NOVEMBER 15, 2021 – WINE NEWS FETCH

• Billion-dollar Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Sale A Tactic To Bid Up The Price Up From A Fraction Of That
• Napa Valley Vintners Makes a $5.9 Million Impact on Napa Valley Community
• Heineken to buy Distell for $2.5 billion in Africa expansion
• Southern Hemisphere Wineries Have Historically High 2021 Wine Production – OIV
• Restaurant customers revert to off-premises amid COVID frustrations
• 2021 International Bulk Wine and Spirits Show Is Here. Join on November 9-10. Get Your Tickets.
• Bye, Bye Wine Direct: The Quick Books of wine DTC has launched! (Sponsored link)

OBITUARIES

• Community mourns loss of couple planning vineyard on Michigan’s Beaver Island

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Sycamore Is Said to Weigh $1 Billion Sale of Stag’s Leap Wine [paywall?]
• Upsized or downsized? Winc’s inflated statement on its IPO
• Rabbit Ridge Winery Properties Set for Over-Bid Auction
• Be part of the biggest gathering of Bulk Wine, Bulk Spirits, and Private Label professionals in the US.

WILDFIRES & WEATHER

• This vodka is made from Malbec and Merlot grapes too damaged by California fires to be used for wine [paywall?]

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

• The luxury sector returns to growth but inflation hurdles loom
• Supply chain crisis threatens Christmas for Spanish wines
• Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Prosecco and Pinot Grigio: all in short supply
• UK becomes headline growth market for Georgian wine
• Why Is No One Buying Romanian Wine?

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Napa Valley Vintners continue philanthropy even while they create replacement for Auction Napa Valley [paywall?]
• Land Trust of Napa County increases size of Wragg Ridge Preserve [paywall?]
• Hearing over proposed, large Napa Valley winery could be delayed [paywall?]
• Court ruling pending on 16,000-acre Lake County planned resort
• Napa Valley Winery Can Produce More Wine And Host More Visitors
• Napa transformation exported
• Garagiste Wine Festival celebrates 10th anniversary in Paso Robles
• Bye, Bye Wine Direct: The Quick Books of wine DTC has launched! (Sponsored link)
• Get smart on Wine Chemistry with Clark Smith’s new online course – (Sponsored link)

COVID-19

• French wines on the first plane bound for the USA after borders re-open

DIVERSITY

• VA: First black-owned wine company in Loudoun County aims to please every palette

HEALTH

• New study sheds light on how drinking red wine in a wine bar affects consciousness
• Are alcohol-free wines drinkable (by wine drinkers)?
• What’s Up With Zero Alcohol Wine?

TAKING THE HIGH ROADS

• Talk about going mainstream: Cannabis has been invited to the California State Fair

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Prosecco brand La Marca achieves ‘milestone’ environmental standard

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• Let’s Discuss Lowering the Legal Drinking Age
• Bordeaux Whistleblower Denied Appeal

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Willamette Valley Vineyards Posts results for Q3 2021
• Coravin, Inc. Appoints Mikkel Lindsted as General Manager of Coravin APAC
• Great news for Treasury Wine Estates Limited: Insiders acquired stock in large numbers last year

FINANCE, INVESTMENT, M&A

• Pre-seed funding round pours $1.7M into wine investment startup

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• Chile’s greatest upset in China
• South African wines get boost from dispute between Australia and China

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Million-Dollar Wine Bottle Helps Boost Carnivale du Vin to a Record-Breaking $3.75 Million for Charity
• Nashville wine auction raises $2.1 million
• The Drinks Trust launches charity auction
• Atlas Fine Wines launches ‘The Great Domaine Leroy Auction’

MARKETING & SALES

• Majestic rolls out first TV campaign in a decade

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Chasing formats isn’t enough for the Instagram generation
• Glass bottle shortage shatters plans for Napa Valley vintners; supply chain issues to blame

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• Green Wine Future 2022
• Germany: No Intervitis Interfructa 2022

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Premium Rosé – a style whose time has come across the planet
• The Case for Zinfandel, America’s Most Expressive Variety
• 10 Things That Men In Wine Have Told Me Recently. (Cue The Head Tilt.) [paywall?]
• The Fantastic Four of Tuscan Merlot

WINE PEOPLE

• Julien Gervreau, VP of Sustainability, Jackson Family Wines (podcast)
• Will Bucklin, Old Hill Ranch (podcast)

WINE HISTORY

• The Forgotten Role of Native Americans in LA Wine History
• History of fermentation around the world

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Influence of Climate on Soil and Wine Bacterial Diversity on a Vineyard in a Non-traditional Wine Region in Argentina
• How the Practice of Keeping Pesticide Sprays in Place Just Got Easier

EUROPE & THE UK

• Lafite gets its first female CEO
• Florio Seeks To Modernize Marsala’s Image In The Global Wine Market [paywall?]
• How Pinot Noir ‘runs in the veins’ of Champagne Drappier

DOWN UNDER

• NZ: Another year of financial troubles for Yealands Wine Group and Marlborough Lines
• OZ: Janice McDonald to leave Burch Family Wines
• OZ: Mulpha Australia purchases Emma’s Cottage Vineyard

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• Champagne Telmont goes after Asia
• A hashtag about 4 types of drinking behavior that will lead to legal trouble is trending in China right now, and it shows the extent of the government’s alcohol crackdown

SOUTH AFRICA

• Distell Receives Offer from Heineken, Creating a World Class, Diversified Southern African Alcoholic Beverages Champion