedly Breaching Grape Contract
• Former Sonoma Mayor Rachel Hundley accuses Dominic Foppoli of sexual misconduct (possible paywall)
• See how Phase 2 Cellars streamline systems and provide exceptional customer service.

COVID-19

• What you can do if Covid has affected your taste and smell
• Bees Can Be Trained to Detect COVID-19

DIVERSITY

• ‘One Barrel Challenge’ seeks inclusivity, equity in wine industry
• Cartoon court case centres on sexism and natural wines

STARTUPS & NEW BRANDS

• Renowned winemaker Paul Hobbs releases inaugural Finger Lakes wine

WILDFIRES & WEATHER

• Red flag warning for Sonoma County, North Bay extended to Tuesday night (possible paywall)

DROUGHT/WATER

• Entire Bay Area has gone from ‘severe’ to ‘extreme’ drought levels in just 2 weeks (possible paywall)
• Calif: Eye Opening 20 Year Drought Data

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• ‘It Was a Fight. It’s a Fight to This Day’: Environmental Activism in Napa Valley
• Climate change could affect Marlborough’s grape flavours

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• ‘There are other markets’: Aussie business leaders call for trade diversity amid China tensions

DISTRIBUTORS

• Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits Announces the Retirement of Steve Slater, Executive Vice President, General Manager, Wine Division

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Talking Trade on Liv-ex – a world of releases

BORDEAUX EN PRIMEUR 2021

• Hosanna 2020 En Primeur – ‘The best ever?’

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Why isn’t our national wine media paying attention to Samantha Dugan’s spectacular sparkling wine selection at the Wine Country, Long Beach?

MARKETING & SALES

• Virgin Wines expects turnover and profits to exceed earlier estimations, as online demand continues
• What Italian winemakers can imbibe from their Swiss watchmaking cousins
• Miller Is Launching A Seltzer…Into Oblivion

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• UK: ICP upholds decision over sexist wine label

CUSTOMER RELATIONS

• Patagonia shows corporate activism is simpler than it looks (possible paywall)

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Clubhouse finally launches its Android app

PAYMENTS

• The Mondavi Sisters Are the First Napa Valley Vintners to Sell Wine for Cryptocurrency

MEDIA MATTERS

• The History of Wine Influencers — Part 1

MATTERS OF TASTE

• From Floral to Flinty, The Indigenous White Wine Grapes of Southern Italy
• Gundlach Bundschu Gewürztraminer in Two Bottles: Decanting Drama
• Has the Low Alcohol Revolution Gone Too Far?

WINE PEOPLE

• The Wine Alchemist Behind Prima Materia
• The Wine Makers – Christophe Tassan (podcast)
• Hailey Minder, Co-Owner & Co-Winemaker, 3100 Cellars, Garden City, Idaho (podcast)

WINE PLACES

• The Remarkable Rise of Château Valandraud

WINE EDUCATION

• NY: FLCC launches one-year viticulture certificate for quick path into career in wine, grape growing
• Wine Scholar Guild launches Certified Sherry Wine Specialist course in US

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Willamette Valley Wine Moms On What Makes Their Region Special (possible paywall)

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Characterization of wines by vineyard, region, and vintage by combining untargeted 1H NMR and targeted differential sensing

EUROPE & THE UK

• International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) Officially Incorporates NMR Method in Compendium of International Methods of Analysis of Wines and Musts
• All change in Bordeaux

LATIN AMERICA

• Bolivian wine-growers banking on ‘distinctive’ altitude flavor

AROUND THE GLOBE

• Chile Seduces China and a Winemaker Romance

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• Whisky and Women a Potent Blend
• AB InBev’s ‘beyond beer’ business generated over $1bn in 2020