NEWSFETCH – February 15, 2012

TOP NEWS

• Bank Charges Barrel Stop “Incompetently Managed,” Urges Trustee & Asset Sales
• Remake of Central Valley water rights moves to vote
• Mediterranean Diet May Be Good for the Brain
• Small business start-up rate plunges to record low
• Calif Farm Bureau president urges immigration solutions
• Farm exports reach a milestone
• Muscat Wines Steal Sauvignon Blanc’s Market
• Health Costs, Gov’t Regulations Curb Small Business Hiring
• Noted economist to keynote Visalia ag conference
• ‘Cash Mobs’ Bring Flash of Profits to Wine Store

PUBLIC COMPANIES & INVESTING

• Wine author analyses success of Burgundy investment
• Pernod May Fall Without Increase in Distiller’s Earnings Outlook
• Diageo Sales Growth Meets Estimates as Emerging Markets Gain
• Castle Brands Announces Q3 FY 2012 Results
• Wine & Smokes: Altria Group Keeps Smoldering
• Spectrum & Vanquish Realize £1.3+ Million At Inaugural London Auction
• Strong opportunities for fine wine investment in 2012
• Fine Wine Market Outlook 2012

MEDIA MATTERS

• Is it fair to review a wine at the winery, with the winemaker, staring at the label?
• WineDude Hooks Up With Wines.com
• Robert Parker: ‘the blogger Budd, who has been reluctant to talk with us’ – entirely incorrect!
• Who invented wine’s 100-point scale?

MATTERS OF TASTE

• Let go of the single-varietal preference, try a messy field blend
• When vintage wine goes bad

CALIFORNIA BRIEFS

• Winemaker Milla Handley creates Alsace in the Anderson Valley
• Students restore natural beauty at LangeTwins Winery
• Planned Lodi winery has neighbors questioning marketing events

ONLINE, TECH & SOCIAL MEDIA

• Managing your reputation online is a never-ending story
• The Secrets of Pinterest’s Success
• Pinterest for Business: 5 Tips.

U.S. REGIONAL WINE NEWS

• IL: Why so few Illinois wines on restaurant wine lists?
• MD: Wine bar owner pushes for law to allow take-home sales of wine on tap
• NY: Survey seeks data on bird damage to New York fruit
• NY: Lovers Leap winery gets new owners
• NY: Push to sell local wines at roadside markets
• TX: Big Country wine industry continues to experience growth

EUROPE

• Barolo And Brunello Bury Italian Wine Rivalry, Join Forces To Conquer Asia
• Argentine wines appreciated by Italian consumers
• Asia helps France to record year
• Chinese merchant opens in Bordeaux

THE UK

• Prime Minister attacks binge drinking “scandal”
• Trade reaction to Cameron’s binge drinking statement

DOWN UNDER

• OZ: Grape crops and prices up in Riverland
• OZ: Riverina experiences best vintage in decades
• NZ: Biography of the life of Peter Yealands released
• NZ: Church Road leaving its Sauvignon Blanc at home (video)
• NZ: Giesen Wines takes on domestic rivals
• OZ: Queensland lifts booze ban to protect reputation

ASIA & PACIFIC RIM

• China wine moves: Links Concept says Antinori, Haras de Pirque to join portfolio
• ‘Corruption and smuggling’ damaging Thai import prospects

LATIN AMERICA

• Bordeaux-lead adventure in Argentina

SOUTH AFRICA

• Craving java? Pour some South African red wine

NOT JUST FOR THE TRADE

• Understanding Italian red wines
• Drew Barrymore Gets Into the Wine Business
• Counterfeits: Boston Mangler Edition
• Wine Tourism with the Kids
• Top 10 Wine Myths That Won’t Die
• San Francisco gets a serious dose of Burgundy
• Presidents and their favorite wines
• The Zinfandel evolution retraced