NOVEMBER 1, 2021 – WINE NEWS FETCH

• Whiskey Tariff Removal Ends Trade War
• Is the future of wine on the blockchain?
• Survey reveals most wineries are not fully prepared to sell wine online and it gets worse
• Wages for most companies projected to rise again after COVID lull.
• Why the global shipping & supply chain crisis has got so bad
• Bye, Bye Wine Direct: The Quick Books of wine DTC has launched! – (Sponsored link)

OBITUARIES

• Thomas Lynch, “Skurniks’s #1 Salesman” Passes away
• Steve Kirkpatrick, Texas winemaker, dies

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• The Great Supply Chain Kerfuffle of 2021
• 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

• University to study smoke’s impact on grapes, wine

DROUGHT/WATER

• Can one atmospheric river end California’s drought?

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• What are the opportunities for the no/low-alcohol wine category?
• Be part of the biggest gathering of Bulk Wine, Bulk Spirits, and Private Label professionals in the US. –  (Sponsored link)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• VinLog on tackling global logistics challenges

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Heavy rainfall puts Napa Valley’s vineyards, river restoration projects to the test [paywall?]
• The next chapter for the Napa Valley Opera House [paywall?]
• Get smart on Wine Chemistry with Clark Smith’s new online course – (Sponsored link)

COVID-19

• Lessons from a Plague Year: Seven Ways Covid Has Made Us a Better Business

DIVERSITY

• How Dwyane Wade and UC Davis are working for more diversity in wine world

HEALTH

• Need for liver transplants due to heavy drinking soared during the pandemic, study finds

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• In its ancient birthplace, wine faces a climate change-imperiled future
• The tale of the lonesome (green) vine: organic wine in the UK
• “Beyond organic” and the philosophy of biodynamic viticulture [paywall?]

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• France keeps up diplomatic pressure to secure Champagne and Cognac protection in Russia

FINANCE, INVESTMENT, M&A

• Ivan Massonnat buys Domaine de Beauséjour (AOP Chinon) – a second ambitious wine project

AGRIFOODTECH

• Agrology Launches Predictive Agriculture System for Wine & Specialty Crops

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• Statement by the Toasts Not Tariffs Coalition on the agreement between the U.S. and EU to End the Retaliatory Tariffs on American Whiskeys as part of the Steel and Aluminum Dispute Settlement

MARKETING & SALES

• Overcoming the Challenges Facing Portuguese Wine in America

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Boxed Wines Go Upmarket
• Lighten Up – How to Bury the Heavy Wine Bottle

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• TFWA conference offers vision of brighter future for duty free and travel retail sector

MATTERS OF TASTE

• The Best Wine in the World is Dead. Long Live The Best Wine for the World!
• Pét-Nats Are Champagne’s Funkier Cousin. Are They Here to Stay?
• Why Mexican Wine Needs A Closer Look
• Flavor, Memory, and Emotion

WINE PEOPLE

• Brad Greatrix and Cherie Spriggs of Nyetimber are Leading The Way For English Sparkling Wine
• A Chat With Walla Walla Wine Legend Norm McKibben
• Kevin Zraly: The Accidental Wine Educator [paywall?]
• Gustavo Sotelo, Orixe Sotelo (podcast)
• Haut-Brion’s Prince Robert de Luxembourg

FOOD & RESTAURANTS

• £295,000 bottle of wine stolen from Spanish restaurant’s cellar

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• In Canada, epidemic wine consumption has not stopped growing, but young people are leaving

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Effects of Traditional and Modern Post-Harvest Withering Processes on the Composition of the Vitis v. Corvina Grape and the Sensory Profile of Amarone Wines
• Owls are helping California vineyards stay pest-free

EUROPE & THE UK

• Fancy a ‘charbonnay’? How France’s coal belt reinvented itself as a tourist destination
• The Georgian Wine Revival, as Explained by the Experts

DOWN UNDER

• OZ: Victorian farmers assess crop losses from hail storm (podcast)
• Shipping disruptions mean Australia’s wine industry supply chain must plan and work together now

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• Next Generation Bordeaux wines are landing in Hong Kong

LATIN AMERICA

• The new cult vineyards of South America

SOUTH AFRICA

• The Winemakers on a Mission to Protect South Africa’s Oldest Vines

AROUND THE GLOBE

• Crime Pays – in Fine Wine