NEWSFETCH – February 8, 2012

TOP NEWS

• EU Organic wine growers will be allowed to use the term organic wine on their labels
• Warning: These wine law changes will make your head spin!
• Napa’s Picasso thief admits New York art thefts
• Billionaire Foley increases NZ holdings
• China and US Improve, but Overall Consumer Confidence Fell in 60% of Global Markets
• Calif Budget proposal delivers double blow to ag education
• Boxed Wine: Bad Reputation or Just Bad?
• Farm bill: ‘Safety net’ for farmers could be reshaped in 2012
• Calif Grape growers offer grants to teachers
• New Leadership For The Family Winemakers of California
• Changing Farm Structure and the Distribution of Farm Payments and Federal Crop Insurance
• China Wine Import Stats for 2011: France Crushes the Competition (Again)
• Sonoma State: Tasting Room Management Classes Starting in Sonoma and Napa
• Activists-turned-trees protest Preservation Ranch
• Man convicted of wine warehouse arson ordered to serve 27 years, pay $70M
• Wineries continue to struggle after arson five years ago
• Building On ChocoVine’s Success, Clever Imports Will Launch New Fruit-Cream Wine
• The Barefoot Advantages of Being a Small Start-Up

PUBLIC COMPANIES & INVESTING

• Is Italian wine investment going to be the next big thing?
• Foster’s sell-off a warning for retailers
• Auction at Christie’s to Bring Bragging Rights, Drinking Ecstasy

HEALTH & ALCOHOL REGULATION

• Alcohol: The Under-Appreciated Killer
• Push for weaker alcoholic drinks as UK tackles binge drinking
• Alcoholic drinks should be made weaker
• Aussie MDs Push govt to crack down on alcohol
• CO: Ski Resort Imposes Drink Alcoholic Limit
• Taxpayer Money and Red Wine Fraud

MEDIA MATTERS

• Meet Playboy.com’s New Dot Com Wine Dude

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Why Syrah Hasn’t Caught On in America
• The Problem With Wine By The Glass (And The Solution)
• Dan Berger’s “Sound of Tension” Hit a Chord
• Tales from the road
• New Plantings—An Opinionated Analysis
• Sauvignon Blanc becomes a UK best-seller
• The Essence of Wine: Wet Stones
• Living on the sweet side of life

AG, GROWER & CELLAR NEWS

• When Grapevines Will Not Die

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Tony Glorioso and Scotty Barbour join Spring Mountain Vineyard
• Barefoot Wine Industry Experts to Guest Lecture at Sonoma State
• California’s Tim Burton-esque Historic Vineyards

U.S. REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• NY: Lawmaker Pushing Bill To Allow Wine Sales In Grocery Stores
• TX: Book explores strengths of Texas vintners

EUROPE & THE UK

• Russian Ingenuity Conquers Alcohol Sale Restrictions
• BBR online revenues rocket

PACIFIC RIM

• Zhongshan as the wine trade center in China south

MARKETING & PROMOTION

• 4 Keys to an Effective Promotion Strategy

ONLINE, TECH & SOCIAL MEDIA

• Doing Outreach Right — Mellowood’s Linda Neal Does a Fantastic Job
• How Wineries Can Make Automated Facebook and Twitter Cross-posts More Effective
• Marketing Chart: Agencies Rate Effectiveness of Social Media Tactics
• All Social Media Companies are Addicted to Fudging their User Numbers

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• Unique path to success for Redwood Valley’s Greg Graziano: Italy
• Wine’s Three Biggest Lies