OCTOBER 26, 2021 – WINE NEWS FETCH

• Wine and the Trouble with Halloween
• Bordeaux Owner Guilty in Rankings Scandal
• Despite rain, the drought is not over. Wineries will use these tactics to survive.
• Shipping Port Backlog to Continue ‘At Least’ Through Mid-2022
• Sebastopol vintner facing DUI manslaughter case from May crash
• Unvaxxed people who get COVID likely to get reinfected repeatedly says new study, perhaps as soon as 3 months after illness.
• Bye, Bye Wine Direct: The Quick Books of wine DTC has launched! – (Sponsored link)

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Global Supply Chain Issues Plague the Wine Industry
• Wine Club Winc postpones $75 million IPO. A look at one number might be the key.
• Riboli drilling test water wells for possible Rabbit Ridge Winery Purchase
• The existential terror of choosing wine & how consumers will soon be able to avoid it
• 2021 USA Wine Ratings Winners Announced – (Sponsored link)

WILDFIRES & WEATHER

• Wettest October in 3 years in Sonoma Valley [paywall?]
• University of California, Irvine Researcher Gets NSF-Backed Grant to Study Wildfires’ Effects on Farmworkers

DROUGHT/WATER

• Calif State Water Board temporarily lifts ban on Russian River diversions

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

• Karen Ross to speak at the Lodi Winegrape Commission’s 30th Anniversary Celebrations
• Get smart on Wine Chemistry with Clark Smith’s new online course – (Sponsored link)

COVID-19

• Link to published study on COVID re-infection by unvaccinated people
• Diageo CEO Ivan Menezes On Strategy After Covid

DIVERSITY

• Charles Woodson & O’Neill Family Wine Scholarship Winners Announced
• Angela Scott on diversity and her Golden Vines MW Scholarship

HEALTH

• Studies examine the link between drinking alcohol and increased breast cancer risk in women

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• The Sustainable Wine Roundtable Wants to Define and Uphold Global Sustainability Standards
• Torres: ‘Climate change for viticulture is worse than phylloxera’

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• Line Extensions and New Entrants Continue to Expand the ABA Product Space

FINANCE, INVESTMENT, M&A

• ClearAngel Invests $10,000 in Sustainable, Curated Wine Delivery Service Plonk Wine Co
• Evino buys Grand Cru and creates a R$700 million wine importer

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• WTO panel to examine Australia-China wine dispute [paywalll?]
• UK trade deal ‘fantastic’ for Marlborough wine company
• China’s tariffs on Australian wine have South African raising a glass to burgeoning market presence
• Australia’s winemakers feel the frostiness in China relations

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Talking Trade on Liv-ex – Italian regions take growing share as US and Champagne dip

MARKETING & SALES

• Mixable port to target younger drinkers

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Tito’s Handmade Vodka launches ‘ugly sweater’ bottle

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• Final congress of the AgriLink project – Connecting farmers, advisors and researchers to stimulate innovation

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Beaujolais Blanc: An Unexpected Way To Drink Chardonnay [paywall?]
• After The Wine: What Happens Next (Part Two) [paywall?]
• Is This Wine Any Good? The Five Most Important Structural Components to Know

WINE PEOPLE

• Alejandro Castillo Llamas Is Making Napa Cabernet With Famous Grapes Planted by His Family
• Michael Henley’s yearning for learning
• Martin Moore Celebrates 23 Years of Winemaking at Durbanville Hills

WINE PLACES

• Why It’s Time to Pay Attention to Ventoux

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Wineries making a mark in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
• NY: Goshen sets hearing on plans for 562,000 sq-foot kosher winery with tasting room

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• How to Get Rid of Spotted Lanternflies

EUROPE & THE UK

• Chemical weeding banned in the vineyards of Pomerol
• WSTA responds to Treasury talk of UK alcohol reform

DOWN UNDER

• Aspiring wine judge joins Australian Organic Wine Awards judging panel through new scholarship empowering women in wine
• OZ: New wine markets go flat as China runs dry

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• A Macallan Cask and Accompanying NFT Sells for Record-Breaking $2.3 Million
• Study Shows Just 4 Global Companies Produce 79% of Beer Sold in U.S. Grocery Stores