JUNE 8, 2021 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• Vintage Wine Estates stock began trading on Nasdaq this morning
• Winc buys Natural Merchants, organic and vegan wine seller
• Meet the Woman Making History on Wall Street This Week
• This July is looking like Hell on Earth for Western wildfires
• Machines Can Help Wine Grape Industry Survive Labor Shortage
• Ecommerce and RTDs to drive sales growth
• Digital Marketing for Wineries in 2021 Webinar by Commerce7 & Astra Digital — June 10 – *Sponsored link*
• The Quick Books of wine DTC has launched! – (Sponsored link)

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• The 2021 DTC Videocast Brings Clarity to a Changed Consumer
• Deadlines and dueling appraisals set up Rabbit Ridge Winery property for an existential turning point in mid-June
• Chateau Ste. Michelle & Dr. Loosen 2019 Eroica Riesling Gets Wine Of The Year at 2021 Sommeliers Choice Awards — (Sponsored link)

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• Kansas Now Requires Licenses for all Fulfillment Houses in DtC Wine Shipments
• Bob Paulinski MW: Why I Want to Be a Judge in USA Wine Ratings –  (Sponsored link)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Sommeliers Choice Awards 2021 results are out! – (Sponsored link)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• The Duckhorn Portfolio Announces Third Quarter 2021 Financial Results
• Warren and Barbara Winiarski To Make $4 Million Bequest to Smithsonian Funding Permanent Position for Curator of Food and Wine History
• Napa Valley’s Schramsberg Vineyards promotes Jessica Koga to Winemaker [paywall?]
• See how Phase 2 Cellars streamline systems and provide exceptional customer service.

COVID-19

• California Re-Opening: How COVID Changed our Tasting Room Model Going Forward
• Courts are challenging the Biden Administration’s prioritization of women and minorities for restaurant relief grants
• Canada prepares to ease quarantine rules for vaccinated travelers

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Grants and tax credits may help cover costs of new farm tech

REAL ESTATE

• For sale in TX: A Pristine 78± Acre Wine Estate In Marble Falls

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• Another month until French wines can be permanently freed from Trump taxes
• Tax on Australian wines edges up Chile
• How Beijing shot itself in the foot with its trade war with Australia

WEBINARS/ONLINE MEETINGS

• Webinar: Exploring alternative premium whites

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• One of the World’s Most Important Collections of Champagne Could Fetch $10 Million at Auction
• Why Collectors Are Seeking Out Rhône Wines

BORDEAUX EN PRIMEUR

• La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou 2020 En Primeur: “a standout success”
• Cantenac Brown 2020 En Primeur: “outrageously beautiful”
• Bordeaux 2020 en primeur by appellation: St Julien

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• The Emerging Price Wars Between Water and Wine

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Perceptions and advancements of cork closures

MEDIA MATTERS

• Wine Book Review: Invisible Pignolo Revealed

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Pinotage Puts the Past Behind It

WINE PEOPLE

• Meet the New Generation of Mexican-American Winemakers
• Faces of Entrepreneurship: Marisa Sergi, L’uva Bella Winery
• This LA Wine Woman Knows Nostalgia and Daring Go a Long Way — How Caitlin Cutler Makes Ronan Sing
• db meets: Katie Jones
• How an ex-Singapore resident went from banker to winemaker

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• WA: Matías Kúsulas replaces Aryn Morell as Gård Vintners winemaker
• LM Archer reports on key findings from Oregon Wine Month 2021

ACADEMIA

• Cornell AgriTech gets anonymous gift of $1.5 million to support grapevine research

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Bio-protection in oenology: a real alternative to sulfites?

EUROPE & THE UK

• How are Burgundy’s vines now?
• Rioja’s power struggle