NEWSFETCH – January 14, 2011

TOP NEWS

• OZ: 20% of Victorian wine grapes washed out
• OZ: More vineyards hit by flooding in Queensland and Victoria
• Ross departure from USDA seen weakening Calif’s clout
• BC wine industry could be in for tough economic times
• UK wine retailer rewards most creative customers with £3000 worth of free wine
• Nielsen: How Shopping Trips Align with Economic Woes
• Will Bugs Warn of Vineyard Mildew?
• Bordeaux goes organic, China’s domestic wine industry faces fraud accusations
• Old News? Major Sale Bubbling in Champagne
• Heidsiecks on Sale… could a Chinese company be the next owner? (From News Fetch, 12/10/10)

POLITICS, TAXES & DIRECT SHIPPING

• Ignorance, Bias, Hypocrisy, Self Service—Wine Wholesaler Style
• OK: Beer, wine sale expansion doesn’t make sense
• IN: State Fair Alcohol Proposal Brews Controversy
• MD: ‘Dime a drink’ tax on table
• MA: Alcohol Sales Tax Repealed But How Will it Affect Purchase Patterns Long-Term?

AROUND THE STATES

• NY: Constellation Brands goes local
• WA: Plug and glug? Winery hoping to offer car-charging station
• Iowa Wine Cooperative files for bankruptcy
• Washington tops 40,000 acres planted
• CA: Wineries proliferate in spite of recession
• NC: Popping the cork on Asheville’s new women-only wine club

EUROPE

• FR: Chateau Carmes Haut-Brion sold for record sum
• Portugal’s wine renaissance

CANADA

• The birth of B.C.’s estate winery policy

DOWN UNDER

• Floodwaters spread across Victoria
• Barossa calls on Paul Henry to ‘refresh’ its brand story

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• Quality is key at Chilean organic winery

NEWS FROM THE UK

• Bordeaux Seller 1855.com says delivery failure due to economic situation
• London City Bond: warehouse roof collapse update

ONLINE, TECH & SOCIAL NETWORKING

• Why don’t wine Internet sites get the traffic of food Internet sites?
• Has ‘social media’ gone stale?
• Surge in Barcode Scanning Lifts CheckPoints to 500,000 Users
• Twitter Advertisers Look For Lead-Gen ‘Follows’
• Jewish Groupon, Legal Groupon . . .
• ShareSquare Gets 150K To Build Out Its QR Code Platform [Invites]
• Mobile Behavior: Hunting and Gathering
• What Ayatollah Khamenei Can Teach Us About Twitter

LIGHTER & LESS “TRADE-ONLY” NEWS

• I’m young and American, but I’m not dumb
• Three-Buck Chuck Gets Some Competition
• Residents in Areni Village Savor Discovery of World’s Oldest Winery

APPOINTMENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Wine Law & Wineries presentation to be held
• DSWE Appoints Jay Harkins VP of Sales for Classic & Vintage Spirits Portfolio