AUGUST 6, 2021 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• Competition in the Beverage Alcohol Industry Under the Microscope – Part 2
• Vintage Wine Estates President Terry Wheatley notes heightened winery interest in cannabis sector [paywall?]
• Potential long-term drought makes Napa Valley grapegrowers nervous [paywall?]
• France forecasts fall in weather-hit wine output to historic low
• OR: OSHA fines Dundee winery $11,100 after worker death
• Are California’s Cannabis Growers Stealing Water During a Drought?
• Bye, Bye Wine Direct: The Quick Books of wine DTC has launched! – (Sponsored link)

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Direct Sales Buck Retail Wine Trend
• Constellation Wins $2.3 Million For Legal Fees In To Kalon battle with Vineyard House
• Tobacco giant finally divests Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates
• Scathing legal analysis of smoke taint rejections by wineries finds vague, inadequate and possibly illegal contracts.
• Unlock new opportunities in the bulk wine, bulk spirits, and private label business.— (Sponsored link)

WILDFIRES & WEATHER

• Sonoma County crews join battle against Dixie fire [paywall?]

DROUGHT/WATER

• California drought: One of the state’s biggest reservoirs hit a record low this week [paywall?]
• Borrowed water: In times of crisis, some Oregon farmers transfer and trade water [paywall?]
• Young farmers lose hope as drought closes in: ‘It’s like a sad country song’
• San Joaquin Valley sinks in droughts

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• Be part of the biggest gathering of Bulk Wine, Bulk Spirits, and Private Label professionals in the US. –  (Sponsored link)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Washington Wine’s Recovery Accelerated in the Second Quarter
• ‘Worst year ever’ for Belgian wine growers
• Veraison 2021 Sets the Stage for a Coin Flip between a Late August and Early September Start to Harvest at Tablas Creek (Paso)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Matt McMillan Promoted to Senior Director of Sales at Wonderful Nurseries
• Carmel allows some wine tasting rooms to take service back outside after parklets shutdown.
• Winery Shuffle in Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone
• Cottonwood Canyon Winery is struggling to stay afloat during pandemic
• Hall heads to the Caribbean [paywall?]

COVID-19

• Napa joins Bay Area counties in requiring masks again indoors
• Yelp will now allow users to filter restaurants by vaccine requirements

DIVERSITY

• Elevating Wines from Groundbreaking BIPOC Producers
• Kwaw Amos Is The Founder Of New York’s First Black-owned Winery

STARTUPS & NEW BRANDS

• Penfolds expands luxury wine portfolio with ‘Superblends’

HEALTH

• Wine and health [paywall?]

TAKING THE HIGH ROADS

• Cannabis drinks market to reach US$6bn by 2031

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Climate Change: Winiarski donation supports UC Davis update of the Winkler Index [paywall?]
• World champion in organic farming

FINANCE, INVESTMENT, M&A

• Domaine Clarence Dillon buys Château Grand Pontet

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Beyond Bordeaux 2020 EP: Finding Value Following Price Increases

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Glassware Revisited

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• In Vino Analytica Scientia 2022

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• 5 Reasons Your Wine Ads on Facebook Are Not Working

MEDIA MATTERS

• How To Become A Professional Wine Writer

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Regionality is key to discovering Chianti Classico in 2021
• Pinot Grigio Rosé is being researched

WINE PEOPLE

• J Vineyard’s Nicole Hitchcock: on making wine in Russian River
• Eleanor Coppola: Meet the Matriarch Behind the Wine Empire (VIDEO)
• Meet the wine world’s celebrity pruner
• Kirk Venge: Rooted in Napa Valley [paywall?]
• Unfiltered: Guy Palmer-Brown

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Applications of Chitosan during the harvest (video)

DOWN UNDER

• Farewell ‘Bernadino spewmuchly’: New Zealand mourns loss of favoured sparkling wine