MAY 24, 2021 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• Estimated $2.5 million in damage from Napa’s Bronco Wine Company fire (possible paywall)
• Healdsburg winemaker from Australia dies after bike struck by alleged drunken driver (possible paywall)
• California North Coast vintner claims smoky grapes ruined its tanks; grower alleges winery is holding up sales
• Delaware Wine Shipping Bill Retains Ban on Shipment of Most Wines
• Is big data always needed in the wine industry?
• US domestic travel on track to come back in a big way this summer
• The Quick Books of wine DTC has launched! – (Sponsored link)

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• The Annual SVB Direct to Consumer Webcast is Tuesday May 25th
• Rabbit Ridge Winery property scheduled for bankruptcy auction in June.
• North Bay vintners raise concerns about new wine brokering/consulting firm run by failed entrepreneur and convicted felon
• America’s Top Wine Buyers to Judge USA Wine Ratings 2021 – (Sponsored link)
• Yes, we were drinking less during the pandemic– Premium Paywall

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• You’ve moved your wine business online, but what next?
• Bob Paulinski MW: Why I Want to Be a Judge in USA Wine Ratings –  (Sponsored link)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Frost-struck French vineyards very slowly resume growth
• South Africa 2021 wine harvest: ‘A late and slow harvest was definitely worth the wait’
• How USA Wine Ratings Judges Wines in the Same Way Consumer Do – (Sponsored link)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Fetzer in Mendocino County names 1st woman winemaker in winery’s 5-decade history
• Napa wine producer Demeine Estates names Philana Bouvier president
• Napa County Planning Commission Okays Huge New Wine Production Facility fin Rutherford
• Dominic Foppoli is out as mayor of Windsor. But his accusers say the fight is not finished (possible paywall)
• Wine Influencer Claims She Was Falsely Accused of Smearing Pig’s Blood on Derek Chauvin Witness’ House
• See how Phase 2 Cellars streamline systems and provide exceptional customer service.

COVID-19

• Most employers shy away from mandating coronavirus vaccines (possible paywall)

DIVERSITY

• Diageo North America Announces Pronghorn, a 10-Year Economic Impact Initiative to Drive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Spirits Industry
• The powerful women of Bulgaria
• Black-owned Miami wine company gets a big boost

HEALTH

• What’s Causing Your Wine Headache? It Might Not Be Sulfites
• Anti-hypertensive effects of chronic resveratrol consumption mediated by the improvement of electrophysiological currents and Ca2+ signaling in chromaffin cells from the adrenal gland

TAKING THE HIGH ROADS

• U.S. pot sellers stash cash as banks leave them high and dry

DROUGHT/WATER

• Wine Country Struggling During Drought
• Dollars and Drought – Windfalls for innovation or entrenchment?

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• For wineries, a carbon tax is pro-business (possible paywall)

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• EPA to review Roundup weed killer to assess potential ‘ecological risks’

REAL ESTATE

• Luxury Aix-en-Provence vineyard estate for sale

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Arnault buys €440 million worth of LVMH shares

FINANCE, INVESTMENT, M&A

• Speculation mounts on Pernod Ricard, Brown-Forman merger

AGRIFOODTECH

• Meet the self-driving tractor that could be behind your next glass of wine (NZ)

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• China offers ‘an unprecedented opportunity for Champagne’

DISTRIBUTORS

• New Generation acquires Boxford Wine Company

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Rare wine ‘destined’ for Napoleon, Grand Constance 1821, fetches £21k
• Talking Trade on Liv-ex: Bordeaux 2020 trades on the secondary market
• The man who sold millions in counterfeit wine to rich collectors

BORDEAUX EN PRIMEUR

• Bordeaux 2020 – towards a new classicism

DATA & TRENDS

• Four trends making a splash in the alcohol industry

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• The Judgment of Beaune According to Borda

MARKETING & SALES

• Zenith To Alcohol Advertisers: Cheers!
• How do you market something that no one has heard of?

MEDIA MATTERS

• Read An Excerpt From ‘Prohibition Wine’ by Marian Knapp

MATTERS OF TASTE

• A US mystery: Australia
• Wine and Romance: The Eternal Connection
• Saying Goodbye to Italy
• Gorman-McAdams: ‘We shouldn’t be talking about Australian Cabernet anymore’

WINE PEOPLE

• Talking Mountain Wine With Bradley Brown of Big Basin Vineyards
• Julia Hoyle, Winemaker Hosmer Winery, Finger Lakes, New York (podcast)
• Surprise of Texas: Bending Branch’s Dr. Bob Makes a Sizzling Rosé Sparkler from Tannat

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Wisconsin Wine Is Worth Your Time
• Missouri wine industry looks to be the Napa Valley of the Midwest

EUROPE & THE UK

• UK: Wine app Drop seeks franchisees
• UK: Wine industry receives ‘positive support’ from Prentis

DOWN UNDER

• Is Marlborough really the sauvignon blanc capital of the world?

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• The Vineyards Challenging China’s Great Green Wall (possible paywall)

SOUTH AFRICA

• South Africa: Who are the true “wine onliners”​?

AROUND THE GLOBE

• Wine Thief Hands Himself In

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• Whisky Legend’s California Wine Adventure