NEWSFETCH – December 16, 2011

TOP NEWS

• 3.3 Million Ton Calif. Harvest Report “Average Year” (Read past the usual “light and late” trite stuff)
• Restaurant operators optimistic on 2012 sales
• Wine Sales: Nov. 2011 Beats Dec. 2010
• Majestic Wine CEO Steve Lewis – interview
• Wine Trends To Watch in 2012
• Where is the love? Ningxia and Bordeaux wines the judges actually *liked*
• Chinese buyers snap up more Bordeaux properties
• Teen Drinking Rates Reach Historic Low
• “O Fortuna, this wine is powerful!”: The Influence of Music on the Perception of Taste
• Zoe FitzGerald Carter: Saying Goodbye to Wine
• Introducing the Coombsville AVA in Napa Valley
• Celebrating The Coombsville AVA
• An In-Depth Look at the New Naches Heights AVA
• Williams family did right thing with Napa Valley ranch

PUBLIC COMPANIES & INVESTING

• Pernod optimistic over year-end sales in US
• AT&T case could dash Diageo’s US whiskey dreams
• Liv-ex Claret Chip falls; Margaux up 1.3%
• Market performance shows drinks industry’s strength
• Diageo Uses Experiential Marketing in China
  
• Central European Distribution Shares Surged: What You Need to Know

DIRECT SHIPPING & PRIVATIZATION

• PA: Don’t take half step on PLCB sale
• OR: Rule changes would put beer and wine with liquor in stores
• NJ: Senate approves bill allowing wineries to sell directly to dealers

MEDIA MATTERS

• The ethics of wine writers? Flash back 24 years
• When The Media Gets Lied To, YOU Get Lied To
• IMW launches Campo probe
• W. Blake Gray now blogging for Crushpad
• Parkergate: Emails & the anatomy of pay for access, Part 1
  
• Parkergate: Emails & theanatomy of Pay for Access, Part 2
• Masters of Wine Institute: Statement Regarding Pancho Campo MW

SHAMELESS SELF/BOOK PROMOTION ALERT

• Modern Fly-By-Wire Aircraft Could Be Die-By-Wire Death Traps Says New Book Released Today

EUROPE & THE UK

• UK Drinks trade fears new year hangover
• Consumers must be top of wine trade’s agenda
• Estate agent ‘bullish’ about UK land for vines

AUSTRALIA

• Mildura grower heads grape table
  
• Winegrowers disappointed by early grape price announcements

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• Zut Alors! Chinese Wines Did What To French Wines?
• India: Grapes may not be sour for Maharashtra’s growers, wine makers this year
• Zhangjiagang Bonded Area Imported Wine Trade Market opens for business

SOUTH AFRICA

• Veteran Journalist Turns Wine Producer
• Pioneering winemakers of South Africa

AROUND THE GLOBE

• Azerbaijan endorses Viticulture Program

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye to a champagne cork
• How To Find The Artisan Winemakers
• How many units in YOUR drink?