MAY 11, 2021 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• US on-trade “roars back go life” as 98% of the channel now open for business
• What Gallo’s new layoffs at Clos du Bois winery reveal about the future of California’s cheapest wines (possible paywall)
• Frost catches secondary buds of Chardonnay in Burgundy
• What’s the Future of the Floor Sommelier Role?
• Amazon market share growth plunges as overall pandemic ecommerce soars
• The Quick Books of wine DTC has launched! – (Sponsored link)

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• North Bay vintners raise concerns about new wine brokering/consulting firm run by failed entrepreneur and convicted felon
• 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

• House votes to loosen Louisiana alcohol, wine delivery rules
• Bob Paulinski MW: Why I Want to Be a Judge in USA Wine Ratings –  (Sponsored link)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Polar Blasts Test French Vintners’ Resolve
• Higher yields helping to tame high alcohol in Brunello
• How USA Wine Ratings Judges Wines in the Same Way Consumer Do – (Sponsored link)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Production to cease at Sebastiani Winery in downtown Sonoma
• Paso Robles Wine County virtual auction begins this week
• Larkmead Vineyards Creates Virtual Tasting Manager Role To Expand Virtual Tasting Experience Offerings, Promotes Daniel Stoch
• Ultimate Petrus Vertical Hits Santa Barbara
• See how Phase 2 Cellars streamline systems and provide exceptional customer service.

COVID-19

• Restaurant Wine Jobs Are Coming Back—But Do We Want Them?
• People drinking more during pandemic, especially women, study finds

HEALTH

• Alcohol lowers risk of heart disease by helping us relax, says study

WILDFIRES & WEATHER

• Newton Vineyard Rebuilds After 2020 Wildfires

DROUGHT/WATER

• Governor Newsom Announces $5.1 Billion Package for Water Infrastructure and Drought Response as Part of $100 Billion California Comeback Plan
• Drought emergency declared in Central Valley, Klamath region
• California drought continues to intensify; Cooler temperature and robust marine layer to offer some temporary relief

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Overcoming climate change issue is leading to exciting innovation, Barton & Guestier says
• Wine’s Footprint, From the Soil to the Atmosphere

REAL ESTATE

• Newly Listed Wine Country Estate Features a Century-Old Chapel Made of Stone and Stained Glass, vines
• Juslyn Vineyards and home in Napa Valley CA for sale (possible paywall)

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• Pernod Ricard eyes opportunities in China’s ‘dual circulation’ strategy
• Leading Wine Regions Advocate in Washington and Brussels for Elimination of Tariffs and Non-Tariff Barriers on Wine
• South Australian winemakers urged to export more to Japan
• France is number one in China

BREXIT

• Brexit, an Opportunity Worth at Least €2.6 Billion for European Retailers

WEBINARS/ONLINE MEETINGS

• Live webinar May 12th: 2021 Beverage Alcohol regulatory roundup

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Why Counterfeit Is Rampant in Fine Wines and Spirits (podcast)

BORDEAUX EN PRIMEUR 2020

• Cheval Blanc 2020 En Primeur – the official start
• Doisy-Daëne 2020 En Primeur

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• So You’re Thinking About Joining a Wine Club … (possible paywall)
• With 400% Growth Rate, SommSelect Innovates Using Customer Feedback (possible paywall)

MARKETING & SALES

• Lay & Wheeler records ‘best year’ in a decade
• Ruffino loses 20 percent

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• Festival Franciacorta Digital Edition

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• GuildSomm Career Series: Wine PR (podcast)

MEDIA MATTERS

• Wine Book Review: Rescuing Roussillon’s Identity
• The History of Wine Influencers — Part 2

MATTERS OF TASTE

• What Does ‘Fynbos’ Mean in Wine?

WINE PEOPLE

• How winemaker Donovan Rall conquered the schistous soils of Swartland
• How Oliver Christie swapped the restaurant floor for the cellar door

IN MEMORIAM

• Howard G. Goldberg: The Newark Bears, Beatrice, and East Coast Wine

WINE HISTORY

• How Scientists and Archeologists Trace Beer and Wine through Antiquity

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• OR: DANCIN Adds General Manager
• Research WA Wine Pt 1 (podcast)

EUROPE & THE UK

• Burgundy’s Progressive Vignerons Are Breaking Tradition With Natural, Low-Intervention Wines
• Growth for the Union Champagne

DOWN UNDER

• New Zealand wine industry welcomes Government’s decision to recommence the movement of RSE workers from the Pacific

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• Shipment of alcoholic spirit drink from Chernobyl seized by authorities