SEPTEMBER 1, 2021 – WINE NEWS FETCH

TOP NEWS

• Wading Through Water Woes: California Growers Face Uncertain Future
• 3 potential wine business growth opportunities in the pandemic economy
• Two Buck Chuck and the Lure of Bargain Wine
• No, Chlorpyrifos was not invented by Nazis and is not related to Zyklon B
• TTB Disaster Relief—Hurricane Ida and Wildfires
• Bye, Bye Wine Direct: The Quick Books of wine DTC has launched! – (Sponsored link)

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Wine Retail Off Premise Volume & Dollars Now Lagging 2020
• Simultaneously evicted and not. Is Rabbit Ridge the Schrödinger’s Cat of Wineries?
• Rabbit Ridge Winery Bankruptcy Trustee Hires Farm Operator for 2021 Harvest; Most Grapes Still Unsold
• Right-wine extremist from L.A. who turned a Lodi vineyard into a shooting range cops a plea with Feds
• 2021 USA Wine Ratings Winners Announced – (Sponsored link)

WILDFIRES & WEATHER

• Quick, tiny ferments could help smoky-wary California North Coast wineries opt to harvest or not
• Fire Watch: Caldor Fire Burns Big Doubling in Size
• To Save Lake Tahoe, They Spared No Expense. Yet the Fire Still Nears. [paywall?]

DROUGHT/WATER

• Another drought year in the forecast for Northern California [paywall?]

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• Commerce7 Launches Version 2 Frontend with Mobile Payments, New Club Tools and a whole new Customer Portal.
• E-commerce Platform for The Wine & Spirits Industry, Speakeasy Co., Announces $2 Million Seed Financing
• Be part of the biggest gathering of Bulk Wine, Bulk Spirits, and Private Label professionals in the US. –  (Sponsored link)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Napa Valley harvest report: Harvest continues at steady pace [paywall?]
• UK remains third biggest destination for Portuguese wine

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Rabbit Ridge Winery Operations Transitioning to New Location
• Baker Wine & Grape Analysis celebrates 20th harvest, announces ownership change
• Scheid Family Wines Announces New Senior Digital Marketing & E-Commerce Manager
• Get smart on Wine Chemistry with Clark Smith’s new online course – (Sponsored link)

COVID-19

• Restaurant owners say hiring is increasingly challenging and delta could spoil recovery

DIVERSITY

• Cherished Houston nonprofit uncorks scholarship program fostering BIPOC participation in wine
• The Inspiring Story of South Africa’s First Black Woman Winemaker Ntsiki Biyela

HEALTH

• Go with Your Gut: Flavonoid-Rich Diet Linked to Lower Blood Pressure
• People over 60 are drinking more—why is it so hard to cut back?

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Climate Change + Wine: Impact of Warming Temps on US Wine Industry
• Our Path to Zero Carbon Emissions | Jackson Family Wines Rooted For Good (video)

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Pernod Ricard FY21 sales bounce back ahead of FY19 levels
• Pernod confident on sales momentum as US, China lift profits
• Campari says imitation is flattery as Aperol faces challengers
• Majestic launches new subscription club

FINANCE, INVESTMENT, M&A

• Pernod Ricard takes minority stake in U.S. based Sovereign Brands, innovative creators of Luc Belaire, Bumbu and other brands
• Wine spat: Italy heir accuses Sting of slander, flat apology

AGRIFOODTECH

• Wine And Technology Trends On The Horizon [paywall?]

DISTRIBUTORS

• Breakthru Beverage Group Appoints Tom Bené as President and CEO
• Former Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits employee sues over alleged unpaid overtime work
• A* results for Southern Glazer’s Alcohol Education Programme

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• NFTs Have Arrived In The Wine Industry [paywall?]
• How the challenging Bordeaux 2021 vintage is shaping up
• Fine wine trading tips of the week
• La Place releases: Vin de Constance 2018
• La Place releases: Inglenook Rubicon 2018

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Barolo and Brassieres

MARKETING & SALES

• Intuit in Talks to Buy Mailchimp for More Than $10 Billion

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Time for Wine to Go Topless

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Does social media impact wine choice?
• The Power of Social Media in Wine (podcast)

MEDIA MATTERS

• Cedric The Entertainer & Patrick Ney Deliver Irreverent Wine Education In Spirits Network’s Wine Uncorked Series

MATTERS OF TASTE

• When Wine Drinkers Want Pinot Noir, Without The Pinot Noir [paywall?]
• The 2019 German Rieslings and my annual Grosses Gewächs run – Jonathan Pedley, MW
• With Perfect Temps and Ideal Yields, A Spanish Vintage for the Ages
• The Soul of a Wine Happens at Midpalate
• So Everything Is “Crushable” Now?

IN MEMORIAM

• Becky Wasserman – A lengthy and entirely personal tribute

WINE PEOPLE

• Paul Gordon’s exceptional career

WINE PLACES

• How a Love Story Inspired this 86-Year-Old Wine Company

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Why Willamette Valley Winemakers Are Growing Lesser-Known Grapes

ACADEMIA

• WSU students demonstrate how terrain affects wine taste with new Rieslings

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• French Wine Producer Using Electric Wires To Combat Frost In Chablis, Burgundy [paywall?]
• Rayapati: Know your viruses

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• Brienne Allan, Igniter of Craft Beer’s Reckoning with Sexism, to Depart Notch Brewing