FEBRUARY 6, 2023 – WINE NEWS FETCH

• Reports Say Young Drinkers Are Over Wine. What Do Winemakers Think? [paywall?]
• Wine – The Glass is Half Full
• Pay to Play in the wine industry — not breaking news!
• Retailers Cautiously Optimistic On 2023 Outlook [paywall?]
• Wine Market Council Research Reveals What Consumers Think About Ingredient and Nutrition Labels on Wine
• Further Exploring Wine’s Challenges With Younger Consumers (podcast)
• Resistance is Futile – Agriculture is Key to Fixing Lower Colorado River Water Shortages
• China Ownership Of US Farmland Is A Flashpoint, But May Be A Non-Starter.
• Hate filling out the CA Grape Crush Report? Now There’s help! – (Sponsored Link.)

OBITUARIES

• Giuseppe Benanti, Who Helped Spark Mount Etna’s Wine Renaissance, Dies at 78
• Terry Leighton of Kalin Cellars has passed away (Twitter)
• Nick James dies aged 73
• Remembering Steven Spurrier

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Cost Increases are the Biggest Challenge for the Wine Industry in a Tricky 2023
• U.S. Consolidation Means Fewer Opportunities for Wineries
• In Defense of Conventional Wine
• Grow your wine brand awareness in restaurants and bars of USA – (Sponsored link)

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Napa Auction Brings Back the Bling
• California farmworkers cope with wildfire smoke, pesticides, roaches and rodents, survey says
• Why Cabernet Franc is suddenly in vogue in California [paywall?]
• 2023 Update – Lodi Vineyards Finally Getting Their Due by Being Recognized by Historic Vineyard Society
• Calif: Thompson, Newhouse Reconstitute Congressional Wine Caucus
• Napa Valley’s Theorem Vineyards selects new winemaker
• Total Wine & More plans Santa Rosa store
• Aquaporin Signs Joint Development Agreement with E. & J. Gallo Winery

WILDFIRES/SMOKE TAINT

• Wild fires rip through Chilean wine regions Itata and Bio Bio

WEATHER

• Weather and Climate Summary and Forecast: February 2023 Report (PDF)

DROUGHT/WATER

• Calif: Storm runoff offers recharge for drought-ridden farmland
• Central Valley Groundwater Sinking Faster Than Ever

CLIMATE CHANGE

• Use Biochar to Combat Climate Change (podcast)
• England’s Vineyards Are Benefitting From Climate Change But Run Scarce

NFTs, BLOCKCHAIN, & THE METAVERSE

• WineChain lines up prestigious wineries for launch
• Champagne Louis Roederer heads the line-up at new platform selling wine NFTs

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Domaines Ott* receives organic certification

FINANCE, INVESTMENT, M&A

• James Suckling Makes Move in New Zealand

AGRIFOODTECH

• NZ: Tracking down the ghost vines

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• China willing to restart trade dialogue with Australia after talks

DISTRIBUTORS

• Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits Reopens Las Vegas Academy
• VSPT Wine Group launches UK subsidiary

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• The Liv-ex 100 index starts the year on a weak note – Liv-ex
• 2023 Naples Winter Wine Festival live auction raises nearly $26M
• Domaine Jean-Yves Bizot wines to be auctioned in Singapore
• Bordeaux 2019 – best ever?
• Romanée-Conti 2020: what are ‘the world’s best Pinots’ tasting like?

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• We Asked an A.I. Chatbot to Write a Drinks Review. Here’s What Happened

MEDIA MATTERS

• New edition of Italian Wine Unplugged 2.0 signposts the best in Italian wine

MATTERS OF TASTE

• The Wines of the Flaming Fields
• The Valuable and Unanticipated Lessons Ballet Taught Me About Wine

WINE PEOPLE

• Roberto Di Meo on the historical wines of Campania, Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius
• A Chat With Mike Officer Of Carlisle Winery & Vineyards
• Rob Campbell, Founder & Winemaker, Meyye Winery, Eldorado Hills (podcast)
• The Wine Makers – Brenae Royal (podcast)

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Longtime leader of Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission to resign

ACADEMIA

• OZ: Wine expert joins Charles Sturt to grow industry partnerships

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Beyond Sulfur: Viticultural Foliar Spray Programs
• Biologicals Not Necessarily a Costly Crop Protection Option for Growers

EUROPE & THE UK

• Viñedos de Álava forms its regulatory council

DOWN UNDER

• Vine diversity project sketches path ahead for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
• NZ: Eucalypt posts project aims to reduce use of treated timber

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• Chinese wine trade bullish on rebound but cautions remain
• Xige Estate looks to put premium Chinese map on the world wine map

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• Is zero the hero for today’s beer industry?