SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 – WINE NEWS FETCH

• US Wine Sales Looking Up
• Vintage Wine Estates Enhances Direct-to-Consumer Platform with Acquisition of Vinesse, LLC
• New Pix wine platform on global ‘matchmaking mission’
• Alabama’s new DTC application process is a doozy, and the dust hasn’t yet settled
• COVID/Delta has flattened public’s comfort with dining out.
• Bye, Bye Wine Direct: The Quick Books of wine DTC has launched! – (Sponsored link)

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Millennials drive the sparkling wine category
• Silicon Valley Bank’s 2021 State of the Industry Survey is Open
• The existential terror of choosing wine & how consumers will soon be able to avoid it
• Court filing alleges Hugh Reimers conspired with Langtry Farms insider in illegal scheme to sell smoke-tainted wine
• No, Chlorpyrifos was not invented by Nazis and is not related to Zyklon B
• 2021 USA Wine Ratings Winners Announced – (Sponsored link)

WILDFIRES & WEATHER

• Why Everything We Know About Wildfires May Be Wrong
• How California Wildfires Are Affecting Vineyards
• How Germany’s Ahr region found a way to sell wine after a devastating flood

DROUGHT/WATER

• California vineyards can still make great wine even with limited water supply and droughts [paywall?]
• Avoiding water bankruptcy in the drought-troubled Southwest: What the US and Iran can learn from each other
• Drought Makes its Home on the Range

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

• Wine in Tougher Battle for Market Share
• First full report on the 2021 Champagne harvest
• Crémants are regaining traction in export markets
• Burgundy 2021: winegrowers hold breath over final yields
• OR: Hindsight of 2020
• Australia’s Champagne market on the rise

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Napa County polishing proposed micro-winery law [paywall?]
• Get smart on Wine Chemistry with Clark Smith’s new online course – (Sponsored link)

DIVERSITY

• OR: LatinX and Proud

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Global organic vineyard area reaches half-a-million hectares
• Sustainability and Worker Compensation in the Wine Business
• Meet The Animals And People Behind Grazing-Based Viticulture At Antiquum Farm [paywall?]
• International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) Welcomes 12 New Applicant Members
• Multi-state partnership advances wine sustainability

RECYCLED WASTEWATER

• Could LA water recycling be a miracle for parched West?

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Vintage Wine Estates reports net income boost since becoming publicly traded [paywall?]
• Vintage Wine Estates Executes on Strategy for Fiscal 2021 with Revenue Growth of 16% to $221 million

FINANCE, INVESTMENT, M&A

• Hampton Lumber buys Oregon’s innovative Carlton winery

AGRIFOODTECH

• Ceres Imaging secures $23M in Series C funding to fuel development of AI in agriculture

DISTRIBUTORS

• Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits Launches Fine Wine Experience on Proof® eCommerce Platform

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Sotheby’s offers rare vintages from Chanel’s vineyards
• Wine bottle aboard HMS Bounty sells for £2,200
• First ever ‘Barolo en Primeur’ auction takes place next month
• Sotheby’s Hong Kong announces autumn wine sale line-up
• A $700 California-Australia Wine Blend Aims for Icon Status [paywall?]

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• A minefield of wine adjectives

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH

• Get Your Wine On in a Virtual Space (podcast)

MATTERS OF TASTE

• The Great Exchange
• Invisible but Inescapable, Playlists are the MVPs of Bar Culture

WINE PEOPLE

• Jen Parr of Valli follows her passion
• Matt Dees: The Hilt Estate and Jonata (podcast)

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• OR: Stay the Course; Despite obstacles, future appears clear

ACADEMIA

• OR: Wine executive now leads Linfield’s wine program

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Chitosan and fermentation (video)

EUROPE & THE UK

• Similarities and distinctions in the Nordic wine markets
• Brits hoover up Portuguese wine as loss of tourism shows the “Portuguese don’t drink Port”
• How Bibendum’s Bordeaux Project solves many Grand Cru Classé issues

DOWN UNDER

• OZ: Clare Valley’s tourism numbers hit new highs as people stay close to home
• NZ Wine Weather: From El Neither to La Niña 2

SOUTH AFRICA

• South Africa: New brand home for wine industry has an integrated empowerment approach

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• ‘Dumpster diving’ friends make 10,000 bottles of wine using leftover fruit