JUNE 21, 2021 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• Grape insurance fraud allegations, smoke taint damages to oak tanks, and the perils of handshake deals play out in Lake County courtroom
• What tourism downturn? Napa wineries report off-the-charts demand for $500-plus tastings [paywall?]
• Fire Season Approaching: Assessing Smoke Taint Has No Simple Answers
• As We Celebrate Juneteenth, a Reflection on the Wine Industry’s Progress and the Work Ahead
• WHO suggests ‘women of childbearing age’ be prevented from drinking
• The Quick Books of wine DTC has launched! – (Sponsored link)

OBITUARIES

• Lord of the Gringets: An Appreciation
• The East Coast Bids Farewell to Doug Moorhead, the Father of Pennsylvania Wine and the Great Enabler (PA)
• Bolney co-founder Rodney Pratt passes away

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• How drinks brands can make a success of DTC
• Deadlines and dueling appraisals set up Rabbit Ridge Winery property for an existential turning point in mid-June
• Unlock new opportunities in the bulk wine, bulk spirits, and private label business.— (Sponsored link)

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• How to Streamline Your Wine Shipping With UPS and FedEx
• Be part of the biggest gathering of Bulk Wine, Bulk Spirits, and Private Label professionals in the US. –  (Sponsored link)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• English wine sales leap by nearly a third as UK consumers discover home grown products during pandemic
• Chianti wine: the positive sales trend continues
• NZ: Long dry season in Central Otago

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Napa Brings Hammer Down on Wine Auction
• Napa Valley’s Most Exclusive Club Makes Winemakers Out of the 1%
• Larkmead Vineyards helping shape Napa Valley’s future
• Rabbit Ridge Winery announces collaboration, new tasting area

COVID-19

• Calif Urgent Update—On a Roll Now—New ETS Approved and Effective Immediately By Executive Order
• Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards

DIVERSITY

• Changing the face of Canada’s wine industry (video)

ONLINE PRIVACY

• The Poison Apple: Will New Privacy Policy Kill Email Marketing?

HEALTH

• Deep Thinkers Put Their Heads Together on Global Alcohol Policy
• A new drink that reduces brain oxidative stress

WILDFIRES & WEATHER

• Newsom’s wildfire plan may have a problem when it comes to fighting big blazes [paywall?]

TAKING THE HIGH ROADS

• Backers push Napa to expand cannabis sales options

DROUGHT/WATER

• Severe heat and drought are the hallmarks of a changing West
• Mitigating Domestic Well Failure for SGMA and Drought in the San Joaquin Valley

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Constellation Brands announces appointment of Lisa W. Brown to SVP Supply Chain, Wine & Spirits Division

FINANCE, INVESTMENT, M&A

• Oregon’s Evenstad Estates Buys Burgundy Domaine and Vineyards
• Italian Wine Brands buys Enoitalia in major merger

AGRIFOODTECH

• Alibaba has invented the supermarket of the future
• Arnault of LVMH partners with Google Cloud on AI project

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• French wine exports perform (exceptionally) well since US taxes were lifted
• Australia: taking China to WTO over wine tariffs enables negotiations
• Wine groups laud EU no-tariff resolution
• Australia Takes China’s Wine Tariffs to WTO as Ties Sour [paywall?]

BORDEAUX EN PRIMEUR

• Pagodes de Cos 2020 En Primeur: “Very easy to like”
• Pavie Macquin 2020 En Primeur: “Mind-blowing intensity”
• Canon 2020 released with ‘100-point potential’

WEBINARS/ONLINE MEETINGS

• Chuck Wagner to talk about wine with Fairfield-Suisun Rotary; virtual session open to community

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Is wine for drinking or investing?

MARKETING & SALES

• YouTube bans political, alcohol ads from masthead

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Facebook officially launches Live Audio Rooms and podcasts in the U.S.

MATTERS OF TASTE

• A Wine From Nowhere
• Beyond Albariño: Godello and Mencía Shine in Spain’s Northwest
• The Darker Side of Rosé Wine
• A palatable guide to malolactic fermentation
• A Sommelier Shares Her Most Harrowing Wine Stories
• What is Good Taste?
• Remember Al Capone’s Vault? We Open an 18-year-old Nouveau
• John the Apostle Talks with Jesus: On Water, Natural Winemaking and Large Gatherings

WINE PEOPLE

• Celebrating Pride Month with Winemaker Jérôme Chéry
• Lulu Handley, Proprietor Handley Cellars, Anderson Valley (podcast)
• Tony Biagi – Patria Wines (podcast)
• Exploring Northern Washington State With Entiat Wines
• Māori Point: Doctors of Winegrowing
• Naramata winemaker has the craft in her blood

WINE PLACES

• Cavallotto: from Bricco Boschis stars are born

WINE HISTORY

• How women and German settlers civilized the rum-guzzling 1800s town called Lodi

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• NY State Liquor Authority rejects plan to open Total Wine & More store in College Point

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• How to Develop a New Vineyard Site (podcast)

EUROPE & THE UK

• Creditors to sell Mallya’s shareholdings in three companies
• Austrian Wines launches “ground-breaking” atlas mapping origins of all of its wines
• English wines continue to go from strength to strength
• UK: How Frederick’s helps producers find right customers & route to market
• UK: Director sentenced for running wine company while banned

DOWN UNDER

• NZ: Bragato Research Institute appoints new CEO

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• China wants to build up its wine country into one that could rival France’s Bordeaux
• How This Armenian Wine Company Is Disrupting the Wine Industry

LATIN AMERICA

• South America: VSPT Wine Group increases first quarter sales by 27.6%

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• Sotheby’s Moutai sale breaks auction record