JANUARY 16, 2023 – WINE NEWS FETCH

• A Global Guide to Black-Owned Wine Labels
• If you are American, then the TTB might be after you
• The 2023 SVB Annual State of the Industry Report will be released this Wednesday
• Wine Still an Investment Juggernaut
• No- and low-alcohol category value surpasses $11bn in 2022
• Tied-House and the Concrete Evidence Standard
• Recent Storms Will Help in the Short Term, But California’s Drought Is Still Far From Over
• Global shipping costs are returning to pre-pandemic levels
• Hate filling out the CA Grape Crush Report? Now There’s help! – (Sponsored Link.)

OBITUARIES

• Tasmanian industry mourns loss of wine character

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Premiumization continues to drive US alcohol sales
• ChatGPT and wine: extinction-level event for wine writers and sommeliers?
• Wine tasting will change in 2023. Here’s how [paywall?]
• Winc Files Holiday Onslaught of Bankruptcy Documents; Unsecured Creditors Fire Back On New Year’s Eve
• Grow your wine brand awareness in restaurants and bars of USA – (Sponsored link)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Rioja Glut Prompts Distillation Bid
• The first leaves appear on vines in France, before the end of pruning
• Spotlight on the UK, a Leading but Highly Challenging Market
• Record Volume for Italy’s Sparkling Wines
• Rhône Valley Producers Respond To Consumer Demand For White Wines [paywall?]

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• From Mount Eden to Stag’s Leap: Warren Winiarski Still Seeks Perfection

WEATHER

• Why West Coast weather will be chaotic in the future, according to a climate scientist
• ‘One last gut punch’: California’s nearly monthlong stretch of atmospheric river storms coming to an end

DROUGHT/WATER

• Calif. flushed 95% of incoming Delta water to Pacific Ocean during Monday’s massive storm
• In a Drought, California Is Watching Water Wash Out to Sea [paywall?]

STARTUPS & NEW BRANDS

• How Winery Incubators Are Making the Industry More Accessible
• How to Start a Wine Subscription Business: A Step-by-Step Guide

HEALTH

• New Studies Once Again Confirm the Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet
• Nearly half of UK adults “to reduce alcohol consumption in January”

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Flight of the Monarch: Can a tractor save the butterflies?

REGULATION & LEGAL MATTERS

• Avalara Tax Changes 2023 is live!

PUBLIC COMPANIES

• Pernod Ricard denies claims of Delhi retail law breaches
• Willamette Valley Vineyards: Back To A Reasonable Entry Point [freewall?]
• India: Sula Vineyards sees share sales soar in third quarter

DISTRIBUTORS

• Zonin Partners With RNDC, Aims To Boost U.S. Presence [paywall?]

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• The 2020 vintage leads Burgundy trade as the 2021 campaign unfolds – Liv-ex
• Cult Wines posts more positive outlook for Burgundy and Champagne

DATA & TRENDS

• Wine Searchers Go Big Online

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• No One Really Believes Wine Tasting is Thoroughly Subjective

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Natural Wine Labels Are Famously Opaque—and Winemakers Are Angry About It
• UK: Waitrose To Replace Majority Of Small Wine Bottles With Aluminium Cans

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Dom Ruinart: time for change for the blanc de blancs Champagne
• Pasteur, Pet Nat and Vin Jaune in the Jura
• Syrah or Shiraz? A Tell-All About the Popular Grape
• Wine and Emotion —A Winemaker’s Thoughts

WINE PEOPLE

• Brad Ely Comes Home Again
• Elton Slone, Robert Craig Wines (podcast)
• Christian Seely on JancisRobinson.com (podcast)
• Kathy Joseph’s Fiddlehead Grüner: Risk, Age and Wisdom

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• SC: Florence County winery adjusting to changes nearly a year after major fire

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Analysis of how wood compounds affect the quality of alcoholic beverages
• Serbian Oak barrels. Too good to be true?

EUROPE & THE UK

• UK: Majestic trumps Waitrose Cellar as top online alcohol retailer
• Anger in Italy over Ireland’s alcohol health warning plans
• Danbury Ridge – an English exception
• Cost of living: The young people saving money by going sober

DOWN UNDER

• US right to repair for farm machinery could disadvantage Aussie growers

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• All eyes are on India for 2023

SOUTH AFRICA

• Army of pest-munching ducks keep South African vineyard blooming
• Farming in South Africa: 6 things that need urgent attention in 2023

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• The Cognac Boom
• As prices rise, US beer drinkers remain brand loyal