NOVEMBER 3, 2021 – WINE NEWS FETCH

• Winc slashes IPO 73% after postponement, bails on “white shoe” underwriters.
• Far Niente buys Provenance Vineyards winery in Napa Valley as Treasury Wine Estates sells brand
• Fine wine’s benchmark index sets a new record
• Entrikin sues Court of Master Sommeliers, says removal for alleged sexual harassment violated due process
• Early U.S. Holiday Spending Plans Look Similar to 2020
• Bye, Bye Wine Direct: The Quick Books of wine DTC has launched! – (Sponsored link)

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Winery Perks Rekindle Old Consumer Flames
• Wine Club Winc postpones $75 million IPO. A look at one number might be the key.
• 2021 USA Wine Ratings Winners Announced – (Sponsored link)

WILDFIRES & WEATHER

• PG&E to Pay $125 Million Over California Wine Country Fire [paywall?]

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• Supply Chain Chaos or an Opportunity?
• Why Are Wine Consumers Reluctant to Buy Online?
• Be part of the biggest gathering of Bulk Wine, Bulk Spirits, and Private Label professionals in the US. –  (Sponsored link)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• With just 25 hl/ha, Chablis wines have gone into shortage mode
• Global warehousing CEO says ‘we’ve reached the peak’ of the supply-chain crisis and expects improvement going forward

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Napa Valley’s Trefethen winery picks hospitality chief
• Sonoma County sparkling wine maker Korbel names Holdren as HR executive
• Distinguished Vineyards & Wine Partners Names Former Patagonia Executive Bart Bromberger as New VIP Finance
• Livermore council to take final vote on proposed wine heritage district
• Get smart on Wine Chemistry with Clark Smith’s new online course – (Sponsored link)

COVID-19

• We’re just not there yet

HEALTH

• The Surprisingly Long History of Arsenic in Wine
• Wine Sulfites and Why People Argue About Them
• Wellness-focused, ‘sober-curious’ consumers are driving interest in booze-free cocktails, a relative newcomer to the $180 billion beverage industry
• 110-year-old woman says red wine is the secret to her long life

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Napa Winery Adopts Carbon Capture Technology
• Katie Jackson on Jackson Family Wines’ 10-year climate action plan
• Clinton Taylor: How Wakefield Wines is leading climate change challenge
• Climate Change Threatens Wine, and a Way of Life, in Jura [paywall?]

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• Italy-Croatia fight over Prosecco name gets ready to pop

REAL ESTATE

• Virginia Estates Is Offering for Sale the Finest Winery in the Mid-Atlantic at a Newly Reduced Price

FINANCE, INVESTMENT, M&A

• Lodi Winery Acquires Provenance Vineyards in Major Growth Play

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• South Australian wine producers eye alternative markets to avoid Chinese tariffs

DISTRIBUTORS

• Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits Appoints Michael Jeffrey to Executive Vice President & General Manager, Colorado

WEBINARS/ONLINE MEETINGS

• Free Webinar – How to manage oxygen before and during bottling

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Cult Wines shakes up its offer after launching innovative new investment platform
• First Barolo en primeur auction raises €600,000 for charity
• What to expect from Burgundy’s biggest wine weekend
• Bordeaux en primeur week to return in 2022

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• To Each According To Their Salary?

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Cork claims high ground on premium price and climate

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Is It Time to Retire “Rustic”?
• The Iconic Wines From Spain Produced By Embracing The Failures That Lead To The Path To Perfection [paywall?]
• South African Chardonnay Will Blow You Away
• Minerality – more than a wine myth?

IN MEMORIAM

• In memory and tribute to Matthew Cooper, wine buyer for Ellis Wines

WINE PEOPLE

• Brian Duncan Inspires Us to Care About Wine
• Michael Klauber Is a Wine Impresario
• Tiffany Xingyu Wang pairs digital trust with wine
• Charles and Kate Dodge Are Tapping Into the Local Bounty for Award-Winning Wines and Liqueurs

WINE PLACES

• Château La Fleur de Boüard and the transformation of Lalande-de-Pomerol

WINE EDUCATION

• South of France to open new somm school

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Research collaboration is helping to bring global awareness to Washington wines

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Dial up the perfect wine blend experience as Willamette Valley Vineyards pioneers new system
• Like it or not, vineyard automation is coming

EUROPE & THE UK

• Grand cru classification in Barolo ‘wont be easy or quick’
• Rueda campaign to underpin export growth

DOWN UNDER

• Australian wine’s competitors and where they are exporting to
• NZ Biosecurity update: Warding off Lepidoptera

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• China’s largest private education provider pivots to wine

LATIN AMERICA

• Chile: The world’s longest country is reopening to tourists

AROUND THE GLOBE

• ‘Eternal’ wine revives Assyrian culture in Turkey

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• Is the whisky bubble set to burst?
• Beer made from hops launched into space goes on sale