AUGUST 9, 2021 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• Have Your Say on Wine’s Future
• North Coast wine grape harvest begins early, with potential for a quick finish for the rest of the crop
• Ozone containers pique interest of Napa Valley winemakers with goal of mitigating smoke taint [paywall?]
• Major climate changes inevitable and irreversible – IPCC’s starkest warning yet
• Neither Wine nor Cannabis Businesses Are for the Faint of Heart
• This is how badly Delta Variant has hurt dining out, socializing, and vacations
• Bye, Bye Wine Direct: The Quick Books of wine DTC has launched! – (Sponsored link)

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Competition in the Beverage Alcohol Industry Under the Microscope – Part 2
• 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

• Can smoke-tainted grapes have an afterlife?
• Prolonged period of ‘potentially dangerous heat’ becoming more likely for the Northwest, weather service warns

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)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Lodi Winegrape Commission Welcomes New Officers and Members of Board of Directors
• Sonoma County distillers selling cocktails in cans to appease consumers [paywall?]

COVID-19

• Should Restaurants Require Proof of Vaccination?
• Ready Or Not, COVID-19 Variants Create Hybrid Early Holiday Shopping Model
• Getting your covid test in Italy before returning to the U.S. Notes from both sides of the Atlantic.

DIVERSITY

• Washington Wine Industry Foundation awards 6 of its 7 scholarships to women

HEALTH

• Cannonau: the wine of centenarians. A spectroscopic data fusion approach for the study of the polyphenol content

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Do biodynamic wines taste better than organic wines?

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Willamette: The Pinot Noir Auction raised more than $700,000  at the sixth annual trade auction on August 5
• Talking Trade on Liv-ex – Bordeaux increases its market share

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• What Ever Happened to Merlot?

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Putting a cork in misconceptions about natural wine closures [paywall?]

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Wineries Under the Influencers

MEDIA MATTERS

• Recategorizing the Wine Blog
• Cyril is right, but didn’t go far enough

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Organic Farms? Vintage Variations? A New Era of Cognac Emerges
• The why, what and how of au naturel
• Interpreting a Wine is Like Interpreting a Work of Art
• On photography, personal passion and a significant occurrence

WINE PEOPLE

• Ancient Vines and High Altitudes: Meet the Rising Winemaking Stars of Etna
• Uncovering the Natural Beauty of Valpolicella: Maddalena Pasqua di Bisceglie of Musella
• Talking Fair Play With Jonathan Lachs of Cedarville Vineyard
• A hardy future for Nigel Sneyd MW
• Bouncing Back Q&A: Ted Sandbach, Oxford Wine Company
• How Blind Blending Helps Winemaker Maggie Harrison Find Beauty (podcast)
• Prema Behan & Nicole Garzin (podcast)

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• WA: Woodward Canyon Winery owners promote Jordan Dunn-Small to general manager
• CO: Western Slope vineyards bubble over with young wine drinkers raised on fizzy beverages

EUROPE & THE UK

• Women Making Changes In Their Family Wine Estates In Alsace, France [paywall?]
• C&C Group appoints Harriet Kininmonth as wine trading director
• Berry Bros & Rudd starts work on Europe’s largest fine wine store

DOWN UNDER

• From aglianico to zibibbo: Australia’s ‘ugly duckling’ wine grapes set to become swans
• NZ: Marlborough wine hampered by shipping delays

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• Confidence “shaky” over China’s anticipated crackdown on drinking
• Hong Kong: The Strong Earnings Posted By Wine’s Link International Holdings (HKG:8509) Are A Good Indication Of The Strength Of The Business

LATIN AMERICA

• Chile: VSPT Wine Group sales up 11%

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• Can hard seltzers find global success?
• This Chart Reveals That Only 6 Brewers Make Over Half the World’s Beer