DECEMBER 20, 2021 – WINE NEWS FETCH

• What future for the champagne industry after the pandemic?
• Why we are never going to know whether wine is good for us, or not
• U.S. drinking spikes as alcohol rules ease
• Liquor Shipping and Illinois’ Class 4 folly
• Beer likely #1 holiday AlcBev Purchase. But #2 wine will see higher revenues. 5% will be non-alcohol: Nielsen IQ.
• Webinar: Alcohol marketplaces and delivery apps: Current regulatory issues – (Sponsored link)

OBITUARIES

• UK: Morgenrot chairman and founder Rudi Plath passes away

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Wine report confirms massive Australian glut
• US Alcohol Spending Down 11% in November
• Bye, Bye Wine Direct: The Quick Books of wine DTC has launched! – (Sponsored link)

DROUGHT/WATER

• The Warning Shot The US Is Ignoring: Climate Change Impacts On California Central Valley
• California-Nevada Drought Status Update
• California snow drought ends in dramatic fashion, while other states still deal with shortage
• Californians have a lot of ideas for how to get more water. Most of them are really bad [paywall?]

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• Add to cart: e-commerce activations to grow your wine and spirits’ online sales – (Sponsored link)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Low-alcohol canned wine RTDs set to boom in 2022
• The New Emergence: Upcoming Wine Regions in the USA – (Sponsored link)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Pierce’s Disease, Glassy Winged Sharpshooter Board holds annual research symposium focused on protecting California’s vineyards
• Napa County supervisors reject appeal of Walt Ranch project [paywall?]
• Yes, it does get cold in Paso Robles.
• Get smart on Wine Chemistry with Clark Smith’s new online course – (Sponsored link)

COVID-19

• Covid Clobbers South African Wine Again

HEALTH

• Origin of wine lignans

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Preserving Agriculture Land to Combat Climate Change (podcast)

REAL ESTATE

• Vineyard land in England ‘couldn’t possibly be cheaper’

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. Announces Closing of Initial Public Offering
• Celebrity-Backed Fresh Vine Wine Down 17%

AGRIFOODTECH

• Mapping vineyard variability: Michigan dips its toe into precision viticulture technologies.

DISTRIBUTORS

• How Wineries Can Boost Their Restaurant Distribution – (Sponsored link)

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Bordeaux and Burgundy dominate this week’s most traded wines on Liv-ex

DATA & TRENDS

• Five wine industry predictions for 2022

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• In Wine Appreciation, Why do We Ignore Conceptual Expertise?
• Seasoned Sommelier and Wine Buyer Thomas Brenner talks us through his focus while evaluating the effectiveness of a wine program – (Sponsored link)

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Berlin Packaging acquires French wine packager Gerfran

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• Bordeaux Wine Week to fold in Vinexpo Bordeaux

MEDIA MATTERS

• 3 Tri-Citians launch new Northwest wine magazine
• “A draught of vintage!” Wine as a “shadow of a lie”: an enocentric reading of John Keats, the wine writer.

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Age drives complexity in sparkling wine
• Sokol Blosser’s Bluebird Bubbly: It’s About Lifting Spirits

WINE PEOPLE

• Anna Bassett Talks Bonifacia Wines
• Maya Dalla Valle – Crafting Oakville’s Finest Red Wines [paywall?]
• Bouncing Back Q&A: Caroline Thompson-Hill, MD for Europe, Accolade Wines
• A journey in winemaking for Dr. Anton Nel: from harvest hand to PhD in hand

WINE PLACES

• Foppiano: Before, During, After, and Today – Mastering the World of Wine
• Three Classic Regions Turn On the Innovation
• Why the Tiny, Tenacious Terra Alta Wine Region Should be on Your Radar
• GuildSomm Austria Webinar (video)

FOOD & RESTAURANTS

• Restaurants anxious as omicron, high food costs take toll

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Lower Long Tom: Oregon’s newest wine region wins the name game
• Californians Head to this New York Wine Region to ‘Stay Creative’

EUROPE & THE UK

• New Bordeaux Classification Heads to Court
• Off-Piste Wines sees turnover rise more than 50% in 2021
• Spain: Demand erupts for La Palma wine that shares name with volcano [paywall?]
• The Crouch Valley in Essex is emerging as a leading English wine region (video)
• Cramele Recas’ Philip Cox and Joe Wadsack on rise of Romanian wine

DOWN UNDER

• OZ: A new face for 182-year-old McLaren Vale vineyard

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• China’s Baoyun invests in Tiansai Vineyards

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• Redeemable NFTs: Blazing a new path for NFTs