NEWSFETCH – December 21, 2011

TOP NEWS

• California to smash records as sales surge
• Feds Issue New Guide on Hiring Temporary Foreign Ag Workers
• Global Champagne shipments approach record levels
• Wine lovers to profit from falling prices
• Napa: Sage Canyon vineyard pays $20,000 fine for permit violations
• Sacramento County changes zoning to increase wine tourism
• Travel and tourism spending turned down in Q3
• Foppiano Family faces Off In Court
• Boisset an emerging wine leader
• Napa chosen as next location for CrushIQ national, social business training event
• Social Networks Do Little To Influence Taste And Interests: Harvard Study
• Wine on tap thriving in US
• 3 Smart Approaches to Holiday Beverage Branding
• White Castle giving sales of beer and wine a shot
• From the wine rep: too many cooks

PUBLIC COMPANIES & INVESTING

• The lure of sin stocks: Long-term performance has been good
• One third of Bordeaux properties for sale
• Aussie Sticks Winery in sale and leaseback deal
• Brown-Forman Increases Cash Dividend 9.4%
• Pernod – Ricard Brings Premium Brands To Emerging Markets
• Liv-ex: Mission Haut Brion: The inbetweener

HEALTH

• Wine’s Cardio Benefits Unclear When Lifestyle Accounted For
• Are there differences in mortality among wine consumers and other alcoholic beverages?

MEDIA MATTERS

• Hey Decanter: Cover the Pacific Northwest Seriously or Don’t Cover It At All
• Wine Cliche’ Of The Year: Harvest lower this year but high in quality
• Take heed of wine words
• 4 Wine Descriptors I Hate.

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Authentic Wine and Mistaking the Tail For the Snout

WATER & SUSTAINABILITY

• California Wine Industry to Get Green Performance Metrics

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• Ag trucks: Fed Rules require 2011 mileage reporting by next Jan. 31
• Winegrape Rootstocks Deal With Drought

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

U.S. REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• MD: Fun is winning ‘mystery grape game’
• NY: Warm December delays ice wines
• NY: Cascata Winery put up for sale
• PA: Liquor Control Board to consider wine, liquor price hikes
• TX: Why We Love to Hate the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission

EUROPE & THE UK

• BIVB cancels UK 2012 tasting
• Counterfeit Blossom hill seized
• CavesMaître FRANCE: Questions to Ezequiel Franco
• UK: Beer drinking drops by a quarter in just five years as men stay at home
• White revolution taking place in Rioja
• Legal challenge expected over UK alcohol pricing plan
• Another vine mess as €14000 blown by Bertie government on wine ‘club’
• Codorníu rebrands Raimat wine range with a modern look
• Spain farmers’ income drops in 2011 vs EU growth

DOWN UNDER

• OZ: No coal for wine region
• OZ: Margaret River coal plan knocked back

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• Glass could strike gold riding Chinese beverage bandwagon, analyst
• A dozen vinters settle down at Weifang Trade Zone
• Asia thirsts for premium wines

LATIN AMERICA

• Is Carmenere Chile’s Next Big Thing?
• Viñas de Alto Salvador, where organic production is a fact
• “It is crucial that Argentina’s producers keep making serious wines”