FEBRUARY 27, 2023 – WINE NEWS FETCH

• Retailers Adopt New Strategies, Tap Current Trends To Attract Younger Drinkers
• Welcome to the Age of the “Total Beverage Alcohol Market”
• Napa Cabs go Big at Auction
• Where Did All the Merlot Go? [paywall?]
• Ukraine’s Wine Industry Ravaged by War: Wineries, Vineyards, and Equipment Destroyed
• Move over White Claw? A new ‘wine soda’ aims to appeal to the hard-seltzer crowd
• US Inflation’s A Pain, But a Lot Worse in Many Other Countries
• West Paso Power Play For Winery/Vineyard: Grow your 100-point wine project here.– (Sponsored link)

OBITUARIES

• Le Nez du Vin inventor Jean Lenoir has passed away
• Raymond Trollat, Who Took a Hilly Wine Region to New Heights, Dies at 91 [paywall?]

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• Beckstoffer To Kalon and the Mystery Bottle
• ‘Help us fight’: California farmers ask for more aid after deadly storms
• Napa Valley’s Silver Oak Cellars just bought a new vineyard [paywall?]

WINE SUPPLY & CONSUMPTION

• Ciatti Report: Global Slowdown?
• Moldovan bulk wine has been revalued in the international trade

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• 2023 Premiere Napa Valley Brings the Wine World Together
• Sonoma’s Tug of Wine Rumbles On
• Sonoma County supervisors to consider updated deal with Dry Creek Rancheria, owners of River Rock Casino [paywall?]
• California Supreme Court: Whiskey can be a weapon in arson cases [paywall?]

WILDFIRES/SMOKE TAINT

• 300 hectares of old vines lost in Chile fires

WEATHER

• Napa Valley vineyards got historic snowfall on Friday [paywall?]
• North Bay snow brings joy, wonder and one harrowing tale on Sonoma Mountain [paywall?]
• Clean-up underway in cyclone-damaged regions as New Zealand approaches harvest

CONSUMER SALES: DTC, ON- & OFF-PREMISE

• Wine Industry Report Offers Insight Into DTC Sales In 2023 [paywall?]
• Kentucky Takes a Good (But Halfway) Step To Reform Wine Distribution in the State [paywall]

UKRAINE WINE

• Looking back, looking forward with Ukraine
• A champagne for Ukraine

COVID-19

• Covid shrunk the restaurant industry. That’s not changing anytime soon

DIVERSITY

• A brief history of Black winemaking in the US
• 5 Black-owned Wine Brands To Try
• Caroline Gilby on celebrating Central & East European female winemakers

HEALTH

• Zero-Alcoholic Buzz

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

• Why Kingsland Drinks is such a supporter and investor in Fairtrade wines

FINANCE, INVESTMENT, M&A

• Grands Chais de France to Buy German Giant Zimmermann Graeff
• LVMH Decides One Top Provençal Rosé Brand is Not Enough, Buys Into Château Minuty

INVESTING IN WINE, COLLECTING & AUCTIONS

• Liv-ex report: ‘Burgundy 2021 – For the few, not the many’

DATA & TRENDS

• Who drinks champagne?
• How To Tell If A Survey Is Credible: Minimum Standards

WINE SELECTION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Second-cheapest wine on the menu isn’t a bad choice after all, study says
• Sommeliers are now the Trendsetters of the Drinks World
• If buying wine were like buying an airplane ticket

TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES

• Meininger’s International Wine Conference: Different Concepts of Sustainability
• Vinexposium and Bettane+Desseauve join forces to promote wine and spirits industry
• Big increase in exhibitors at Vinexpo America

MANAGEMENT & EMPLOYMENT

• How New York is handling overtime changes for farmworkers [freewall?]

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Ribera del Duero’s ‘beautiful moment’
• What Does Wine Express?

WINE PEOPLE

• Exploring Sacramento Terroir With Craig Haarmeyer

NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• OR Gov. Kotek announces new chair for Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission
• SC: E. & J. Gallo Winery ramps up production in Chester County
• Alcohol tax hike set to raise B.C. retail prices April 1
• Florida lawmaker aims to liberate wine container restrictions, wants to let ‘people to buy very large bottles’

EUROPE & THE UK

• Spanish Winery Revives Native Grape

DOWN UNDER

• Australian Vintage continues to grow market share
• Australian Vintage on track to deliver profits despite decline in McGuigan brand

LATIN AMERICA

• Colchagua a ‘microcosm’ of Chile’s diverse future

BEER, CIDER, WINE & SPIRITS

• How Spirits Brands Are Playing a Bigger Role in Bar Industry Education
• Grappa: The Perfect Discovery Spirit for Wine Lovers