APRIL 8, 2022 – WINE NEWS FETCH

• Constellation Joins Oregon Wine Trail with the Purchase of Lingua Franca
• California wine needs to win Millennials. So why is this Courteney Cox ad courting Boomers? [paywall?]
• Does Size Really Matter, the DTC Spirits Shipping debate
• Devil’s Advocate: No Way Back
• Calif: Workers faced ‘dehumanizing’ conditions in pandemic
• COVID Premiumization: Net Sales Growth WAY Outsold Cases
• Webinar – Mastering alcohol ecommerce in 2022 – (Sponsored link)

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Do Baseball and Wine Have the Same PR Problems?
• Kylix/Harvard Land Purchase from Wine Group May Have Set Santa Barbara County Record
• Wine’s BIGGEST Unanswered, Market-Killing Question: Why?
• Embracing Technology In The Alco-Bev Industry – Sponsored link

UKRAINE WINE

• Wines for Peace: Brunello Consortium auction benefitting Ukraine, Monday, April 11, at Vinitaly
• iDealwine launches charity auction in aid of Ukraine
• Aussie wine and spirit exports to Russia are banned

WILDFIRES & WEATHER

• New Sonoma wine industry group denies workers’ claims of wildfire safety issues [paywall?]

DROUGHT/WATER

• Calif. awards $5 million for water efficiency
• WA: Some Yakima irrigators face small cut in water supply [paywall?]

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• Don’t Break Up the Big Wine & Spirit Wholesalers
• Wine List & QR Codes: Wine Management with Digital Marketing – (Sponsored link)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• How Would a Potential Dockworkers’ Strike Affect Agriculture?
• The New Emergence: Upcoming Wine Regions in the USA – (Sponsored link)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Napa Valley Micro Winery Ordinance Receives Final OK
• Pine Mountain Cloverdale Peak AVA: Could their Cabs rival Napa? [paywall?]
• Why attend the 2022 Future Drinks Expo? – (Sponsored link)

DIVERSITY

• Wine Entrepreneur and Consultant Thatcher Baker-Briggs Expands into Retail, Launches Import Company

HEALTH

• Intermountain research further questions benefits of alcohol consumption

NFTs, BLOCKCHAIN, & THE METAVERSE

• The Bitcoin Mining Showdown In New York’s Wine Country
• Penfolds launches 2018 Superblend Imperial Duo for NFT wine auction

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• What it takes for a winery to earn a Climate Neutral certification [paywall?]
• Another Variable in the Winemaking Process: Climate Change [paywall?]
• No to waste, yes to whey: Alcohol made from cheese byproduct

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Female-Founded Austin Cocktails Enters New Chapter of Growth with Constellation Brands

DISTRIBUTORS

• Indiana Wine Distributor Vino Indiana Announces Expansion
• Meet the Importer: Cape Classics Leads the South African Import Market
• How Wineries Can Boost Their Restaurant Distribution – (Sponsored link)

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Burgundy leads regional trade at start of the new quarter – Liv-ex

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Why wine is tasted with your brains, not your palate
• 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

• Glass Wine Bottles Are Costing Winemakers

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• Return of the London Wine Fair

MEDIA MATTERS

• Malbec Mon Amour, a love letter to Argentina’s flagship grape

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Understanding Alluvial Soils in Wine
• Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Made From A Multi-Vintage Blend [paywall?]

WINE PEOPLE

• Vicki Carroll, the Force Behind Hospice du Rhône
• Life lessons with Pierre Lurton of Château d’Yquem and Cheval Blanc
• Marie-Paule Herman group sommelier Maximal Concepts on wine
• Norm McKibben, Pepper Bridge Vineyard and Winery
• Kay Simon and Clay Mackey, Chinook Winery
• Unfiltered: Tom Lakin
• Unfiltered: Fergus O’Halloran

WINE PLACES

• Italy: Overshadowed Successes
• New Zealand: New Shores

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• MN: Liquor interests ponder ‘cease-fire’ as part of growler, distiller deal
• New York’s to-go cocktails reinstated in state negotiations

ACADEMIA

• South Dakota State University to offer minor, certificate in production of wine, beer & spirits

EUROPE & THE UK

• Arribaes: The New frontier of Iberian fine wines
• UK: Armit Wines reveals strong 2021 financial results
• Spain: Saving La Palma’s special vine heritage
• Spain: Producers put their money where their mouth is with Gran Vino de Rueda
• U.K. Winery Cultivates Local Hiring Practices And Community Involvement To Build A Global Reputation [paywall?]

LATIN AMERICA

• Wines of Argentina names new president

AROUND THE GLOBE

• Georgia: 6 out of 25 wine companies denied accreditation in Q1 2022