FEBRUARY 7, 2023 – WINE NEWS FETCH

• Margins? What Margins? The Big Squeeze in Winegrowing 2023
• The DTC Alcohol Boom Is Over (podcast)
• California fines E. & J. Gallo for wastewater in Merced River [paywall?]
• Crypto Is Out, Wine Is In For Super Bowl Ads
• Bonhams Owner Taps Bank for $1 Billion Sale of Auction House [paywall?]
• Most Popular Super Bowl LVII Advertisers: Beer, Spirits & Snacks (No Vino)
• Hate filling out the CA Grape Crush Report? Now There’s help! – (Sponsored Link.)

OBITUARIES

• Clay Gregory, former CEO of Visit Napa Valley, dies at 65 [paywall?]
• Sad passing of South African wine industry legend Dave Hughes: 12/06/1938 – 06/02/2023
• Sicilian winemaker Giuseppe Benanti dies

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• 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?]
• Grow your wine brand awareness in restaurants and bars of USA – (Sponsored link)

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• How Rosé Soared From a Summer Fad Into a Rare, Billion-Dollar Bright Spot for Wine in the U.S.
• OZ: Hunter Valley grape harvest off to late start after flood, hail but winemakers hope for quality vintage
• Australian wine exports buckle under challenging global conditions
• OZ: Exports Dip Four Percent To $1.94 Billion

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Steve Stetson Joins Leavitt Group’s Wine Country Division as Agency Co-Owner
• Sparkling Winemaking Facility in Lodi Expands

WILDFIRES/SMOKE TAINT

• Wildfires in Chile rip through historic vineyards and destroy wineries

WEATHER

• Atmospheric rivers aren’t just a problem for California; They’re changing the Arctic

CLIMATE CHANGE

• Climate Change Leads Some Bordeaux Wine Producers to Plant Olives

DIVERSITY

• Pouring diversity into the world of wine (video)

HEALTH

• Is Prohibition returning?
• Drynuary: What have we learned about the low/no alcohol revolution in January 2023? [freewall?]

NFTs, BLOCKCHAIN, & THE METAVERSE

• Crurated blockchain service lets shoppers buy wine with NFTs

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Burgundy prices rise in January amid fine wine slowdown – Liv-ex
• Sotheby’s closes with €121 million
• Domaine Jean-Yves Bizot wines to be auctioned in Singapore
• Bonhams to hold its first UK online-only wine auction

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• If you can’t taste wine faults, can you taste wine? Part 6: MLF + high pH = Faults Galore!

MARKETING & SALES

• Do green credentials sell wine?
• Adding more ‘oomph’ to sparkling sales

PACKAGING, LABELS & CORKS

• Vinventions Launches Nomacorc Ocean, The First Wine Closure Which Helps Protect our Oceans
• Tiny wines find home in B.C.’s market, as Canadians consider reducing consumption

WINE PEOPLE

• Joe Shebl Saddles Up And Strides Into New Arena
• Meet the new grand crew of California wine
• Five minutes with Ricardo Baettig, Viña Morandé

WINE HISTORY

• Worth the Wait? 15th-Century Wine Ship Resurrection Remains Years Away
• History of Sparkling Wine Production in Portugal

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• Oregon Uproar over Underage Liquor Drops
• VA: Rappahannock vineyards brace for an inevitable swarm of the invasive spotted lanternfly
• Pa. Grape and Wine Industry Winter Conference slated for March 1-2

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Effect of different winemaking techniques and grape variety on chemo-sensory parameters of white wines
• Table Grapes Grown in High Tunnels Flourish In the Midwest

EUROPE & THE UK

• French government approves fund to help French vignerons
• Struggling Bordeaux wine producers offered aid to clear stocks
• Wine’s potential to drive Green Deal goals and the circular economy

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• How China Fell In Love With Cheap Wine

SOUTH AFRICA

• South Africa’s power cuts hit vineyards: No power, no pinot

AROUND THE GLOBE

• “Georgian wine really has a great potential”, says Levan Ujmajuridze

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• Spirits New Product Registrations End Q4 Strong with 9.8% Growth
• White Claw Enters Spirits Category With New Vodka Brand And Vodka-based RTD
• Rare whiskey could be salvaged from 170-year-old shipwreck